Life is all about how you handle Plan B…..

“Plan A is always my first choice.  You know, the one where everything works out to be “happily ever after.”  But more often than not, I find myself dealing with the upside-down, inside-out version where nothing goes as it should.  It’s at this point that the real test of my character comes in…

Do I sink or swim?  Do I wallow in self-pity and play the victim or simply shift gears and make the best of the situation?  The choice is mine.  After all…life is all about how you handle Plan B.” – Suzy Toronto

And here we are, one week later, and what a roller coaster ride week this has been.  Since last Tuesday when I found out I was losing my job, I have jumped full force into applying for any viable positions.  That adds up to 28 so far, 3 of which I have already received rejections.  Neither of these things, the applying or the rejections have had much affect on how I am feeling, that seems to come from my immediate surroundings.  Things are still pretty tense here and the atmosphere can change in an instant.  Monday was very difficult and at times I felt like I could not breathe.  I felt defeated in both mind and body.  Thankfully I have some close friends I can reach out to and confess my feelings of sadness, inadequacy, uncertainty, and fear.  Just being able to vocalize things helps with the release.  After saying these things I was able to release them and move on.  Tuesday was much better.  It was as if the dark cloud had lifted and I could stand upright again.  Nothing changed from Monday to Tuesday except the way I felt about things.  On Monday I allowed myself to feel badly and acknowledged that this was scary and uncertain and that I do not have the answers.  After letting that run its course, and releasing it, Tuesday I could face forward.  As the above quote says, you cannot allow yourself to wallow in self-pity, but I do think that everyone should be allowed a little roll in it now and then.  Feel it, own it, release it, and that is exactly what I did. 

So, now here we are, on Thursday. I currently have no active prospects of employment which continues to make me nervous, but not fretful.  I have started making a list and scheduling things for myself to do the first week, which makes me feel a little better.  While I am still employed here, I am limited to some of the resources available.  There is not a lot I can do right now, aside from online applications.  Once my days are available I will be able to utilize the career center at UNC-Charlotte and the recourses at the DES.  I may also go to Central Piedmont.  As an alumnus I believe I am still able to use their career services.    

Now that I have covered my personal current events, let’s spend a minute talking about the recent events onboard the Carnival Triumph.  Since I am an avid cruiser many people have commented on the situation and asked me about it.  It was a horrible situation for the guests & crew, I have no doubts, but I would not label it a tragedy.  Would I want to be stuck in the middle of the ocean like that, without hot water, warm food, or toilets?  Absolutely not!  But, let’s look at the bigger picture here.  Not a single person lost their life.  There was a fire, on a ship, in the middle of the ocean.  This truly could have been a tragedy.  A fire in itself is deadly, but when you have a captive audience such as this situation presented, things could have been horrific.  Had the fire fighting systems not been effective, this ship could have been completely engulfed and the people onboard would have had nowhere to run to escape.  Put yourself in those two scenarios.  Which seems more appealing, a week of misery, or burning to death in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico? 

We can all say things such as “this should not have happened” but the truth of the matter is; things do happen.  Such is life.  Back to my original opening statement.  Life is all about how you handle Plan B.  The fire happened and the ship was disabled.  Now it’s about how you make the best of what you have and for Carnival to learn from what happened and do what they can for the affected guests.  What Carnival has done to assist those onboard?  All passengers were refunded all of their onboard expenses (aside from gift shop purchases & casino charges) and the cruise fare was refunded.  When the ship finally made it back, guests were able to choose various methods of transportation home, food options, hotel rooms, and were also offered extra days in hotels if they would like to stay.  Additionally, Carnival will offer another cruise, free of charge, to replace this one.  (Just one note, this happened on the last day at sea, so the cruise itself was nearly over). On top of all that, all guests are receiving $500 compensation.  No, I would not want to be in that situation, but there are many worse situations to be in.  Over 4,000 people survived a ship fire.  The safety measures in place to extinguish the fire worked to perfection.  All of these people are now at home, alive.  No fire- Plan A.  Fire extinguished and everyone safe- Plan B. Plan B worked!

The one thing I know for sure is that I have no idea what is going to happen in the upcoming days, weeks, or even months.  What I must do is be ready to tackle the challenges the future presents and trust that as long as I keep my eyes open and focused on my goals, I will turn this situation into a success.  It’s time for my Plan B. 

“Closing time, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end...”

I had already started this weeks’ entry when things in my life suddenly took a drastic turn, so let’s get to that first. 

I decided on the title for today’s blog based on how I am choosing to see the way things have changed.  I mentioned in my first post about my unhappiness with my current job; now that’s all coming to a close.  I found out on Tuesday that I will be losing my job at the end of the month.  In truth, I have been discreetly looking for other employment for quite some time, but due to the huge shortfall of available jobs in this economy and my lack of formal education my search has thus far been unsuccessful.  Additionally, since I did have a job, I was quite picky about what I even applied for.  Perhaps that has kept me from some great opportunity.  Well, that is no longer the case.  I have been freed from that self imposed barrier and am now opening my search to include many other opportunities. 

