Remembering The Original Plan

I had brunch with a close friend of mine today. We were in deep conversation about our lives as new moms and our busy careers when I randomly changed the subject to how I am no where what I set out to become after I finished high school.


Even after college, my singing/entertainment management plan didn't come to fruition. Yes, I wanted to work in the hotel industry - but it wasn't so I could stay in St. Louis forever. Alas, my six year stint in hotels taught me a lot about sales, service, people - good and bad, noble and shady. More shady than anything.


That started my mind wandering into the once upon a time jobs I dreamed of that would take me away, make me famous, or allow me to move quickly up the ladder of significance.


I've had roughly 16 jobs since I was 19. Maybe three of them were close to getting in a path of reaching one of my dream jobs. I started college with the plan to sing and get into entertainment management. What happened? Ugh - a boy. That happened a lot.

Singing on the Jumbo-tron at the TWA Dome (Edward Jones Dome) - 1997

JOBS I WANTED TO DO...
NOT SO RANDOM OR FAR OFF FROM ORIGINAL PLAN

1. Voice-over and jingle writer
2. Singer - Combination of Sara Bareillis, Adele, Melissa Etheridge, Billie Holliday, Black Crowes, The Black Keys, Pink Floyd back-up singer
3. Stage Manager -> Director -> Producer -> Big Cheese
4. Personal Assistant for a Cool Person
5. Comedy writer (think Tina Fey)

WHO'DA THOUGHT

1. Race Car Driver
2. Sniper/Sharp Shooter
3. FBI Agent
4. Espionage/CIA Ops

Hunting in South Dakota

Training with the FBI

I'd be interested to hear from those who started on the path of their dream and kept with it, along with those who changed courses and came back to their dream. 

Removing A Third Trimester Multi-Tasker's Glitch in The Matrix

Third trimester insomnia sucks. As a career-driven multi-tasker, the last two weeks have been quite challenging to work through. My mind is racing with thoughts about celebrating the future with our new little bundle of joy, getting everything ready for this next phase in our life, and checking the normal "new mom" to-do lists so we have everything near perfect for when the big day comes.

The major challenge is how do I slow down at work and balance this third trimester short-timer syndrome? This is something that freaks me out. I know it will happen, but it will continue to take numerous co-workers, friends, and family to make me slow down. This is a new endeavor. I am a workaholic. I love work. I breathe work. I compose the hymnal for everyone to sing in harmony from while at work.

How do you get used to not being a motivated team player who excels at work? That's almost like asking someone, "how do you cope with sucking?" in my world. That doesn't sound very nice. I know. But I am very hard on myself. This whole life shift is like watching a slow motion shoot-out in The Matrix. You see every intricate detail take place, every bullet graze a marble column, each splash as a boot runs through a puddle, but you know that only for a moment you can see everything so slowly, clear and calm. Then the camera speed goes back to normal and the anxiety level increases in the scene.

Let's just say that lately Drew goes out of his way to make vacuum lines in the carpet. Did you know that I find this surprisingly very calming? Color-coordinated closets also have the same calming effect for me. Any organizational tactic really is good for me. Maybe that's my way of removing a glitch in the matrix. There are other ways I'm getting through the glitch... the normal nesting, eating well, limiting caffeine, trying to relax (haha), working from home as much as possible, and really trying to focus on delegating work and prioritizing projects. I will leave my work team in a great spot, no matter when our little parasitic ninja arrives. They know they can call if they have a dire emergency. But the prepping still keeps me up at night.

So here I am, again, late at night, not able to sleep. Thoughts stream to the point of buffering to a standstill, and then suddenly, I'm wide awake again with a kick to the stomach or a thought about how to analyze some market research I just completed maybe in a different way than what I had originally thought of doing.

Who has some slow down suggestions?