The 4-week countdown

Monday September 12, 2011

For another 4 Mondays, I will be getting back to the real world - starting my new job! October 10 is the date

Am I excited for getting back to work?
Am I bored for spending the last 3 months home on vacation while most of my friends work really hard?

Those are the 2 questions I got the most whenever I meet my friends :).

Yes, I'm excited when October comes - but for a lot more reasons:
- I will be back in the Bay Area, where the weather is a killer, where I am surrounded by my very beloved friends. I realized how much I miss my friends during my short trip back to the bay area last weekend. I also realized I have grown in love with the place - and this is another "home" for me
- I will start making some money - for real - after 2 years of only spending. Always important source of happiness to see some inflow of money - i guess...
- I am half excited with the very challenging work ahead of me, yet I am also half scared of what I am getting myself into. Just a little crazy working hours and the lifestyle i think... And I worry if I have enough time to balance between my job and my non-profit... But I am ready (or so I hope).

No, I have not felt bored at all for the past 3 months on vacation. Not a tiny bit. Starting the summer, I was worried I might not know how to kill so much of my free time - reality has been a total opposite. Here's why:
- I got to spend sooo much time (i really meant it) with my amazing family. With parents. With siblings. With my nephew and my niece. I cant remember the last time I hang out that much with all of them. It's way long in the past. And now I get it back.
- Together with my team, we have made lots of meaningful progress with the non-profit I am starting. Yes, we have been so lagged behind in building an awesome business plan or so - BUT we have achieved big success in finding our 10 students - our scholarship recipients for this pilot year. The very FINE students I would say. We are blessed to have found them - and be a bit of help to them in their new journeys. Even more blessed, we have an amazing network of friends who stepped up and be our first few sponsors to our students. We have not got fully funded yet - but we are getting there. Dearest thanks to friends and supporters!!
- I designed my own schedule - I slept when I wanted, I woke up when I wanted, and I worked when I felt the need. That in itself is a total freedom
- I got to travel around a bit to see longtime friends I havent been able to catch up and to meet new amazing friends that we have become close
- And a millions more reasons why my summer has been more than just a blast.

Just a note to capture my feelings of a Monday 4 weeks away from my new journey. I think I am ready for the next journey - but yes I feel worried at the same time...