Nothing much

It has been a strange few days.

Saturday and Sunday I woke up and left my home in the morning, then was busy until I fell into bed. It was a good busy, mainly dog training and doing things related to dog training, mixed in with some hanging out with friends (which we know is still “doing something” for me and not relaxing, even if fun). Saturday I actually fell asleep mid-board game and was sent to bed shortly there-after. :P

Today was…odd. I have so many things I’m trying to get ready. The doggie daycare opens May 1 (at Firdale Village in Edmonds, WA, anyone nearby should come check it out! Map’s on my website, the grand opening will be fun!) and I’m helping her get ready (and also promoting myself through it). But May 1 is less than 2 weeks away…oh, and did I mention those are my last two weeks of work? So right after May 1 I want to start offering all the new services I’m planning on offering with my extra time, which means I have to get them ready to go on my website, etc. now. So my mind is completely taken up with trying to plan all of that out, and of course in the mornings when I have energy I don’t want to do engineering, I want to get things done on my personal checklist that are necessary and interesting! But, you know, I’m supposed to be doing engineering. Can you spell ADHD? (Hint: it’s spelled just like it sounds) I want to get my new training services up ASAP..because I’d like to see an increase in clientelle ASAP. If I’m going to grow I want to do it fast, so I know how much extra I have to work at an outside job. I don’t want to get an outside job, and then two months later I’m training 20 hours a week. OK, I’d be alright with that happening, but I’d rather not have to burn any bridges at another job :P

Speaking of other jobs, remember that pet store I applied to…oh…weeks ago? They called me today to set up an interview. For tomorrow. Eek! At this point I”m not even sure I’d want to work there. They’re a small company, not a big chain. As a friend put it this weekend, it would be nice for me to have a job where I’m just a number to them, so they can be just a number to me (preferably a big number with a $ first). If I have to drastically cut back hours, I can, and no hard feelings. If I have to leave after only a few months, who cares, I’m just a number. This is a smaller company where I’d be making more of a commitment, but it’s also a really cool company that would be a lot of fun to work for, and I could get clients from it. Hmmm. I think I’ve decided I’m going to go in and be honest. I will tell them my background, and I will tell them that I am a trainer starting that business and that that comes first. I’m not going to overemphasize it and make a big deal, but I want to be clear. That way if I do walk away in 4 months, they knew what they were getting in to. If they can handle that (which I kind of doubt) I’d love to work for them, but I don’t want to feel like I’m lying the whole time I’m there with them thinking I’m staying for years and me..not thinking that. If they can’t handle it, then I’ll go be a number somewhere. Big chains always need numbers.

Speaking of the doggie daycare, I met with the owner and we set some stuff up. I’ll be offering training to her clients 3 days a week for now. It will be an added service they can tack on for their pets, and I’ll come pick them up, work with them, and leave a report card. Hopefully that will be a hit! I’ll charge what I charge, and she doesn’t want any of it, she’s happy to just be able to offer another service. Her space is beautiful. The floors are bad, but she’s redoing them, and the dimensions and walls are GORGEOUS. It’s the same sqft as my space upstairs, but so much better in layout! I could teach classes with 7 students instead of 3 (maybe 4). So we shall see. She’s totally open to me splitting rent/renting the space from her in evenings when she’s not using it for class. Of course, then I can’t teach classes during the day, which is a negative. And not until after 6:30. So we’ll see. It also has a beautiful paint job, though, and is just so happy and doggy feeling! It’s inspiring me to paint my space. Maybe if I can make some more money I’ll have some available for making my space look like less of a dump. That would be nice. Maybe I can even grow a pair and insist the landlady fix my heater. A cracked heat exchanger is kind of a fire hazard, which is why the gas is disconnected and I had no heat all winter… (I don’t really want a pair. They look funny and awkward, and I’d rather not deal with them. Just to clarify)

Speaking of other jobs, I was talking to my mom, the super-interpreter, who was reminding me of several things I already knew, but letting me know they’ve gotten even more true. Things like not wanting to get a name as the underqualified interpreter who will take any job. Or encourages places to not hire a certified interpreter (like they all should, and which keeps interpreting a profession). Or puts deaf clients in awkward situations by not being capable of facilitating clear communication. So I need to be very careful. I can’t wait until I have a little more time, I want to study my @$$ off and get certified as soon as I can. Which will also involve finding Deaf groups I can go hang out with to absorb the language. Learning on the job isn’t OK. I was very hesitant about taking the job I have for those reasons, but for others I did accept it. And it’s OK once in awhile in special circumstances. But just a reminder to get certified and be careful. Don’t want to shoot myself in the foot. Don’t want to get blackballed by the interpreting community or the Deaf community.

Oh, and then we’re trying to wrap up the-project-which-never-ends at work. I gave my notice for end-of-April because that’s when everything was supposed to be due. Yeah. Thanks in large part to the inefficiency of my three-lettered friend, it looks like they’re not going to be done. TOO BAD FOR THEM! I’m still outta there! I cannot wait. I will miss (most of) the people. I will miss the title of engineer, and being able to introduce myself as thus. I will miss the math. I will not miss the long hours, the stress, the frustration, the powerless-ness, the constant exhaustion, and getting home with all energy of all kinds drained. That was the weird thing this weekend. I was working non-stop for hours on end. But I was happy and energized almost the whole time. And I left each job/meeting/whatever in a better mood than I’d entered it. Amazing.

All right. Enough procrastinating. I had my 20 minutes of sitting down and not working. Now to all that has to get done!

Wow, there sure is a lot to my “nothing much.” I intended for this to be a really short “nothing to say” post. Guess there’s more to spill out than I thought.

Now, really, off to work. After I eat.