Quitting for Happiness

My dearest Kelli inspired me to talk a bit about my job/future plans of unemployment.

I know I should be all freaking ecstatic to HAVE a job, any job, and I should thank my lucky stars that I can work somewhere and make a living to help support my family, blah blah blah.

Here is the thing, I can’t do it. I can’t continue to destroy my mind and spirit, and waste any natural talent and ambition I might have left. I can not hate my life for a paycheck. I can not spend 40 hours a week trying to look busy. I can not be disrespected and talked down to by some pervy old man who somehow kissed enough ass to make his way into some pointless paper pushing supervisor position.

I cant.

And I wont. (and for the record I wont be letting that happen to my future husband either, whether he can stand it or not)

And so I’m quitting. On February 25th I will NEVER go back.I will NEVER look back. And most of all I will NEVER decrease my self value like I have for the last 2 years, just for $12.35 and hour….NEVER.

So everyone wants to know what I will be doing once I get to Washington. Well, the options are endless, despite the poor economy in a college town for a girl with no degree.

Here are a few things I’ve been thinking about:

1. J+M design: continue putting along with our painting business. I will have to take 1 month off from this until Mr. Gaunt and I are back in the same house.  Our new home has a nice storage area for Canvas, and the Art community is always full of support in Bellingham. I have new ideas for promoting and would really like to continue with this. My goal is to make 30% of my half of our income this way by next January.

2. Weddings: Im sure its something that has crossed every wedding planning brides mind “I could be a wedding Planner!” but I have already done one, and I think I do offer a unique point of view. Not to mention Im not really looking to “plan” more to help “create” fun eco-friendly budget friendly weddings. Mr. Gaunt and I have talked a bit about starting a wedding “trade, rent, collect” type business as well as a cleanup/set up crew for brides who want reliable help without the high cost of a planner.

3. Marketing: My mom runs/manages a wine and tapas bar that REALLY needs to get their tushes in gear and start moving forward. I have lots of ideas to help them grow. Food, t-shirts, music, events, Id love to have a hand in all of this.

4. BLOG: This includes a serious upgrade, as well as marketing and err…a possible cookbook idea. (=

But of course those are all somewhat self-employed business opportunities. Am I willing to go back to corporate? Yes and No.

-No MALLS!

-No large corporate chains…none! It’s not a community I want to support.

-Yes to seasonal jobs at my old Graphic DEsign firm

-Yes to seasonal jobs at my brothers farm

-Yes to helping local companies work Farmers markets

-Yes to 32 hours, not 40.

-Yes to time off to be with my family, helping Mr. Gaunt through school, and all of that.

So we will see. I have such big dreams and I’m finally going to be in a position to make some of that happen! I’m so excited to be back in the community that very much supports my unusual ways of making a living.

Most of all I’m ready to grow up and stop selling myself short. Mr. Gaunt and I will be married in 7.5 months, and we plan to start a family in the near future. I want to have the flexibility and the peace of working a job that works around my life, not my life working around a job. Thats how I was raised, and that’s how I want my children raised. To be free minded, happy, and creative!

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