Category: Robyn

Beach House Mentality

posted 16th November 2009    Written by: Robyn    CATEGORY: All Posts, Life Lesson, Quarterlife Crisis, Robyn, Season 1

Newport BeachThis past weekend, I celebrated my recent life change with a trip to California to visit one of my best friends from college, Lindzi.  She moved to Newport Beach from Ohio shortly after graduation, and ever since then I have taken advantage of having a good friend living on the beach by visiting every three months.

Usually during my visit, I will turn to Lindzi at least once and ask, “How do you live here?!”.

In my mind, it just doesn’t seem like “real life.”  The sun is always shining.  The weather is always perfect. No one seems to worry about jobs or money.

Newport Beach is home to lots of people who escape to their weekend “houses” or relocate for the summer months.  This results in a lot of people just gathering on the beach day after day, relaxing without a care in the world.

Lindzi literally lives right on the beach–sand beneath your toes just a couple feet away once you step out her front door.  We spent plenty of time relaxing and catching up on the beach, enjoying the warm ocean
breeze and the repetition of the waves.  We made ourselves a picnic of fruit, cheese and crackers and watched the surfers glide into shore.

Even in the middle of the day on Friday, we found groups of people just outside enjoying the weather.  It made me wonder what all these people do career-wise…

I mean they are obviously allowed to take off a Friday to enjoy a gorgeous day at the beach.   Isn’t that how it should be?

On my last day, we rode beach cruiser bikes along the boardwalk and grabbed brunch at an oceanfront cafe.  As we were heading back to her place so I could pack up and catch my flight back to Chicago, we rode
slowly, pointing out cute beach houses that we pretended would be ours one day.

One thing I loved about the houses was the little signs on the beachfront properties–each offering a different piece of advice:

“Slow down your life”

“A well-spent life is spent on the beach”

“Soak up the sun”…

And my personal favorite “Don’t analyze your pleasures”.

This is the one I really let stick with me during my flight home. There are too many times when I stop to critique myself or what I’m doing–even if I’m having a great time. Sometimes I wonder if I am being productive.  Sometimes I wonder if I am wasting time.  Sometimes I feel guilty about not doing something else I “should” be doing.

But really?  Why analyze anything that makes you happy? No matter what it is.

robyn-bio1

photo credit:michele_ficara_manganelli

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First Day of Freedom

posted 9th November 2009    Written by: Robyn    CATEGORY: All Posts, Job/Career/Work, Quarterlife Crisis, Robyn, Season 1

dog walkersAs if to confirm that I had made the right decision, my first day free from the corporate world was spent outside in 73 degree weather. Despite it being fall, I woke up to the sun shining and I brought my lap top outside to do some work.

After some research and some writing, I left for my first day of dog walking.

The girl I walk dogs with has a story similar to mine. She used to work for a big ad agency before she realized how miserable it was making her. She had her Quarterlife Crisis and ended up quitting her job to pursue her dreams of working for herself. She didn’t have much of a plan, so she started walking dogs in the meantime. She loved the schedule and the pups and being outside and active all day. Eventually she started her own dog walking business.

And grew that business so much that now she has walkers like me!

I spent four hours in the gorgeous weather–riding my bike around Chicago to different houses and playing with dogs. It was a blast!

Most importantly… it was SO different from my corporate job. I found myself feeling care-free and stress-free and (what a shocker!)… I felt happy.

It was definitely odd to wake up and not have to get dressed in business casual and put on makeup. Instead, I stayed in one of my favorite comfy tees and some jeans. I wasn’t rushed in the morning. I took my time making coffee and eating yogurt.

I am my own boss now, and I create my own schedule. In the past, when I was working from home, I found the most important things are to keep myself on a schedule and give myself deadlines. Despite my hate for all that structure and stress in the workplace, it’s completely different when you are doing it all for yourself.

