In the last week, 4 things happened that have altered my perception and my future.
1. I read THIS POST on J. Money’s blog
2. I visited someone who used to be my bestie, that I hadn’t seen in 10 years.
3. John decided to push med school applications back one year.
4. GoDaddy emailed me about canceling one of my domains/My client used the term omni-occupational. (ok that’s 2 things but still)
Sooo…..
1. The Budgets are Sexy blog post really gave me a loving slap in the face. I am unbalanced in how I’m viewing money these days. I know I have to save a lot for the future, but I have to remember to not sacrifice too much right now. Not that we’re existing on dried beans and tap water or anything, but, when I create my budget there’s very little wiggle room and my “slush” money figures get smaller and smaller. If I die tomorrow, I’d like my last thought to be ‘wow what a fun and exciting day’ and not ‘thank god I padded my emergency fun a bit more!’ Financial planning needs balance and starting next month I’m going to make my plan have a little more wiggle room for fun and activities.
2. I visited an old friend I was super close with in jr high, high school and year 1 of college. We were estranged for 10 years, after an incident where I chose to feel betrayed. Now, I think about it and find it laughable, sad and unfortunate yes….but still funny. Seeing her, talking to her, hugging her (and her hugging me back so tight I thought my head would pop off my neck) and immediately feeling that same goofy at ease feeling we had back in the day was such a great reminder to keep good friends near. It also reminded me of how connected we all are and how pieces of us remain with the ones we’ve loved as well as how much we change over time. That was the takeaway, our evolution. What was such a big deal 10 years ago, is laughable now, hell it was laughable 5 years ago really. And in 10 years ago, the foolishness I stress about now will be meaningless. So why stress?
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| this picture has nothing to do with anything |
3. Part of that visit was to talk to her and her fiance (both MDs) about the med school application process, the school they went to, any advice for John etc… The result of the convo was that John is not applying this year as planned but holding out a year. (GULP) Now. If you don’t know by now…I’m a planner. So I had to re-plan a lot, re-time a lot…and re-think a lot, surrounding this decision. For John the decision means a much stronger application to schools and higher chance of acceptance to more than one school (YAY). For me the decision means the possibility of one more year working for someone else. (BOO) I’m not down with that. So I have to figure out how to make a good living sooner with my chosen careers so I can leave the 9-5 world and be able to raise my family without suffering until John starts earning money during his residency.
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| if you’ve ever worked in corporate america you know this |
4. I haven’t been shooting. Almost at all. I did a shoot for a salon’s website last month and since then have been itching to shoot some actors headshots again but stifling the urge because of my need to “focus” and not wanting more things pulling at my time/energy. Godaddy decided to mess with my head by letting me know that my headshot photography site was about to expire. I thought long and hard about renewing or not…wondering if I’d give it any energy. Later, while talking to a client who’s an actor/personal trainer/writer…he called himself omni-occupational….and I fell in love with the term. There’s no reason why I can’t be a coach/photographer/future therapist/writer. (+mom, +wife, +9-5er for now lol) I don’t need to give each title equal play at all times, duh. And that’s the takeaway. I can shoot as little as once a month, continue to coach most of the time and write when the mood hits. I think it was Oprah who said ‘You can have it all, just not all right now.” (or something like that) I need to plaster that on my wall somewhere.
It’s funny how I can elicit insight’s such as these from clients in a quick 45 minute session, but when it comes to myself, I hemm and haw forever before seeing the light.
Anywho. I’m going to put the word back out there that I’m shooting part time again, but only actors headshots for now.
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| paparazzis go hard! |
One more thing happened that’s causing me to make a big change, but I’ll post that separately cuz I’m going to need help/advice from you lovely ladies on it.
Anything happen in your life recently that caused you to think or act differently?
We are re-thinking our budget planning for another baby and also we enrolled Wee 'Burb in a daycare that's more expensive. So our budget has just gotten realllly tight. We need to start cutting expenses right quick.
Yay for the next baby!! Oh gosh when kids actually get in the picture whooweee that's going to be zero wiggle room in the budget.
I'm glad you were reunited with a friend. It's so great when two people can let bygones be bygones and move forward. About planning I'm sure you two will figure it out. Good luck with it.
That is wonderful that you and your friend were able to reconnect. Letting go of old hurts and resentments is such a mature and beautiful thing to do, and I admire you for that!
EEK! That's scary to get an email about almost losing your domain (lol). But i think its cool that it kinda got you back into your photography.
Thanks for sharing the story about reuniting with your friend. I know you wrote this last year and so much has changed in your life (HEEEEYYY ROHAN) but it helped me today. I am glad i found your blog last week. And your hair is AMAZEBALLS.