Making Memories

Years ago, my husband and I stopped buying presents on special occasions just for the sake of presenting a gift. Instead, we decided that we would take a nice vacation each year and make memories. In a few weeks we will be leaving for a cruise tour of the UK - visiting England, Ireland, Scotland and a day in France. I will get to see Blarney Castle, Roslyn Chapel, the Guinness factory and Loch Ness, among other things. I will get to visit the land of my ancestors. We have a very full schedule of activities planned, yet have left time to relax and roam the countryside.
Some people find it a bit strange when they ask me what my husband bought me for Valentine's Day and I have nothing in small jeweler's box to show them. Don't get me wrong-I love the shiny stuff as much as the next gal-but we have made a commitment to do things on our own schedule and not to wait for artificially created occasions to get what we want for each other. Hey, it works for us.
For me, making memories is the best gift of all. I carry them with me wherever I go and they make me smile.

Following Yout Inner Voice

I recently accepted an assignment for a temp job working in the customer service department of a company that distributes herbal detox foot pads. At first, it was just an adventure to get me out of the house more often, and to put aside some money for a future vacation adventure.

The work environment was dismal, a small cubical in a less than clean office. But the hours and the pay were decent, and it was ten minutes from home. And, it was temporary.

At 9AM, the phone would begin ringing and I was pounded all day by folks who were angry and aggressive. Occasionally I would get someone who just wanted to reorder the product and they would tell me how wonderful it was and how it had improved their lives. I found myself yearning for more of those calls. And yet, easily 97% of the people that I spoke to were verbally abusive, spewing foul language....just plain angry.

I was hard pressed to understand why people would get so worked up over a product that cost $19.99. Perhaps they were looking for a miracle to change their lives and were disappointed that they hadn't found it in a little paper wrapped packet of herbs. Maybe that was their last 20 bucks, and they felt they had been duped if the product didn't work for them. I don't know.

Many of the people that I spoke to were intoxicated by 10AM. Maybe they were looking for rehab in a box. Whatever it was, I was tired of being assaulted. I easily spoke to 100 people a day.

I was beginning to come home drained rather than energized. This job was not giving me the outlet that I was looking for. And then, one morning, the supervisor called me to her desk and in front of the entire staff pointed out that I was clocking in late every morning-9:02, 9:01... I advised her that I had to wait for one of the permanent employees to unlock the door before I could get into the building, and that if she checked, NONE of the employees had logged in at 9:00 because the building wasn't open yet. She said that she wasn't interested in excuses, just results, and that if i did not clock in by 9AM I would be fired.

The next day, I called the temp agency and asked to be released from the job.

My inner voice had been telling me that I was not honoring myself by continuing to work in an environment that was so denigrating and draining. I felt as though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders when I walked out the door for the last time.