I actually enjoy my “to do” list and meeting my deadlines. Even more so, I enjoy the variety of work and being able to take a long lunch break with a friend or deciding to let myself take a half day on a random Friday.

Being disciplined and motivated are strongly required, but the perks of working for yourself are endless.

robyn-bio1

photo credit: nunocalvin

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What it Means to be Young Enough

posted 2nd November 2009    Written by: Robyn    CATEGORY: All Posts, Job/Career/Work, Quarterlife Crisis, Robyn, Season 1

young enough to fail“Oh… Well, I guess you can take that kind of chance because you are young enough.”

This was a response I received from a coworker after I told him I had given my two weeks notice.

During a time when many people have lost their jobs and are in the midst of a desperate job search, I haven’t been surprised by reactions like this.  Most people have not understood my recent choice to leave my comfy corporate job on my own terms. And despite the fact that my parents know how miserable I have been in the workplace, I was even nervous to tell them news—so nervous that I actually only spilled the news last night after I had already known my plan for weeks…  and after both my parents had consumed a glass of wine with their dinner.

“So, I have some news,” I began…

My dad jumped in right away, “Good or bad?”

I considered his question and hesitated. I knew this was good news in my eyes (great news, actually!), however, I knew most people would probably not consider this to be the best of times to quit a perfectly good job in exchange for inconsistent freelance work. But it was going to make me happy…  and I have definitely realized that this is more important than anything else.

“This is good news.  Definitely good news, Dad,” I said and immediately jumped into how I had decided to work for myself.  Of course, both my parents knew this meant I was leaving my current position.

My mom reacted in typical fashion.  My nonstop cheerleader was supportive and positive, as always.  My dad attempted to stay calm, but it was obvious he was slightly unhappy with my decision to quit the corporate world and give up all the fancy benefits that come along with a job at a big company.

“Well, I suppose you are young enough and now is the time to figure out a new path if you aren’t happy with your current one,” he said. I was satisfied with his thinking.

Lately, a statement like this seemed to be the default response.  Although some people have seemed slightly envious, most people appear obviously worried for me and respond with something along the lines of me having plenty of time to take a chance like this, fall, and get back up.

After all, I’m “only 25 and have no real responsibilities.”  And they are right.  I only have myself to keep clothed, fed, and housed.  I have a mortgage, but it’s very reasonable.  I don’t have car payments or debt or children.

While I could very well have just made a bad decision (I’m 99% sure I did not), this is the best time to have made a bad decision because I’m “young enough” to bounce back from it and recover and change my direction yet again.

I think that’s what the Quarterlife Crisis is all about.

robyn-bio1

photo credit: jek in the box

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Leaving the Office Behind

posted 26th October 2009    Written by: Robyn    CATEGORY: All Posts, Job/Career/Work, Quarterlife Crisis, Robyn, Season 1

Case of the MondaysConsider the movie Office Space as I attempt to use this movie to explain the most recent major change in my life.

First, let’s start with the scene where Peter tells his co-worker friend Michael that he has “got to get out of the office.”  A secretary overhears and responds to Peter with, “Looks like somebody has a case of the Mondays.”  Later on in the movie, Peter’s slightly trashy neighbor decides that this kind of comment in the workplace should result in “getting your ass beaten.”

I would have to agree.

For the past two years, I have spent my Monday mornings (and Tuesday mornings and Wednesday mornings, etc) Office Space-style…It never mattered what day of the week it was—I ALWAYS had a “case of the Mondays.”  And even though I have attempted to keep my work and personal life separate, it’s hard to not have my sad office life nagging me in the back of mind.

In the movie, Peter is eventually driven to start ripping off his company.  I don’t think I would reach such extremes, but I don’t want to test myself.  So…

Yay me!  My sad office life is no more!  I have taken a small step toward a life change by officially put in my two weeks’ notice. While it’s a little nerve wracking, it’s also an incredible feeling.  I have already started my countdown…Only one more Monday to go after today!

