Productivity....
Booooooom! The Chinese New Year arrived with a bang didn’t it? So much energy surrounding the Year of the Fire Horse! I do like the sound of her though….
I don’t know how much science there is in the horoscopes that go with the Chinese New Year, or indeed with the Western Zodiac signs, but I do know that I enjoy reading them from time to time. I also know, from first hand experience, that the moon does have an impact on behaviour. You only have to work in a school to identify when there is a full moon!
When I was a teenager I used to read the star sign forecasts pretty regularly. I felt a lot of connection to my sign (Pisces) and I still do think that I have a lot of the common Piscean traits. I find it interesting reading about who we get on with on the basis of their star signs, but obviously there is a lot more to it than the superficial 12 signs of the zodiac.
I think I turn more to ‘spiritual’ guidance when I am in periods of transition. There is a LOT of transition when you are a teenager isn’t there? Trying to work out who you are and where you fit in. Starting out as an adult, forming more relationships and setting out on a career. I feel like that is where I am now too. In a period of transition. Forming new friendships and maintaining the old ones, trying to forge a career path post teaching. Navigating the past and the present. I guess that is why I have been drawn to the forecasts for this New Year, much more than I normally would. I don’t think I am alone in this, my instagram timeline seemed to be full of people liking and reposting about the New Year. Maybe we are all feeling in need of some big shifts this year- be that personally, politically or otherwise? Or maybe we just want it to stop raining now.
Anyway, I digress. The point of this was going to be that I really felt a shift in energy over the last couple of days.
We had a couple of niggling jobs around the house completed (not by us I hasten to add, but by an excellent local handyman. The Gentleman Handyman of Whitstable- would 100% recommend) which has made day to day living easier. It’s funny how much of a difference something as small as a non-catching drawer and a non-wobbly mirror can make.
In a spate of ‘Fire Horse energy’ I have applied for another role, which would fit quite nicely into my new portfolio career (that sounds much fancier than it actually is!). I have to say I am enjoying the idea of choosing what I do and when I do it. I just need a few more options to choose from please and thank you. I also spent a very happy couple of hours building a spreadsheet for my accounts. So far I have only inputted an expense (ha!) but I am due to get my first payment very soon. Since I am waiting to hear about my business bank account application, I thought it would make sense to start tracking these things now. In my previous job I was sometimes known as the ‘data queen’ (much nicer than some of the other things I was called!) due to my love of a spreadsheet. In fact I developed and set up a whole raft of spreadsheets for tracking across the whole school. Conditional formatting was my favourite. It’s one part of my job that I do actually miss. Anyway it’s felt so good to be productive and get organised.
Another part of my old life that I was missing was getting dressed in something other than jeans. I mean I know I can wear whatever I like whenever I like, but I had fallen into a pattern of jeans and a very warm jumper. Don’t judge me - it’s been very cold! With the Estate Agency role there is a dress code and trainers are not allowed, jeans are discouraged. It’s very much Smart Casual. (In fact one of the interview questions was ‘what would you wear to carry out a viewing?’ I could have spent 4 hours talking that through!). It has been fun choosing my smart casual outfits and wearing some of the other clothes in my wardrobe. It was a shame it was so cold that I kept my coat on for each visit. And I will be honest that I swapped into trainers afterwards for our trips to garden centres and mattress shops.
Finally, a little highlight this week has been the PEG Whitstable exhibition. (PEG stands for the Profanity Embroidery Group). I have been before and it is both brilliant and bonkers and of course sweary. It was a good reminder that I want to be more creative this year. Here are a couple of highlights. Look away of you are easily offended. The theme was libraries.
How has your energy been this week? Have you experienced the Fire Horse? Or has it just passed you by?
By the way:
I can feel the energy in this post, Sarah! I love the embroidery - will definitely add that to my list for if I ever make it to Kent 😂 (we came exceptionally close this week, but our buyers pulled out... and we're back to the drawing board)