Life is All About Timing

Life is all about timing; being in the right place at the right time. Today, I could not help but realize how much my own life aligns with this expression. When Joe and I moved to LA it was the right time for me to get the job that I wanted. I wanted to stay with the company I worked for in St. Louis and the LA office had a position opening up. We made the move a few months before the LA office was actually ready to hire a replacement Director of Training & Development, but they pulled some strings and got me on board early (shows you the power of a referral. Thanks goes out to my former boss for making a call to the LA boss!). I have almost been with my company for four months and I have assumed the majority of responsibilities with my position. My predecessor is still in the office which is actually a blessing (timing again). If I did not have several month to learn my position, I would not be off to such a quick start. I am grateful that the stars were lined up for me to get a job at a company I respect and enjoy working with and even more grateful to have this invaluable time to learn my position.

My office closed at 2:00pm today in celebration of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. (Score!). This holiday break could not have come at a better time. I have never worked as hard or as much as I did the last two weeks. I oversaw my first training class. In addition to trying to figure out what needs to happen each day for training, I have spent a great deal of time working with my team discussing our internship program. I have spent many long days in the office (in at 7:00am or 7:10am if I am having an awesome workout and out no earlier than 6:00pm). Gone are the days I could leave my Gmail open and respond whenever a new message arrived. I have over 400 unread emails. (Not to self...sign up for an email account to give out so you stop receiving newsletters for every organization). Sorry to all of my friends that have called. After being "on" at work for 12 hours the last thing I want to do is talk on the phone. In fact I hardly ever hear my phone ring because it is on vibrate 90% of the time so it does not go off during meetings and buried in my purse. For every new task or responsibility I learn I create a check list or task in Outlook (thank you Microsoft for keeping my life in order. I would be a wicked mess without you. Don't even get me started on my love for hot pink post-its). My main goal right now is to learn the system so I can replicate what my predecessor did without a hitch. I have also been working to improve the system and I have been adding tasks to my role because I feel like they could help the office. Needless to say, without investing some extra time at the office I would be sinking instead of barely staying afloat. Hey, nothing worth mastering is ever easy. I am confident that in time I can reduce my work hours to a decent amount and achieve a bit more balance in my life. Long story short, I am looking forward to having Monday off (LA Marathon day downtown. I can't wait to be on the other side of the barricades drinking a Starbucks and watching the other runners speed by. There is a little piece of me that wishes I was actually one of the runners.) I already feel rejuvenated and refreshed and it is only Friday night. (Got to love long afternoon naps!)

Since I spelt all afternoon I was bored earlier this evening. (Even though I enjoy down time, to be honest with you I have no idea how to actually do nothing for extended periods of time). I needed an activity and after clearing out some of my personal emails I needed to get out of the house. I decided to walk to dinner and the grocery store. I found a new place, Wolfgang Puck's Bistro, for dinner. I couldn't decide between Mexica, pizza or Quizno's. Wolfgang Puck's happened to appear at the right time. I read over the menu and was intrigued by many choices. I could not pass up the special. Half a pizza (I was craving it after all and I need portion control. Pizza and ice cream are the two foods that I eat way too much off. My "full" sensor is broken when these foods are in front of me.), a salad and a glass of wine for $15. Sold! I even got to pick any wine off the menu, not just the gross house wine. After indulging in the perfectly portioned meal I ventured to the grocery store. On my way to the store a woman cam out of her apartment building walking two dogs. One of the dogs was a black pug! (Joe and I have been talking about getting a dog, going to dog rescues and researching the furry friends online. Pugs are by far our favorite. We are going to name our Pug Tiesto after our favorite dj.) I had to interact with this dog. I told the woman I like her Pug and she asked me if I wanted her. (I know she was only joking, but a big part of me wished she was for real.) As I was talking to the woman, her Pug put her paws on my legs and allowed me to pet her head. Swoon! I want our Pug now more than ever. Talk about timing.