A little potpourri type entry with mostly GOOD news!
Aaron has found a job! At the moment, it is a contracted consulting job with a very small startup software company. They have a product and they have customers. It's founder is struggling with moving it from the idea/development phase to a functioning and profitable company. He is also dealing with some significant health issues. Aaron has been brought in to help him move the business forward. He'll be doing some long range business planning for them, perhaps some hiring and some work with the clients. Toward the end of the year they will assess their relationship and determine if he will move into a permanent executive position there. It's a good plan because this is a business with some real strengths as well as some serious weaknesses. He'll have a better understanding of it's viability before he makes a permanent commitment to them.
So, we're relieved....for now.
As a startup, it's a salary cut for him. So I will probably start looking for some type of work in the next few weeks. I would LOVE to figure out a way to make photography my profession without going the route of weddings and bar mitzvahs. I really don't want to have the pressure of recording "once in a lifetime" memories. We had a mediocre photographer at our wedding...I know the disappointment. I've also had the experience of selling what can't be seen until it's done. That was the most stressful part of the years with my window treatment business. So, I'm thinking about some other possibilities...some more realistic than others. In the meantime, I've got to figure out what to put on a resume to sum up my piecemeal job history. I'm not really sure how to start or what can be highlighted that will make make me attractive to an employer. So, I've got a project ahead of me.
Hurricane Irene came through here and did her best to wreak havoc. We woke up without power on Sunday morning and were in the dark until Friday afternoon. My daughter Arielle was supposed to fly in to New York from Israel on Sunday afternoon. Clearly, that didn't happen as we were experiencing tropical storm force winds. She was there as part of the BirthRight program which sponsors travel to Israel for young jewish adults. Consequently, THEY picked up the tab for her extended stay in Tel Aviv. Lucky girl! The first day of school for Joel was also delayed as a result of the storm. He was scheduled to begin on Thursday but the island was still in disarray with no power in a lot of locations. They sited student transportation as one concern as we still had street lights out everywhere. Tomorrow is now "the big day"
I had plans to be away a good part of the week to see a few Bruce Hornsby concerts. Anyone who's read my blog for an extended time knows that I'm a devoted fan and see as many shows as I can when he's in my neck of the woods. Once again he generously granted me media credentials so that I was able to photograph the shows. The first was a great opportunity as it was the last performance on the tour where he was double billed with Bela Fleck and his band. Talk about an amazing night of music!! So while we were powerless I had the excuse to dart off to Connecticut, and Philly, and Manhattan, and New Hampshire. I heard a lot of amazing music and got to see many friends. The dates did allow me to stop through here between most of the shows and touch base as needed. My tour has ended for now but I hope to catch a couple more shows at the end of the month.
While in Manhattan, I had an experience I had not expected. I was walking toward the venue with a couple of friends and I looked up to see a poster for the show featuring a photograph that I took! It's was a little mind boggling and a real thrill. Yes...I snatched it off the wall after the show. How could I not? It may be my 15 minutes of fame so I needed to grab the proof.
Perhaps I'm in a state of post show euphoria but I'm feeling pretty good at the moment. So much worry has been relieved for now with Aaron working. We've taken the house off the market until we see how the job plays out....so that concern is gone. It will be a big adjustment for us all for me to begin working more than just teaching a couple of classes a week. But worrying about that is putting the cart before the horse. I have to find something first. I've got my thinking cap pulled down tight on my head. I would love to be my own boss and be in control of my schedule. But then, who wouldn't?
I'm swamped with concert pics, so keep an eye out! Something will probably pop up here or on the photoblog soon!
