I Have a JOB!!!

I suppose I would be greatly remiss if I did not put up a post saying 'I GOT A JOB!!!!'  Considering it has thus far been a major theme through this blog. 

For the past couple of months I had avoided looking for jobs at the Portland DoubleTree by Hilton because I had been told they were going through a lot of changes and I should wait until it settled down.  Yet, as my unemployment was coming to a close at the end of this month, I said, 'the heck with it' and opened the ad for an HR Manager position, and Voila!  Low and behold the name of the GM was one I knew quite well - he had been my Internship Coach while I was training in Boston back in '04! 

An email later we had a coffee date and after some catching up, the conversation turned to what I was looking for in terms of employment, and we briefly discussed what he was looking for in terms of the HR position.  We parted with me taking a couple days to think about it, then we met later in the week and he officially offered me the position!

I'm very excited to get back to work.  This is a great blend of all those things I was looking for - a steady AM schedule, with time to see family and friends on the weekends, a better 'time off' package than any other hotel has offered, an opportunity to support staff and really make a marked difference to a team, I get to implement new systems and procedures, and!  I'm working with a boss who knows my previous employer and who can help me make that transition to a well-known branded hotel chain!

The Spirit of Christmas - A Few Days Late

Perhaps it was the fact that I got my job just a few days before Christmas.  Perhaps it's because Thanksgiving was a smaller affair this year, so the pre-family gathering didn't happen like it usually does.  Perhaps its because we had Thanksgiving a week later this year.  Perhaps it was just a funk year, but Christmas didn't feel like Christmas for me - until now.  Tonight, after the extended family had gone home, a brief nap, and some extra munchies, the spirit and JOY of Christmas hit as I looked around the house and saw all the decorations and the tree.  The living room was picked up, the table cleared off, my Step-Dad was intensely watching football, and I just smiled and felt that little flurry of Christmas joy that had eluded me all season.  

I'm so thankful for my family.  For the love and support they have always given and most especially the love and support of the past year.  Today as I stood back and looked at the assembled Robinson family, I caught myself thinking, "This is my Clan, my Tribe."  We may not all have been there, and that's OK, those who could not make it were here in spirit with me and they are part of the Tribe.  And Family - family is not always blood either.  Friends, those I have 'adopted', and those my parents have 'adopted' are my family as well, and tonight, I give thanks and much love to them as well... 

Christmas Spirit is Traditions, Family, & Love - in all the varied expressions that exist - foods, decorations, games, sayings, all of this and more.  Tonight, I was blessed to touch upon that once more :)