I haven’t posted anything but podcast updates here for a while, so let’s fix that!

 

Here is a brief update on both my professional and personal life:

 

Professionally I am…

Preparing for a six month apprenticeship at Classical Conversations! I am super excited about this. I interviewed for a marketing position there two weeks before Thanksgiving and just a few days later was offered the job. At Classical Conversations I will be taking over their social medias, building landing pages, running their email campaigns, creating sales funnels, and coming up with creative ways to get more people engaged with their brand. It’s going to be great!

 

I have already been given access to their Hubspot account so that I can get a feel for the platform. It has been fun poking around that site and learning how to build landing pages, emails, and sales funnels. Super thankful for the opportunity to familiarize myself with a few things before I come in for my first day of work.

 

Additionally, I’ve been pushing myself creatively the past several days via another Praxis daily blogging challenge (for the 12 days of Christmas). Trying to daily blog while packing for a coast-to-coast move, keeping up with Christmas activities, staying on top of my podcast and weekly blog, and attempting to do things with everyone who wants to see me before I leave next week is somewhat intense, but I’ve not missed a day yet! Plus, thanks to a new platform called Yours.org, I’ve even made $81 along the way by posting some of my daily content on there. You can view my profile and post list here.

 

Personally I am…

Running like crazy! I am now officially a week away from my big coast-to-coast road trip. That trip will take me from my home in Washington state to my first-ever apartment in North Carolina, where Classical Conversations is located. In fact, at this exact time one week from now, I will probably be throwing the last things into my Honda Element and hitting the road with my mom for the next 8 days.

 

How do I feel about all of this? Strangely good, especially when you consider the fact that a year ago I said I never wanted to live outside the Pacific Northwest. A lot can change in a year, I guess. Really though, it helps that the job sounds absolutely amazing, the people have all been really nice, and the town I am moving to is a very similar size to my current one. Plus, I will still have forests, hiking trails, some mountains, and even several friends within just a couple hours drive. On top of that, I will be two hours away from the ocean! I have never lived so close to the coast! That will be cause for many fun road trips, I am sure.

 

In the meantime, I have social engagements and library work basically every day this week. The librarians were a little surprised that I chose to work clear up until Christmas. I was slightly surprised that they were surprised. I’ve been there for 13 years; I’m not exactly anxious to drop my employment any sooner than I must. I love that place and the people in it. It feels really strange and surreal that Friday will be my last day working there. At our Christmas party last week they made a big announcement about that and gave me a card signed by the entire staff and $50 of Amazon credit. They are so sweet! I asked them if they had hired for my position yet, to which they answered no, partly due to the fact that they will soon be hiring an Adult Services Librarian and aren’t sure about the budget yet. Then our administrator added, “Basically, that just means you are irreplaceable.” our Youth Services Librarian nodded in agreement. My heart melted. I will miss them, too.

 

Of course, I will miss my friends and family here, too. I know a lot of amazing people in this area! Thanks to the joys of digital media and webcams, however, I know that we will stay in touch. I have enough friends scattered across the nation that I’m quite used to long-distance friendships. While one set of friends transitions into the internet, another set of friends will open up in person. Being far from family will be weird, though. It will be strange to not instantly shout “HELLO!” when I enter the house and exchange “Hey! Look at this!” moments with my brother. We’ll still be sure to stay in touch, though!

 

So that’s where my life is at these days. How are you?