I feel like I have blogged about traveling nonstop, and thoughts of hopping a plane to a new place are constantly floating around in my mind.  I have no major plans as of yet, but I am taking a short trip to California to visit one of my best friends the first weekend after my last day.

It’s nice to be able to book a trip and not have to worry about rushing back by Sunday night.

I’m all smiles when it comes to the free time I will have to spend reading, writing, traveling, exploring, and doing more things that I enjoy.  On the other hand, I am anxious about my less-than-impressive savings account and my current lack of a plan.  I knew I would need to pick up lots of freelance to quit my job, and while I do have a couple steady things, I do not have enough to feel secure about my freelance being my sole source of income.

I knew I would still need another way to make money until I could really build my own work.  I played around with the idea of going back to serving or bartending.  I thought about working at a coffee shop or bookshop, but then I stumbled across an ad for dog walking.  I applied and interviewed and got really excited.  Not only will it bring in some extra cash, but it offers me the opportunity to be active and outside and with animals—three of my favorite things and all things that my “9 to 5” did not offer me.

I’m thrilled to see how my new change of course will pan out.  After all, according to Peter Gibbon’s wise words, “…we don’t have a lot of time on this earth! We weren’t meant to spend it this way. Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day…”

I definitely agree, and I definitely refuse to ever go back to a cubicle ever again!

robyn-bio1

photocredit: luzbonita

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A Different Look at Employee Appreciation Day

posted 19th October 2009    Written by: Robyn    CATEGORY: All Posts, Job/Career/Work, Quarterlife Crisis, Robyn, Season 1

Navy Pier CruiseLast week I attended my company’s dreaded annual Employee Appreciation Day.  Each year, my company closes the office at noon and treats all the employees to a “fun-filled” Friday before the weekend.

Since my office is somewhat anti-social and people tend to stay hidden in their cubicles, there is really no socializing in the office.  For some reason, HR thinks that being outside of the office would get everyone to socialize. Sadly (well, not really), in the past years my fellow co-workers and I would sneak out of the office and ditch the afternoon’s events in exchange for an afternoon off.

Last year I ditched Employee Appreciation Day’s BBQ and kegger because I feared the open mic/karaoke would force me to witness one awkward moment after the next.  I also really didn’t want to see the CEO of my company sing “Don’t Stop Believing” when I could go home and take a nap in appreciation of my employment on my own.

This year, HR got smart.

They knew people had ditched out on the special day in previous years so they decided to check names upon arrival.  Those who were not present were charged a vacation day.  Yikes! I knew I had to attend. And luckily, this year’s Employee Appreciation Day sounded entertaining enough—a lunch cruise around Lake Michigan, leaving from Navy Pier on a semi-sunny day.

Reluctantly, I stood in line to board the cruise with my co-workers.  We made small talk and joked about how the ship would leave the dock in twenty minutes—trapping us all together for two hours on Lake Michigan with no escape unless we wanted to jump overboard.  HR had definitely thought this through.

I ate lunch with a couple others from the marketing team, and I was surprised to hear them joke about taking extra long lunch breaks and hating some of the projects they are asked to do.  I don’t know why I was thinking that I must be the only person who is not thrilled with their job, but it was nice to hear that others were in the same boat. I was worried I was being too restless or setting my expectations too high when it comes to enjoying a career. I actually even secretly despised my co-workers because I felt they were happy with the unchallenging, mindless work they do.  I thought they must be boring, ambitionless people!

For some reason, I bonded with them over how unsatisfied we all were, and it felt great!  My marketing team is now a support team for getting out of the 9 to 5 as well!

The rest of the afternoon, we took advantage of the open bar and laughed as some people had too much to drink and starting dancing with the servers on the ship.  We took photos of the views of the city from the ship’s highest deck.  Before we knew it, the ship was docking, and it was 2:30pm.

I even had time to go back to my place and enjoy a quick nap before heading out for the night.

photo credit: discoverdupage’s

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