Monday, April 23, 2007

City Views, Country Dreams

Good Evening from New York.

It is so strange to think that this evening I know that my friends at this site will actually read what I am writing. I know that I am older than lots of you (eventually I will reveal more on my profile,) but for me, the blog format has the meaning of a diary. I have written at ... the other place, and will also here, as a way to record my day.

Before joining the designer company where I am now a manager of a shop, I took a self-funded sabbatical after leaving my prior employment in a law firm. I promise, details will follow.

During the sabbatical, that was planned to be at least one year, and lasted four (leaving me much poorer in this expensive city, but much cleansed and refreshed,) I did keep a diary, that I wrote each afternoon in a series of spiral notebooks. I wanted to capture what each of those stolen days was like, knowing that my allowing myself to take them was a show of strength, a foolhardy move, going against the grain, but ultimately, wonderful.

As I saw what I called my "slush fund" run down, especially after the stock market correction, I realized that I would have to return to employment, but wanted to do so in work that I wanted to do. Not just work that would pay bills. (Another feature of the sabbatical was realizing that I truly am not much of a consumer, which is a strange concept for someone managing a NYC retail operation,)

S0...I went back to work and stopped writing my diary. When I began writing at the other location, it was for me, as quick way to note my days. Some of my friends who have read those entries have told me how much I write about work. True. It is all true.

Over here in the land of purple, I am discovering just how many talents and areas of expertise we have to share. For me, this will truly enlarge the possibilities of writing a blog, and I think this is superb!

Early tomorrow, I will be off for a few days' off-site meetings with other store managers.

When I get back, I will check in on all of you, dear friends, and let you know a bit of what my meetings were like.

This is a diary with a difference.

Pleasant dreams. xo

15 comments:

  1. Welcome Frances! I think that you and I are the only ones up at this hour! I look forward to hearing more of your NYC stories. I have very fond memories of going to NYC by train when lived for three years just outside of Philadelphia in the 70's. That probably makes us close in age to one another! I loved NYC - what a place!

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  2. Hi Frances, good to be getting back to normal ie reading your blog with my first cuppa of the morning. Don't work too hard. Toady

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  3. Looking forward to hearing more about you, Frances, though I sort of feel I 'know' you already! x

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  4. What an amazingly wonderful experience for you to be able to have! Brave? Yes, but we only get one life. No dress rehearsals - we are living it and I admire you for taking the time out to live your life the way YOU want to! Can't wait to follow your journey with you...x

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  5. So glad you're here with us and will contiune your diary. How amazing to have 4 whole years of doing just as you wished. Now your job sounds very demanding I hope you do find time to relax and enjoy life.

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  6. Look forward to hearing about the years out what a great thing to do. Do you enjoy your job now? It always sounds as if it is tiring but satisfying when you write about it. You do realise that this room needs some serious decorating so time to enter into a little consumerism and indulge in that camera you have been promising US!!

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  7. really looking forward to learning more. you do write about work but its interesting!

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  8. Morning Frances
    Looking forward to hearing about life in the Big Apple again.

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  9. Hello Francis glad to see you in print again How are those ballet shoes selling?

    Look forward to your musings and thank you very much for your very kind comments

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  10. Love to hear your New York stories - bet you are not older than me - its good to be back to normal as such.
    Can picture you now and look forward to more about you and your past life!!

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  11. Matron has just popped in to tell you not to worry, the chat room has gone down temporarily owing to an error on Google which is preventing us cleaning out the fosses to make room for new posts!

    You can still blog away merrily here on your own page, and to leave comments on all the others.

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  12. Matron is visiting again with an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

    The chat-room is experiencing problems with overloading which we think is causing it to be marked as SPAM, which is in effect locking us all out :-

    So in the mean time: each day please look out for the post called ANNOUNCE NEW BLOGS HERE and put your announcements in as comments on that post.

    This will still leave space for one personal post per person which we can all comment on.

    This is purely a temporary measure, we are keen to get the chatroom back to the weird and wonderful way it was going before - we are looking into various options at the moment (by the way, have you noticed that option is an anagram of potion) - WesterWitch! put down that cauldron!

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  13. Wow! look at all those lovely familiar names, and my day is made reading your blog from NY - as always Frances, keep us informed.

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  14. I love your different diary Franaces, it is so great to be in New York with you.
    Love Blossom x

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  15. Hello Frances,
    I just love to hear about your daily life in New York. I am so glad you are here with all of us.
    Camilla.xxx

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