The Bright Side: A Lesson in Moving Furniture Whilst Wearing Rollerblades...Autobiographical

Yesterday after my dental appointment, I was in a lot of pain (not your fault, Dr. Younger-than-me-by-one-month...Augh!), and upon further reflection, opted out of the job fair. It was a sales job fair, and it was in a really inaccessible part of town at exactly 5:00; rush hour central. I decided that any contacts I made would only see me as frazzled and looking dopey because my mouth hurt. Plus I secretly doubt there were any jobs available; these were companies wanting to advertise. Maybe I should be a conspiracy theorist. That doesn't pay well, but maybe I'd end up with a little cottage in the middle of nowhere like the Unabomber.

I did make a few contacts of my own, and called a few people in HR departments where I wouldn't mind working. I read this great article (the link is below) about marketing yourself as part of Tim's homework assignment last week. My boyfriend is currently in school for business with a minor in finance, so I've been following his classes without any pressure; free education, Bright Side number 1. I have a great handle on accounting principles, managerial accounting, Office 2007, and Business Communication, from whence this website came.

Anyway, I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with Rollerblades. I've had a Bridget Jones' moment. I refuse to sit on my cushioned back side and do nothing while I wait for the world to notice I'm not spinning with it. I typically go walking with a friend most mornings, but lately it's been hit-or-miss; she has a job. I have a hard time motivating myself to work out alone, but I love Yoga and Irish Dancing (I had one lesson in Dublin from a Riverdancer, now I'm an expert :P), and those are things I'd rather do alone, as I can only imagine what I look like to others....something akin to a sea cow, I imagine. In my quest to find a job, somehow I have removed myself from the world. It was not intentional; everything fun costs money, and when you don't have it you tend to stay home. I'm fine with staying home, but I refuse to become less of a human by hermiting myself and watching daytime TV.

So Tim got me this great pair of Rollerblades last summer, which I tried to learn to do in the park out back, but then winter hit, so for Christmas he bought me ice skates (he's so sweet). I always used to watch ice skating on TV, and I'd turn the sound down and put my own music to the routines so that the beauty wouldn't be ruined by an announcer critiquing the performance. I always imagined it would be so exhilarating to be an ice skater, and the few times I did it, I'd gain some speed and feel invincible...I didn't fall much, and when I did it was because the dog was in the way. Seriously, one time I fell, and he grabbed the poofy on the top of my wool hat and ran off with it. Having said all that, I haven't Rollerbladed in about a year, and last summer equalled about 30 minutes in total. So today I decided to Rollerblade in the basement so no one would see me learning. I learned quickly that only the right Rollerblade has a break, and there are better ways to stop. I personally use appliances; washer, dryer, freezer, they work remarkably well, provided you don't get caught between them and the wall. So I was in oblivion, pretending to Rollerblade with my mp3 player blaring for about 45 minutes before I ran into a shelf and knocked all the stuff down. It was like a movie. Sleeping bags, air mattresses, inflatable kayaks all tumbled down on me. I couldn't' help but laugh as each object kept knocking the wind out of me, which just made it funnier. I put some of it back and began again and about 2 minutes later, realized that at some point Tim came downstairs (he was working next door) and saw me, sweating, red faced, still giggling, trying to do my cool figure skater arm movements (you know the ones). He started laughing and said, "Oh yeah, your life is so tough!" I realized he's right! I've spent so much time worrying about not working, I haven't been enjoying my life or the time I have to try and Rollerblade in the basement. Bright Side #2. Incidentally, I have GREAT music on my mp3 player, much of it fantastic for exercising alone. Bright Side #3. And I have a full basement in which I can Rollerblade, as well as appliances to use as brakes...Bright Side #4.

After being caught rollerblading, I decided to pack it up; it had been about an hour. I had put the coffee table on the love seat to give myself more room, but I realized that now I had nowhere to sit and take off my blades. I had fallen once on the floor (cement) and didn't want to fall again, but knew I couldn't sit without using gravity to an uncomfortable extent, so I decided to try and move the table. This is odd, because common sense is one of my personality traits. I saw it in my mind; I get the table just enough off the couch when I lose my footing and smash my nose into the coffee table as it lands back on the couch, then it bounces up to hit my face again. I resigned myself that this could happen and began. After some struggling, grunting and cynical laughter, the table landed on the floor with a crash. I sat on the couch and undid my Rollerblades. It's a good day.

This situation makes me realize that I often take the hard road to things. Straightforward things make me think there must be another way, a harder way. That's too easy. So I am taking this time to follow the advice of the website below, and reevaluating what I want out of a job, what I am qualified to do, and what I still want to learn. I know I want to work in an office. I could care less if I'm a temp, I just like the zen of office work. So relaxing, in a weird way (I always misspell weird...I don't like this word). So that's what I am doing, and I don't regret missing the job fair. There will be others, and I will be OK. Life is good when you can Rollerblade in the basement to great bands like Slow Club, English Beat, Jack Johnson and Solas. In honor of the fun, today the song of the day is "If Good Times Were Dollars" by Gaelic Storm.

Here's the link on marketing yourself:
http://www.hrstore.com/free/freeZ05.html

Here's the link to "If Good Times Were Dollars"
http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/If_Good_Times_Were_Dollars/20790268