ntively to each person’s story. As it got closer to my turn to speak, I felt my emotions beginning to well up inside me. I was becoming bitter about the whole process of interview/interviewee. I had tried “dressing for success” and felt my left toe going numb in my too-tight heels, the air being squeezed out of mIt’s been nine years now since I retired from my full-time career of court reporting. I’d been a reporter for 23 years and was trying to find just the right part-time job for my interests and abilities.

In my search, I had taken a part-time job for a veterinary clinic working in the kennel area because I dearly love animals. After five months, however, this proved to be too strenuous a job for me. I loved caring for the animals, but most of my time was spent cleaning the kennels and bedding, and washing and disinfecting food bowls and floors. On Sundays I was alone all morning sometimes with 25 dogs and 5 cats to care for and not all the animals were friendly and happy to be there. In fact, most of them wanted to go home so badly, the barking never stopped. I’d spend time reading their information sheets aloud and telling them how many “big sleeps” it would be before they got to go home. I was so exhausted from standing on the cement all day, I finally decided to try something else I felt I would be more physically suited to.

I answered ads galore and visited scores of employment agencies, all to no avail. I was confused as to which direction to take next so I attended a drop-in support group for job seekers and listened attentively to each person’s story. As it got closer to my turn to speak, I felt my emotions beginning to well up inside me. I was becoming bitter about the whole process of interview/interviewee. I had tried “dressing for success” and felt my left toe going numb in my too-tight heels, the air being squeezed out of my

arly love animals. After five months, however, this proved to be too strenuous a job for me. I loved caring for the animals, but most of my time was spent cleaning the kennels and bedding, and washing and disinfecting food bowls and floors. On Sundays I was alone all morning sometimes with 25 dogs and 5 cats to care for and not all the animals were friendly and happy to be there. In fact, most of them wanted to go home so badly, the barking never stopped. I’d spend time reading their information sheets aloud and telling them how many “big sleeps” it would be before they got to go home. I was so exhausted from standing on the cement all day, I finally decided to try something else I felt I would be more physically suited to.

I answered ads galore and visited scores of employment agencies, all to no avail. I was confused as to which direction to take next so I attended a drop-in support group for job seekers and listened attentively to each person’s story. As it got closer to my turn to speak, I felt my emotions beginning to well up inside me. I was becoming bitter about the whole process of interview/interviewee. I had tried “dressing for success” and felt my left toe going numb in my too-tight heels, the air being squeezed out of m

are for and not all the animals were friendly and happy to be there. In fact, most of them wanted to go home so badly, the barking never stopped. I’d spend time reading their information sheets aloud and telling them how many “big sleeps” it would be before they got to go home. I was so exhausted from standing on the cement all day, I finally decided to try something else I felt I would be more physically suited to.

I answered ads galore and visited scores of employment agencies, all to no avail. I was confused as to which direction to take next so I attended a drop-in support group for job seekers and listened attentively to each person’s story. As it got closer to my turn to speak, I felt my emotions beginning to well up inside me. I was becoming bitter about the whole process of interview/interviewee. I had tried “dressing for success” and felt my left toe going numb in my too-tight heels, the air being squeezed out of m

the cement all day, I finally decided to try something else I felt I would be more physically suited to.

I answered ads galore and visited scores of employment agencies, all to no avail. I was confused as to which direction to take next so I attended a drop-in support group for job seekers and listened attentively to each person’s story. As it got closer to my turn to speak, I felt my emotions beginning to well up inside me. I was becoming bitter about the whole process of interview/interviewee. I had tried “dressing for success” and felt my left toe going numb in my too-tight heels, the air being squeezed out of m

ntively to each person’s story. As it got closer to my turn to speak, I felt my emotions beginning to well up inside me. I was becoming bitter about the whole process of interview/interviewee. I had tried “dressing for success” and felt my left toe going numb in my too-tight heels, the air being squeezed out of my lungs in my fashionable leather belt and my ear lobes stinging with pain from my upscale earrings. My son had commented to me as he saw me going to one more job interview, “Mom, if you don’t like wearing those clothes, why do you do it?” I had to admit, I had no good answer for him. “I have to look good for my job interview” was all I could manage to mumble. In the support group, when it came time for me to speak, I almost broke out in tears of frustration. I railed against the 8:00 to 5:00 time card mentality of the companies I had applied to work for. The facilitator ended my monologue with, “Why do you want to work for anybody else? It sounds like you want to work for yourself.”

Ahhhh, the clarity of those words was like putting a piece of duct tape over my mouth. I was suddenly speechless. He had said it all for me.

“What Color Is Your Parachute?” was a book that a job counselor had recommended that I read. She said I was unfocused as to exactly what I wanted in a new career direction. I found a copy of the book at the library and devoured every page and did every exercise hoping to uncover my hidden interests and unknown skills.

Time and again after each exercise I came up with the exact same three passions: