Beauty on Hold

Something always gets in the way!

I am so frustrated with the cards at hand, but luckily we just keep dealing another hand. No fold, not out of the game yet. Some surprising card is bound to pop up and come into play when you least expect it.

Yet again, I have to put my little dream of going back to school on hold. The school is in the next town, a few miles away and the car still is not fixed. No warranty on the transmission and little money in the bank, mamma has to make the call. Good thing I'm used to my ambitions going up in smoke. C'est la vie.

I'll always have that little notion to tickle the back of my brain. I'd love to be a top-notch hair dresser and esthetician some day. College will always be there for me later. It's the later that scares me a bit, because I was really fired up to start in March and now, all because of my rotten ol car, I have to put my life on hold yet again. Very frustrating.

I picked up a surprise card (my previous post) and am going to spend some time doing virtual-admin work. It was completely unexpected and perfect timing for that work to come my way when it did. That is the wonderful thing about life; just when you're dealt a shitty hand, you can count on something arriving just around the corner.

Where does this leave my beauty school blog? I'll just keep prattling on about updates I guess.
Maybe I'll win the lottery, then I can buy my own salon! Then I'd really have something interesting to write about!

The planets are aligning again!

I just got some unexpected great news. My brother offered me some virtual-admin work for me to type up from my home office. He needs people in various time zones so they can keep the work going 24/7. He has a company in London, U.K., 'Expedict'. Transcripts.

I am so stoked about this opportunity. This should work out perfect with my ambition to go back to school too. I was sweatin' on how much or, let's face it, how little I will get for 'stipends' with my financial aide student loan. I applied for a waitress position at a restaurant, but they can't fit me into their schedule on the dates/times I need because I would be low on the totem pole and that wouldn't be fair to the other girls.

Because I am a single mom, I am really hoping I'll find out that I have been approved for a grant or two. If I were in a better position, I wouldn't want a hand-out. But we could sure use a grant to start off my new career and new life as a Hair Stylist and Esthetician. I am very excited!

Wednesday Hump Day

Welp, looks like my wednesday plans took a dump, but I'm not completely 'f'd on this wednesday-hump-day. And if you need to ask why it's called hump day, that is because it is the day in the middle of the week, like the top of the hill, the hump, and the rest of the week is downhill from there.

I hope the rest of my week won't be downhill! Today I had to make a few calls and re-schedule my admissions appointment at my new school! I was apologetic and hoped this would not effect my first impression with her, that I had to reschedule, but she, 'Nancy', was so sweet and understanding and simply replied, "Hey, I understand completely. Stuff just happens."

I told her about my car's transmission taking a dump and I have been calling neighbors and knocking on doors just to try and find a ride into town, but that nothing has panned out yet. Told her I figured it was getting down to the wire and I'd better call. Told her I hated to do it, but "the planets just aren't aligning."
She laughed at that and said, "I know THAT one."

She seems like a very nice lady. I thanked her for her flexibility and told her I'd just keep her posted. We agreed to keep my admissions appointment 'open'/flexible since classes don't start yet anyway.

Now, I HANDED that mechanic my car keys this morning! He said he'll have it done by tonight. But, then again, the day before yesterday he said, "I'll work on it tomorrow." and he never showed....uh oh. I cut him slack because he is a good mechanic, he makes house calls, he works hard, and he charges CHICs very minimal labor....sometimes parts only. He's a sucker for a pretty face, ha ha ;-)

Baby-Step-Wednesday

Tomorrow I meet with the admissions and financial adviser at Phagans Cosmetology School in Newport, Oregon.
I am so excited! Off on an adventure to a whole new start to an exciting next phase of my life.

With life's quirky twists-n-turns, turns out I never went to college. Hadn't narrowed down what I want 'to be' when I grow up, or maybe I just haven't grown up. (that's another story for the Dr.Phil show!)

Have been home much of the past 13 years, with several jobs here and there in the meantime. Never really happy or settled in any particular career. Just love being home for my daughter, sending her off to school in the morning, picking her up at the bus stop on bad-weather days, making after school snacks for her while she muddles away at her homework and prattles on about how her day has gone. I am fortunate and happy to have been able to be home for her as much as I have. But, mamma needs a real career!

We watch a lot of t.v., maybe too much. One of our favorite shows is 'Tabatha's Salon Takeover'. I thought, "I could do that!" And so began another wild hair. There are so many ideas and ventures and different paths I have wondered down, but haven't followed through, or didn't have enough passion to follow through or simply gave up on myself and didn't believe I could really 'do it.'

Like my whole Real Estate fiasco. On the one hand, I am glad I dove in and got the books and course and studied all that junk. I was pleasantly surprised at my great scores on tests and showed some real promise. Then I let some idiosyncrasies of life get in the way and next thing ya know, that 'investment' is down the drain too. You buy the course and have to finish tests and get your license within a year to the day, or you have to start all over. So, money down the toilet for me. Ultimately, my heart doesn't feel into real estate anyway . . . . I can't see me doing that the rest of my life. Especially not since this latest wave of the economy.

Next I thought I'd just dive in and go back to school for the long haul. Go all the way, not just a specialized vocation. My long term goal was Doctor of Psychology! of all things, me, a doctor!
I over-analyze and deeply ponder all aspects of life a lot anyway, why not try my brain and insight into helping others. I decided I'd go for a masters in psychology then continue school for however long it takes. I went to the local community college, I picked out the courses I'd need. I took the entrance exams and scored so exceptionally well on all my tests that I could bypass a lot of the pre-requisites. I was VERY happy! I got stoked again.

But, I let life get in the way again. And as happy as I was to score better than I ever imagined I could, on the tests, maybe subconsciously, that was all I wanted. Just to know I 'could' do it.
I got scared. I thought about all the years and hours I'd be in school while my daughter (still pretty young at the time) would be going home to an empty house.
It's just the two of us here in Oregon and it's pretty hard not having many friends around to 'cheer you on', let alone, just physically around to share life and help through whatever comes up.

I tucked my PhD dreams away for another day way far off in my future. I can be one of those Grammas that you'll read about in the news someday that finally gets her Doctorate.

For now, this phase of my lfe, I will be a Hair Stylist and Esthetician. I am going for the double-up course. I love playing around with hair styles and working at keeping my wrinkles at bay off the face! This is going to be a blast to beauti-fy ladies (and men) for a living and make a lot of new friends along the way! Good times!

So, if you are in your 30's or 40's (I'll turn 40 this year) and you find yourself longing to go to school but think you can't - GO FOR IT! Just walk in that building and tell the receptionist you want to visit with someone about taking some classes. They were so helpful and friendly and excited to have me join their family! If you are unsure about the (seemingly) overwhelming steps it is going to take to reach that goal...they'll walk you through every step of the process and continue to help you along your journey. Follow-through, Follow-through, I think I can, I know I can!

Quickie

A quick get up and go design to smack around.
I'll get around to creating it tomorrow!