My Weekday Daytime Freedom is Coming to a End, Have I Used it Wisely?

It wasn't until I recently accepted a full-time job ("job", not "opportunity") with a small media company that I reflected on the many things I've been fortunate to experience while freelancing (read: mostly unemployed) for the past two years. All the things that the value of "time" doesn't allow when you're employed full time.

Of course, you know now that job lasted less than five weeks (woohoo, a record!) before being laid-off. I was actually a bit relieved on several levels but the one that stands out in my mind is that I'm back to having time.

I'm also not one to sit idle and let life pass. As my blog title "Girl About Town" implies, that's what I've been out doing. Here's a list of some of the things I've done and experienced, in random order, after I gave two-weeks' notice from my last full-time job:

Worked for the fire department (yes, me) and various ad agencies that couldn't hire me full-time, gone to the beach & dipped my toes in the ocean, have had literally hundreds of lunches and coffees with old and new friends, have attended countless networking events (for those of you who knew me as a kid, know that I would never have dreamed of going to an event like this by myself), attended author readings, summer concerts, Zoo concerts, business-special baseball games, job fairs, hikes, chaperoned my niece's field trips and attended 5th grade with her for a special day, observed random foreclosure auctions on the courthouse stairs (how old-fashioned!), attended health fairs, completed a ton of volunteering, saved seats & lawn space for friends at events, attended Chamber of Commerce events, racked up hundreds of extra miles on my car, turned my kitchen into a bakery, attended webinars and seminars and workshops, gone shopping and run errands while there are no crowds or screaming kids, helped friends in emergencies, watched the entire Obama inauguration, taken classes, picked up odd freelance jobs in new industries, gone to fashion shows and retail events, graduated from Resume Club (I'm a dork!), conducted informational interviews, attended business women events, run airport pick-ups/drop-offs, Tweeted and FreshTwEated, blogged, LinkedIn, attended alumni events (even for schools I didn't attend), helped Mom when she had surgery last year...

Having these experiences (mostly good ones) has changed who I am. I've grown and learned and made new friends along the way. And to me, those are the best measures of the value of "time".

P.S. I am just about to accept a new full-time position, but somehow I feel this is more of a great opportunity than just a job. I'm excited about that! And yes, I truly believe I've used my "weekday daytime freedom" wisely!

Social Media Two Point Oh How Cool!

Attended AMA's Social Media Virtual Conference (#AMAVESM) today and not only did I learn about social media trends, engagement and measurement I also "met" new friends. I had a true virtual experience.

Started out the morning by joining the first webinar and entering the auditorium live chat. I was immediately welcomed by the 10,000+ registered attendees (and invited to visit the exhibit hall). While keeping my eye on that conversation and my ear on the webinar, I popped onto Twitter and posted my attendance, which linked to and updated my LinkedIn status.

Next thing I know, the Conference site is Tinkerbelling me with a chime. I have a virtual note from an LI contact! Out of the blue! She saw my LI update and wanted to let me know she was also attending. We exchanged a virtual hug and made plans for coffee next week (yes, I do still have a need for LIVE interaction)!

I continued to jump between the auditorium chat and the lounge while listening to the experts. I managed to make a few new connections that I'll hopefully get to know better in the coming weeks.

During the wrap-up session, someone posted a question in the auditorium chat asking where everyone is located. Amongst the thousands of responses, I piped in with "Portland, OR" and that spurned an old colleague to recognize my name and ping me as well. Random! I haven't even talked to her in almost two years (and believe it or not, we're not even LI contacts).

Finally, I posted a note commenting that I needed a beer to download and digest all this great content-rich information (that's the thing you do after attending a conference, right?). You can only imagine the responses I got from that (and you could "hear" the regional differences by the types of beers suggested)!

As my own personal brand trying to find new opportunities, social media came full circle for me (and I'll certainly gain some new friends and projects from today's experience). If you're resistant to social media or think its not changing our world, just read my post - it changed my day.

Told you I was a connector (and I didn't even mention my Facebook hits)!

I'll Be Wearing a White Shirt

This is a response to the question "How will I recognize you" from a blind date I was meeting for lunch last week. The average gal would find that a decent answer to the mystery. However, I've heard this about four or five times in the past few years and am not keen on it! In fact, next time I do I will run the other direction, very fast. Three of my funnier cases in point:

1. First, a few years back I somehow got intro'd to a guy that I wasn't sure of at first, but thought it couldn't hurt, I'll just meet him for coffee. When I asked how I'd recognize him at Starbucks he said "I'll be wearing a white shirt, green jacket, and gray beret tastefully speckled with white cat hair." I think his personality was speckled with...uh nothing, he didn't even own a TV and offended me more than once given I worked in television advertising (sorry, we all need to make a living). We ended up having NOTHING in common and his "white shirt" did indeed, have cat hair all over it. Achoo (I'm allergic)!

2. A few years ago was when a very good friend's mother set me up and had us all over for a nice dinner (she's a fantastic cook!). In this instance I didn't have to "recognize" the guy but he was wearing a white shirt - the filthiest, dirt-stained, ill-fitting one I've ever seen). I didn't mind that he was a truck driver, had different opinions or that he was wearing jeans. It was his dirty shirt that stood out to me. I mean come on, you know you're going for a nice dinner to meet a lady, do you have a cleaner one? One possibly meant for a date? Ok, so I didn't actually pick this match so didn't know anything about him but quickly found out that he had very few interests and was even uncomfortable in a small group. The dinner was great, the date not so much.

3. Fast forward to last week's lunch. I was meeting a guy at a nicer restaurant and so dressed up a bit myself (good dark jeans, blouse, blazer, heels) but should have known that when he said "I'll be wearing a white shirt" he really meant "I'll pick the only white shirt I own off the floor and wear it to meet my date." Again, dirty, stained, wrinkled, faded, and ill-fitting. Seriously, his personality matched - I ended up doing all the talking because he apparently didn't know how to use his voice - the depth of his emails did not end up matching the depth of his conversation . Boring! And I paid!

I actually posted this to my Facebook status that very same day and got teased endlessly... "What if he was wearing just a T-shirt?" "What if it was a great shirt but ripped jeans?" "Have you taken into account guys don't do much laundry?" It does make me laugh (ha!), but in the end, I'm looking for a nice clean, respsectable guy...

Seriously, I don't expect a perfectly pressed and dry-cleaned white shirt and suit for a date, but I would expect some level of thought "I'm going to meet a nice woman, maybe I'll put some care into what I wear today." As it turns out, all of the guys (there are more than the three above) ended up with the most flat-lined personalities in all of Portland and in my opinion, a raggedy white shirt on a date shows lack of detail and self-respect.

Maybe the white shirt case studies are the perfect red flags for a blind date. Or maybe, they should have worn red shirts...