experience/skills

most of the items listed under interests are things that i have done, enjoy and am good at, but there are a bunch of other things related to my career history that aren't on that list. some of them i enjoy, others, not so much for a variety of reason. here they are in roughly chronological order:

• bookselling
• bookbuying
• product merchandising
• helping customers find the right books
• copywriting
• information architecture
• advertising writing
• creative brainstorming
• technical writing
• managing people
• doing budgets
• performance reviews
• staff discipline
• content strategy
• content planning
• editorial calendaring
• concepting website ideas
• social media marketing (still learning but enjoy what i know)
• search engine marketing and optimization (same as above)
• contract negotiations
• vendor relations
• agency management
• buisness planning
• networking (okay i lied, i'm not good at this)
• event planning
• event organizing
• event hosting

the items highlighted in dark grey are the ones i really, really don't like. the ones in lighter grey i don't totally enjoy, but don't hate. i guess some of it breaks down to this: i prefer to lead by example than through authority, i would rather dream up party ideas than have to make them happen (or even attend) and most things that have to do with budget or actions that i am responsible for but have no authority over make me want to run (which makes me better as my own boss than working as a cog). and as for what i enjoy with regards to work: creativity, autonomy, and peer-based connection.

before i go i also wanted to delve a little deeper into the arts and crafts sections of my interest list. i have been really interested in arts and crafts created by recycling old materials lately. take gnomeo for example, a twist on the whole sock monkey  thing. and the bird, below, made completely from the pages of a j. crew catalog and a little bit of scotch tape (if only i could figure out how to make him more durable). but there are a ton of other potential projects like these:

 

• sock creatures
• paper sculptures
• collage
• mosaic
• decoupage
• mixed media
• window farms
• remade clothes
• photo cards
• shadow boxes
• handmade paper
• lumieres
• quilts and pillows
• collaged notebooks
• found object jewelry
• metal garden decorations

and the list goes on...

 

the question then becomes, how do i make time for all of this inspiring activities and is there some way to create a career by combining the things i love in a way that can support me creatively, spiritually and financially?

 

i'm going to need more than a week to sort all this out, so it looks like "personal style" is going to get pushed out a bit. because let's face it, what i want to do with my life is way more important than how i look doing it no matter what billy crystal says. and yes, i think the whole spirituality think that i so coyly slid in there hoping you wouldn't notice is going to need a week of its own as well.