In the past I would be in melt down mode right about now, but strangely enough, I’m not.  Yes, I am apprehensive, nervous, and scared but I am also feeling a huge relief at the same time.  This has been a toxic environment for years and getting out, at whatever the cost, is the right thing to do.  I do not regret anything that has happened to put me in this situation.  Of course, if I still don’t have a job in six months and am asking my friends to lend me a couch, I may feel differently, ha ha ha. 

Being as many others have been in this same situation since the economic melt down in 2008, I am going to look to others for help both psychologically and for ways to minimize the time I am unemployed.  I am also going to document my challenges, feelings, successes, and failures during this process here, in this blog.

When I ended my first blog post, I mentioned that my life was in the midst of some changes and I was already asking myself “What now?”  Well, maybe this is the Universes’ way of getting me ready for what lies ahead.  Whatever it is, I believe that finally things are going to turn for me.  This is the beginning of the rest of my life, and a wonderful life it is going to be!

Now, what else can we chat about today? 

Since I mentioned cruising tips in my initial post- let’s get to one.  I think one of my top time savers is – repack as you go.  Anyone who has been on a cruise is aware of how small the cabins are.  What some people aren’t aware of is just how much storage space you really have, if you just utilize it.  When you get onboard, sure you want to jump right into having fun and unpacking isn’t fun.  The problem is that after a week of fun, you’ve got stuff everywhere, suddenly it is 11:00 pm, the night before debarkation, and the guy is at the end of your hall picking up luggage and panic strikes.  If you will take the time at the beginning to unpack & get things organized you will thank yourself later.  After getting onboard, having some lunch & watching the sail-away, I head to the cabin to unpack.  If you have packed correctly, you can pretty easily get everything out & put away.  (I’ll address packing at some point in the future.)  Once your luggage is unpacked, stow it under your bed.  Now- here’s the helpful part- as you wear things & take them off, pull out your suitcase & repack them. It’s as simple as that.  It takes no more time to put things away in your suitcase than it does back into a drawer or on hangers and now you won’t have to fuss with it at the end of the week.  Try this next time and instead of having to skip dessert & run back to your cabin to pack that last night you can sit and have coffee and enjoy your evening stress free.  This sounds simple but even experienced cruisers often haven’t thought of this. 

Okay, I think that is going to be it for today.  I will be back with another post next week, unless something breaks between now and then.  If there are any significant updates on my current life changes, I’ll let you know.   J

TELL ME ABOUT IT………..

What makes me so special that I think others care to read anything that I have to say?  Absolutely nothing, which is why someone may read it, for no other reason than to say, “What in the world is she talking about and why is that important?”  This could be entertainment for some of you for that reason alone. 

Why have I decided to start this blog?  As silly as it sounds, because my teacher told me to.  I am currently in a class in which our professor told us that we should investigate getting ourselves a website. Then he offered extra credit.  Ding, ding, ding!  Blog creation became an absolute necessity.  Another thing he said, the definition of innovation is- knowing what other people want before they even know they want it- or something very similar.  So, maybe I’m being innovative by knowing that you want to read this even before you know it.  J

What is this blog going to be about?  In short, I am not sure yet.  The longer version, this is going to be a work in process.  I will probably start with random things going on in my life and throw in some travel information.  One thing that people tend to ask me about most is for tips on preparing for cruise travel.  I spend way too much money on traveling, cruising especially, so maybe I will consider that a price I have to pay to help others.  That excuse is no worse than many of the others I’ve convinced myself are plausible. 

 How often will I post updates to my blog?  Hopefully, quite often.  In researching information about how to successfully maintain a blog site, one of the things that are important is keeping new, fresh, and updated content.  I really don’t know that I consider myself to be new, fresh, or updated.  Now, doesn’t this sound like fun?  My initial goal is weekly.  

Why did I choose “seven is a crowd” as my URL?  Because it’s the truth!  Seven is not only a crowd, it’s crowded.  How do I know?  I live it.  Every. Single. Day.  Seven = my (mostly) adult daughter, her canine fur-child, my three canine fur children, my feline child, and myself.  Seven.  How many are seven?  TOO MANY!

Now, how to start?  I remember hearing a line some time back about the best place to start is at the beginning.  Was that from the Wizard of Oz?  Anyway, the beginning, it was 1903 and the middle of a sweltering summer….  Oh, okay, maybe not THAT far back.  How about I just give you an overview?  I’m just over four decades old, I have seven souls living under my roof, and I am in a dead end job, so I am in college at University of North Carolina at Charlotte majoring in accounting.  I have successfully raised a daughter, whom I am extremely proud of, and I am in that weird place in my life where I ask “What now?” 

The answer to the “what now” question will come, and as it does, we can take the journey together…..shall we?