Digitally Diva

It’s way past my bed time and it’s officially tomorrow…My 1st Day of Re-Employment!! I’ve been Unemployed…aka between jobs…for two weeks, though I am technically still employed since I’ve been working part time for the Sheep supporting OnRez, the e-commerce site for Second Life.
When I wake up in the morning (less than 6 hours from now) I will be off to my first day of work at the job that I left exactly one year ago to venture into a career based in Second Life. It sucks that I will no longer have the flexibility of working on my own schedule and remotely from Home or any location with a solid wi-fi connection, but I’m looking forward to getting some structure and stability back in my life.
It’s been quite a year! I’ve made some big decisions about my future that I fully intend to continue to work on and I think that returning to the office and a regular 9-5 is just what I need right now to restructure my life and focus on my goals.
I joined the gym last Monday and I managed to go twice since! I would have loved to go a few more times, but I ended up going to MD mid week with Mr. Diva to see his sister, who just turned 30. We had a nice visit and even tho it totally cut into ME time, it was nice to see her again.
I should really get to bed now. Probably not a good idea to show up groggy on day one. I’ll be quite busy answering everyone’s questions about why I am back, where I have been and why I never visited, but then in a close knit office like the one I an returning to word travels fast so I am sure the news has already spread. It’s exciting to be retuning, having been some what of a Rock Star before I left and it will feel good to be back among my second family, who I am sure will welcome me back in as if I had never left. I just hope it all comes back to me quickly…like the whole riding a bike analogy…I’m anxious to jump right in and having been away for a year I’m sure a lot has changed, but I also think I am new and improved and I’m ready to focus and kick ass once again!

Well, it’s been a while since I wrote about my real life. So much has happened in just the last 16 days. Life is always throwing these little curve balls…just when everything looks as though it’s mapped out and I get my mind set that’s when something unexpected comes along.
I arrived in Florida on June 6th to visit my BFF & podcast co-host Kat Glimmer. I had mentally prepared myself to consider living in FL after Kat asked me to share her home. At first I wasn’t sure I would like it. Florida is hot and other then her. I’d have no friends…but that isn’t much of an excuse since back in NJ I only have a few close friends and we are all so busy with individual lives that it’s not often we even get the chance to enjoy each others company.
About 48 hours in I was pretty sure I was up for the move. I’ve been feeling a lot of anxiety since entering my thirties and feeling like I need to make some life changes – get back on a healthy diet, sleeping, going to the gym, socializing “offline” – you know, all those normal things we neglect. So, this relocation was my first attempt to get my life back on track.
That’s when life decided to play with me – Three days after arriving I received a call from my boss advising that they were cutting my position and I would no longer be employed full time. The first time in my life since entering the world of employment that I would not have a job. I *had* been expecting this for some time, but I was just hoping that it wouldn’t happen until I was ready for it to.
For the past year I’ve been working for the Electric Sheep Company, a start up company which works in virtual worlds such as Second Life, which was my area of focus. I met a lot of great people, I had the opportunity to work on so many great projects and make virtual history. I was exposed to things I never imagined, I felt so special to be part of such an innovative company and in Second Life I felt like a total rockstar! Not only did I love working with them, but the job gave me the freedom to work remotely – which was a major plus in my plans to relocate.
I happened to find a couple positions that I think I would have been perfect for and would have allowed me to stay working remotely, but sadly they haven’t called me and I don’t have the patience or savings to sit and wait and continually hope that they will see my resume and realize they can’t live with out me, so the plans I was making to relocate were pushed to the back of my mind, while I focused on finding a new job. Sadly, not much in Orlando was available to me…at least not making the salary I want and need to take care of my financial responsibilities.
So, I heard my old job was available, the one I left to venture off into the virtual world. I called up my old boss and broke the news. The next day I got a call from HR offering me the position back. I have to say I am excited to go back – the office I worked in was great, the people awesome, and the job itself was something I was really good at -when I put my heart into it. I am a little upset that I am forced to return to NJ and feel like I’ll be stuck there for a while, but I think once I get back into the office and the 9-5 schedule I’ll be fine. I’ve got a lot to do in NJ anyways – I’m going to sell my condo and work on getting back in shape…all those things I’ve been wanting to do, the things I thought I’d already be doing, the things I’ve been putting off too long.
I know Kat is sad to see me go, but I think we both know we will be reunited soon, if not as roomies at least for a few more girls trips this year!! Besides, she too needs to make some changes and get her but back North!! (I know she is reading this and she can expect me to get on her case about it very very soon!)
So, here I sit in the Orlando Airport. My flight is delayed and it’s possible this is a sign that I shouldn’t be going….if I hadn’t seen a psychic adviser a few days ago who assured me that I was moving in the right direction and confirmed for me all the things I needed to do for *me*, then I’d have hailed a cab and headed back to Saint Cloud.
This post seems so incomplete and I’m sure its just the distractions of the people around me – maybe the chick next to me, reading along… or the little girl using my chair arm as a jungle gym. *sigh*

I’ll check back soon…maybe even in-flight, but for now – I just needed to dump some of these thoughts out to make room for more positive thoughts.