Kismet in Action

Oooooh, I'm so happy over here. I love when things come together so (well, pretty much so) effortlessly - such that you just can't deny it was "meant to be."

I've been looking for a job. Nothing big - just a part-part-time gig that would help bring in a tiny bit of consistent income and could get me out of the house some. (Guh! I just really need to get OUT of the house!) But I also knew that I didn't want to take just any job where I'd end up in an office doing something boring. I'm sure it would be "fine," but I wasn't really willing to settle for "fine" just for a tiny bit of income. I wasn't ready to put myself somewhere where I would be miserable.

So - I reached out to a couple of friends who work in the crafty/creative fields here in Austin and just kind of casually said, "hey, if you happen to hear of any crafty/creative jobs around, let me know." In my mind, I had the following criteria:

• The job would need to be part-part time - I still need to be able to keep up with my web clients
• The boss would need to be fun and super creative
• I would be able to use my skills, but learn some new stuff, too
• I need to go somewhere else to work and then not have to bring the work home with me (mentally or physically)
• Hours would need to be flexible so I can do things like pick kids up from school
• A crafty/creative place would be ideal - and, frankly, having all these qualities would make it a dream job.

I wasn't too hopeful. I can't imagine there are many jobs that would meet most (or all) of the things I was looking for, but I said, "to heck with it" and sent all that out in to the Universe. (how Secret of me)

Two days later, Lisa forwarded an email from Leslie Bonnell, who was looking for a new studio assistant. Yep, that Leslie Bonnell, that studio that I blogged about back in September - the one I won third place in the naming contest. The place I love!

So all of a sudden, I have the chance to apply to be Leslie's assistant. The job description felt like I was reading bullets off my dream job checklist - Mac person (check), writing skills (check), sense of humor (check. right?), interest in sewing and design a bonus (big check), two days a week to work (checkcheck!). And the best perk of all: FREE CLASSES. That's right, I get to take free classes from her.

The job description was better than I could have imagined.

Of course I applied, and then interviewed. It turns out I had a ton of competition. Leslie has a great reputation, and even though this isn't a big, full-time position, it was highly sought after. I spent the weekend checking email and my cell phone every 10 minutes, hoping for news. I finally sent off a, "Hey, not to seem corny or weird, but MAN do I want this job!" (not in those exact words, mind you) email. I heard back on Tuesday - I GOT THE JOB!

I have not been this excited about something in a really long time. I can.not.wait. I could go on and on even more, but let's just leave it at: this is the perfect job for me right now. I can't help feel that it's just an amazing opportunity, and - most important to me right now - it will be an incredible bunch of FUN. My husband doesn't get that (sadly) - he asked why I wanted the job so badly, and I said, "Oh! Because it would be so much fun!" And he just stood there - it simply does not compute with him. Your primary desire for a job is to have fun? What's that about? Oh sad, sad, sad, sad sad. What can I say, I married a scientist/CPA - what should I expect! ;-) Seriously, though, I love him.

So I can't wait to take and post about classes. That's one thing I'm most excited about. I've mentioned before that I could just take crafty classes every day and never get tired of it - I'm about to test that theory. I'm taking a plush class from her in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'll start training with her next week.

Eeeeps! I'm so excited! I'm all Jr. High Girl here, and I don't care. :-D