Saturday, January 4, 2014

New Year, New Experiences!

It's been an interesting New Year, so far. Four days in, and good things are happening, even though they may not seem that way at first blush.

I got my stitches out on Thursday. Hooray! Unfortunately, I have to go back next week for the cast I was supposed to get that day because the doctor had an emergency and wasn't in. So I get a new full cast next Wednesday, which will stay on until it's time to get the screw in my foot out. Another surgery to get the screw out, and six more weeks of recovery and I'm better than new!

Predictably, I'm a terrible patient. Mr. ShellHawk is constantly reminding me to not overdo. Lying around on the couch while I'm home and there are things I could be doing in the studio really rankles. Oh, well only another nine or so weeks of this to go!

On another note, one of the things I've determined to do this year is to be more positive and complain less. After I made this determination, I happened to see this video:
I love this idea! I'm writing things down on scraps of paper and throwing them in a mason jar for now. I'm trying to drag Mr. ShellHawk into it, too, but we'll see if that happens.

Of course, when you make up your mind to change, the Universe throws something at you to test your resolve. Have you experienced this? Looking back at my life, I can tell you it's true. Take Thursday night, for instance.


Grateful thing from
 yesterday: Mr.
ShellHawk at the
coffee place with
me while I was
waiting
to be laid off.
I got a text from my boss, of the "meet me and bring your computer," variety. I had gotten this same request about six days after my surgery, and told him flat out I couldn't drive so no, I couldn't meet him. This time, I decided to get it over with. Mr. ShellHawk was available to be my ride, so we went.

Anyway, long story short, he laid me off yesterday, saying there was no money and maybe they'd hire me back when there was, if I wasn't working somewhere else by then. I seriously doubt it, but he was making an effort to be nice and keep things classy, so I let it go while staying classy, myself. In all honesty, it wasn't the best fit, so I'm more relieved than anything! It'll also give me the opportunity to heal without sweating how I'm going to drive to and from work with my left foot instead of my right!

The positive thing is I made enough to pay off my business credit card (I now owe $1.38!) and put away enough money to get my kiln. I'll start looking for another job next week, hopefully much closer to home and with a similar flexibility in hours. I'm sure no one is going to want to hire me right now, since I'm all gimped up and looking at another surgery, but we'll see.

I was lucky to get two grateful things yesterday. First was Mr. ShellHawk being so cool and supportive in the face of my losing my job. I can't help but think of this old song when I look at the picture I posted to the left. He's my rock.

The second was this picture:
It was from a customer. Here's the note she posted on my ShellHawk's Nest Page on Facebook:
I ordered a JOL ornament from you and got it on Christmas Eve - it's awesome! I will treasure it always!
(it's a lot bigger than I expected, so it is hanging near the tree instead of on it)
What a neat thing to see, huh? This is exactly the reason I keep at my ceramics, so I can be part of people's lives and family traditions.

And that's the blessing of my layoff. I'll have time to get the mundane things taken care of, such as getting taxes together and finished, plus getting some of my Charmed Pot segments done ahead of time, as well as getting in some studio time so I can start submitting to different competitions for the fine art aspect of my work.

What a great start to 2014! Full speed ahead!

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