If I can just make it through the day. . .

Tomorrow I have an Education Day for work. Basically, I will get to sit in a hotel conference room and listen to people talk about stuff that I already know. Although, I do have hope of learning something new and/or meeting people from our company and making connections. The problem is, after going to countless Education Days in the 7 years I have been in this industry, never once has one of them ever really given me stuff I can use. I get it, though-it’s hard to make an Education Day that can cater to everyone. You’d be hard pressed to find people that have been doing my job for as long as I have at the level I’m at. There is a very high turnover rate and it’s just because this job is hard to “get”. Most people never make it past the 18 month learning curve. If they are stubborn enough to figure it out and persevere, then they are the type of people that will move on in a few years-usually to become an advisor themselves. I have never had such aspirations. I like the idea of my job. I am very good at my job. It actually pains me a bit to think of leaving, as I worked very hard for my Series 7 and I take all my [very specific] knowledge with me. However, I know , for my mental health, I really need to move on and find ME. The hard part being, I have no clue what I want to do and being unemployed for any period of time scares the hell out of me.

I digress.

So. I will be out of the office tomorrow and that is the beginning of being out for FIVE DAYS!! Woo hoo! Ed arrives Saturday morning and already we have a jam-packed schedule:

10:45 AM: Ed arrives

12:00 PM: I take his lazy as to the bank to add him to our joint account. (as I will be in charge of his finances whilst he is in college)

12:45 PM: I take Ed to get a passport photo because he was too lazy to do it himself weeks ago.

3:40 PM: Harry Potter with Michael, Tim and Jeff.

9:00 PMish: Robert’s Bday party.

And that’s just Saturday. Sunday we are going to see No Doubt! I wasn’t planning on buying tickets for this concert. When they came out, I had just bought tickets for 3 other shows. Michael is a tolerant man, but even he has his limits. I can’t help it, though! Live music is my favorite thing! One of the reasons I move to Seattle is so that I could live in a city that is almost always on every tour schedule. I haven’t really been disappointed yet. As Tim said the other day “It must be nice that Jenny Lewiscomes here every other month” to which I replied “Yes. It is”. In any case, a month or so ago, I got one of my many daily emails about upcoming concerts and saw that No Doubt still had tixs left AND it was on one of the days Ed was going to be here. SOLD! My very first concert was No Doubt. Dawn took me. It was when we were first getting to know each other, trying to become friends. I will always remember how awesome that whole night was. Now, it’s not Ed’s first concert, but it’s the first concert he and I are going to together, so that’s something! Once he gets here, we decided that we are going to become part of the local music scene and try to go to at least 2 or 3 local shows a month. Although No Doubt is not a local band, this will be our inaugural concert.

Monday brings the real reason Ed is here: Freshman Orientation. He is required to go to this. He gets to sign-up for his classes, stay in one of the dorms and [hopefully] meet some friends. I am going too. I will be attending Parent Orientation. My intent is to get every bit of information available to us. While Ed is required to stay on campus Monday night, Parents are required to get a life, or, as it says on the agenda “Explore Seattle”. I made the decision to rent a hotel room Monday night. We are done for the day at 7:30 PM on Monday and required to be back at 8:30 AM the next day. I have no intention of sitting in traffic, just to get home at 8:30 PM and then turn around and have to leave at 7 AM the next morning. No thanks. So, I got a room and will plan to “Explore Seattle” by sitting at Charlies and bothering Jeff.

And then, just like that, Ed will be gone. He leaves at 6:55 AM on Wednesday (sorry Ed). I will go to work. Things will go back to normal. I will then begin the countdown to San Francisco. Countdowns to the next fun event in my life are all I have at the moment.

I’ll take it.