Catch up

I guess it's time for some catch up on my blog. I feel like I've been really busy. I guess adjusting to a new job takes a bit of time getting used to. For me, it's physically and psychologically draining to meet lots of new people, learn new tools and procedures, and all that goes along with being new to the job.

But I know it's definitely worthwhile.

Although I had a nice little test over the weekend to really make sure I made the right job decision.

There was one place that I really, really wanted to work out of all the places I applied and interviewed at in the last six months. I will call this place Diego. It is a public relations agency, a very well known one. It'd be great for my resume as most communication management positions desire or require agency experience. And I know that's a big hole in my resume right now.

So at the end of my first week at my new job, Diego calls me. They want to offer me the job that I've been trying to get for the last six months. They finally got the green light and they really wanted me to work for them.

A bit of a dilemma, huh? Albeit, a good dilemma.

So my first reaction was to say no. And I did say no. I apologized and told Diego that I just accepted a new job that I really liked so far. I didn't have any red flags about the job I just started, so I didn't think that the timing was right for me to switch.

And my gut was telling me that the job I just started may be just as good for my resume. I'll get more general marketing experience, and even more appealing is all the experience I'm getting with interactive marketing. I also knew that I need a mental health break from the stress of being in constant crisis mode and reactive media relations from my old job.

But my stomach was in knots for most of the afternoon over the fact that I just said no to the place I was dying to work for all spring and summer.

Then I received a five minute voicemail from the hiring manager. Pleading with me for an opportunity to talk. She was sure that once I was reminded of the opportunity with Diego, that I'd want to work there.

So I listened. And part of her was right. I did want to work there. But I wanted to work the other job too. Since I liked both jobs, I decided to go one step further and see how competitive the salary would be. Why not? I figured it'd help me figure out how much they really wanted me, and hopefully help make my decision easier.

Let me tell you. Now that this whole experience has sorted itself out, I am really thankful that I got the second chance to talk to Diego before making a final decision. I now know I made some pretty good decisions and that my gut feeling was right all along. 1) I knew my gut feeling (stay with the job I just started). 2) I listened to Diego and I now know how they are willing to compensate. 3) It confirmed the fact that I like my new job and that I am looking to what the job will entail in the weeks and months to come. 4) I don't have to wonder if I made the right decision when I first said no to Diego as I got a second chance gaining more knowledge of the Diego's position and more time to think it through.

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Some other stuff I've been up to?

On Sunday, my sisters, nieces and my mom went to a Pow Wow at our local Indian Reservation. It was an interesting experience. More than 600 dancers from all over the U.S. Growing up in Minnesota, the Native American culture has always intrigued me. I think it's cool to see different cultures honor and display their traditions.

Saturday was a fun day too. Went to my yoga class. Then Dave and I took Otis and Cooper to a local photography studio. If you brought in a bag of food, you got a free photo session for your dog. The food gets donated to an animal shelter and you get a discount on prints. Otis did great. We finally had a real opportunity to show of his obedience skills. Cooper is not so well trained (it's hard to train one dog when there's a second one always begging for the attention). Anyway, we got photos of all the dogs and I'm excited to see how they turned out. After that, Dave and I went rollerblading and later the afternoon we took the dogs to the dog park. It was a pretty active day, but really enjoyable.

Oh, and tonight. Cooper chewed through his flex-leash. I am going to have to start a tally on this blog for each time a flex-leash is destroyed. Cooper doesn't really chew much. For some reason, he always seems to chew the flex-leashes. I think we've spent well over $100 on stupid leashes. I bathed the leashed and collars in bitter apple tonight. It's not happening again! I can and will outsmart the dog!