New Year, New Job

The New Year has brought with it a new job. My friend with the PR company that had given me a few projects to do last year has hired me full time. The pay is not what I was making as a dentist (goodbye, personal trainer! farewell, dual gym memberships and other extravagances!) but I’m grateful for this opportunity. My friend and I agreed that I’d work for him for six months and then re-evaluate. If things are going well, I will stay on. If not, I will leave with six months of great field experience. I should also have a better feel for where I want to go next—back to dentistry or onward to another career. I will say that so far I have not missed the dentistry.

I’d forgotten how mentally draining it is to start a new job full-time. I guess it’s because everything is new and takes your full concentration. The type of work is very different than what I am used to as well. A day at the dental office is very structured—you have appointments set and finite expectations of what you will do in the time given. In this PR office there are usually several projects going at once. You work on one thing for a while, then something else is given to you, or you may have to go back and revise something that you thought you had finished! I’m also learning the software and formats so it’s been doubly challenging. So far I’m enjoying it, though. My friend has also been a great mentor, so that’s fortunate.

For anyone who’s considered making a career change, I do have some advice.

1. Make sure that you’ve saved a financial cushion for yourself, because most likely you will have to start at the bottom of the ladder. This means less pay while you are learning your new trade. Hopefully you will be able to support yourself, but it will be a lot less stressful for you if you know you have some reserves available.
2. Don’t let that discourage you. I was making good money but wasn’t happy. I’d gladly take a pay cut in exchange for some bliss. I still believe that if you love what you do and work hard, the money will eventually come.
3. Use your social connections—friends and colleagues are your best resource. They are much more likely to take a chance on you than a total stranger would be.
4. Feel the fear and do it anyway. You never know until you try. If things work out, great. If they don’t—at least you now know that whatever you attempted is no longer an option. Isn’t that better than always wondering?
5. Don’t burn bridges! If things don’t work out in your new career, you want to be able to turn to the associates in your former career either to hire you back or recommend you to someone who can hire you.
6. Be humble and willing to learn. I was a doctor in my previous job, but in this one I am an apprentice. Taking initiative is fine, but I don’t need to be giving orders quite yet!

I guess that’s all for now. This blog has been great therapy for me, and even with the new job I intend to keep it going. Right now, however, I need to get back to work!

Looking Great in 2008

New Year’s Eve came and went without a love connection, but 2008 appears to be looking up. A straight male friend of mine is taking me to a party this week where he wants to introduce me to some single gay friends of his. Martin Luther King weekend I’m going to L.A. to visit a gay couple, and they are having a cocktail party to introduce me to some more men. Additionally, a high school friend of mine out there is going to recruit some bachelors on my behalf. Apparently, it takes a village to get me laid (apologies to Hillary Clinton).

Lord knows I can’t be trusted to do this on my own. Take tonight for example—I was going to dinner and a movie with a female friend of mine. I figured since I’d be sitting in the dark for most of the evening, a minimal amount of grooming was required. After awakening from an afternoon nap, I simply smoothed my hair down with a wet comb, threw on an old turtleneck sweater and jeans, and headed out. When we got to the movie theatre, the show was sold out. We weren’t interested in any of the other pictures, so my friend suggested we go to a neighborhood restaurant for a glass of wine.

When we got to the restaurant, I was dismayed. The place was loaded with gay men. Add a urinal and it could’ve been a Republican restroom. This wasn’t even a gay or gay owned business. When will I learn that being single is like being a celebrity? You can’t EVER afford to leave the house looking bad. If you’re a celebrity you will run into the paparazzi. If you’re single you’ll run into hot prospects who will see you looking like sh*t and NEVER want to kiss you. How sad that after 40 years I still haven’t learned this.

I guess that will be my New Year’s Resolution. I will NOT leave the house looking disheveled. Even if I’m just walking to the grocery down the street, I will primp. If my dear friends are going to expend effort to get me paired off, I can at least expend some effort to look presentable. And then, once I’ve met my soul mate and pledged my trough—I can totally let myself go.