I'm Baaack, and now for my second post!

So where did I leave off?
Well lets get to the why I changed careers.
It started a few years back. Things at work seemed to be getting to me. At times it was very frustrating. Over the years, it became apparent to me that in order to get ahead fast, you need to, as I like to say, "play the game". I never liked the game. The game consisted of "kissing the right asses", being part of the good ole boys network ("BSing", "talking sports", making side comments about women, playing golf, etc), and of course never going home. You know the routine. I always tried to steer away from all of that. So I just put my nose to the grindstone and worked hard. I figured I should get rewarded for that. But to be honest, it takes a lot longer and you need to work for the right person. The boss that will fight for you because of your work, not the game. For a long time, I never worked for someone like that and then luckily after 15 years I found it. But it was a frustrating 15 years. For the last 7 years, things were good. The hours were still crazy and I was not thrilled about it. But at least I got the recognition and the rewards.
There were rumors at work about the company moving from Long Island. Our lease was up and we either had to renew or move somewhere else. The company hired a consultant to looks for the best place. I will talk more about that some other time!
The beginning of April 2004 was a time in my life I would like to forget. My sister in laws mother passed awat after a long battle with Parkinsons, my beautiful golden retriever Shamrock died of Lymphoma 4 days after his 5th Birthday. The day after that, I found out that my company was moving to Allentown, PA and that I had to either move or lose my job. A week later, my dad had a heart attack and needed triple bypass surgery. I thought bad things happened in threes?
To me, this was a sign. What did the sign mean? I don't know if I will ever know. But I decided that life is short and that I needed to be happier. It wasn't all about money and getting ahead. You can't take it with you. I was tired of the daily grind, working my butt off for someone else, and all the aggravation that goes along with it! And only to have some fat rich bigwig decide what's best for 800 people? It was not a happy last few months of my job, but I was thrilled to get it over.
So what to do next? My partner Joe and I talked it over and we felt that I should do something I liked to do. As long as he had a good job, I could take the time to figure it out. We had the bills covered.
I love to bake, so I took a Saturday class at the Culinary Academy of Long Island and LOVED it! I felt if I wanted to make a career out of it, I needed to learn more, so I enrolled in the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC full time. 5 days a week I made the trek into Manhattan. Again, I LOVED it! It was so much fun.
So what next?? You will have to wait for the next post!!
Haha
To all of my readers ( I dont even think I have any yet!)
Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
Joe and I are celebrating at home with our own little BBQ, walks on the beach, bike rides to the park and just relaxing in the hammock! It seems everyone we know went away for the weekend!