What to do with free time

Fact: I seem to have some extra time on my hands for the next two weeks. I can't express via blog how excited I am about this fact, but, as a start, here are some of the things I have done since Friday afternoon.

1. Went out for 50% off martinis at Vintage Lounge on 124 Street. Proceeded to drink three martinis in less than one hour. Er, had a good time. Then went for dinner and continued to have a good time.
2. Got caught in two rainstorms: one alone, and one with a friend. Both enjoyable.
3. Had an amazing waffle brunch followed by a blood donation that was completed in record time (5 minutes flat)!
4. Got a haircut. A substantial haircut.
5. Booked flights to Halifax for September. Holla!
6. Went to the artery to see Illfit Outfit and D.B. Buxton Revue play shows. But mostly to see Jenni play the drums. Pop Pop Pop!
   
7. Saw the "Body Worlds" exhibit and followed it up with a hearty brunch (Joel: "The muscles look like beef jerky...I'm getting really hungry.")
8. Yardwork, visited brother, visited newphew and sister in law, visited parents, cleaned house, called sister, called Lisa DeMoor, visited with Kerry, watched lots and lots of Sex and the City online.
9. Got my very own library card and used it to check out books on eastern Canada.
10. Did some sewing.
11. Bought some drinking glasses that I definitely don't need, but that were begging me to buy them. You will understand if you see them.
    

Background to fact: The reason I have extra time on my hands is that I GOT A NEW JOB!

Explanation: Up until this past month, I had only ever dreamed that I could get someone else to look for a job on my behalf, but approximately three weeks ago, that dream became a reality. I contacted a staffing agency that my friend Marney had recently found a good job through. I thought it was at least worth a shot, so I sent my resume and an email explaining what I was doing in my current job and the type of job that I was hoping to find. I said I wanted something more creative and that would be based in some sort of communications field.

The woman in charge of permanent and executive placements responded right away with a job that she thought I might be interested in. Fast forward through the usual job interview angst and the existential crises that tend to go along with them, toss in a few new outfits for good measure, and the outcome is a brand new job.

There is no way that I would have been offered an interview for this position if I had applied through the ad in the Journal or something, but since I had her to vouch for me, they invited me for an interview. Apparently the other candidates they we talking to had extensive communications/PR experience and/or schooling. But I guess I was able to convince them that my experiences fit together in a way that would work for this type of job because I was offered a position as a Public Relations Coordinator. It looks challenging and, even better, really fun. It's in the communications department, and will involve lots of writing, editing, media relations, advertising coordination, conference materials publishing, and other fun things. Aside from being an awesome job, it has some definite perks including kickass vacation time, among other desireables.

So, these past two weeks have been a real flurry of wrapping things up at my current job. It hasn't really hit me that I won't be going back there. My excitement kind of just pushed me through the last two weeks, but when I slow down a little, I feel a bit sad about leaving the friends I made at Komex. I don't think I'm just being dramatic when I say that I'm not sure I will ever have work friends quite like the ones I met there. Part of me is glad that it took me so long to find the right job because it gave those friendships more time to solidify. I will miss our daily chats dearly.

So, that's me. And now I have two weeks between jobs. Yahoo!