Rockin’ on the High Seas

You know where I’m going.  Florida.  Miami.  Then on a big ship and on the high seas for five days / four nights.  Without my husband or kids, but Rick Springfield.  Yes, on a cruise.  There will be *5* concerts, photo sessions, and many many cocktails.  No worries, the rest of my family is safe at home enjoying their time without Mommy staying up late on the weekend and eating ice cream for breakfast.  (Oh wait, I let them do that sometimes too!)

This is last years cruise that I couldn’t go on…

While away without a laptop (ZOMG!) or any real Internet access to speak of, I will have time to read, relax, lounge on the beach, stay up late, sleep in late, and get my shit together.  Sometimes people need that.  Collect their thoughts, sort through them, and move forward.  Good thing for me I hit a ‘rockstar awakening’ a few weeks ago both personally and professionally, and this vacation could not come at a more perfect time.

My kids are healthy.  My husband is amazing.  My daughter is so intelligent.  My son is talking more and more.  My mom is *happy* for the first time in a long time.

My company is doing very well.  I have office space of my own for the first time in a very long time.  I have started hacking down vines and building my own path again. I’m able to volunteer my time and knowledge with several local business groups.  The purple stripes are back in my hair.

I will miss all of this on my vacation, but at the same time I get to finish a thought, work out ideas, make new friends, and maybe – just maybe – I will get to meet (not just get my picture taken with…) a rockstar I have been completely crazy about since 1981 & the Working Class Dog album.  Some would say I was late to the game – but I was 10 years old!  (Rick is playing the entire WCD album start to finish in order at one of the concerts on the ship.)  I now own every song he has ever released and have been to 15 concerts.

Anyone that I have fallen in love with their work, I’ve been able to ‘friend’ to some degree with social media tools.  Not just friend as in “I can follow your updates & stalk you” but truly befriend them.  Matthew Ebel and JC Hutchins come to mind (both *amazing* artists in their respective crafts.)  Not having access to Rick Springfield is actually kind of strange to me.

Ok, I’m done rambling.  I am done packing, now I just have to make a poster for my cabin door.  Yeah, it’s a sickness….

Talk to you all when I get back! (And hopefully see you at Web 2.0 NYC!)

Cancun Here I Come!

Island BeachThat’s the plan anyhow!  I haven’t had a vacation in almost five years and I love the Caribbean… warm weather, clear blue water, sandy beaches… a big improvement over New Jersey beaches that’s for sure!  Add that to the idea of no alarm clocks and lots of fruity drinks, and you’ve got the perfect getaway for me.  I plan on going, and I plan on someone else paying for it.  How, you ask?  Well, last night at the regional Arbonne meeting I attended it was announced that Cancun is the company rewards trip for 2009.  HELLO!!! I want to go, and I like the fact that I’ll have to work for it.

I’ve not really mentioned me being a consultant with Arbonne here in the past, well, because it seemed strange for me to ‘mix’ my in-person life and my ‘online’ life.  But then I realized that it’s all the same to me, it’s who I am!  I’m not a pushy sales-type person, and still feel like as soon as I open my mouth and say what I’m doing, people will shut me out.  That hasn’t been the case, I’m thinking because the products are just that good and it’s the right time for a lot of people to hear about the opportunities available.  What I need to do is reach out *TO YOU* and help as many people as I can to earn their own trip to Cancun so I can sit on one of those beach chairs and have a fruity drink with you.  Online I’m very outgoing and personable, but in person I’m shy and very quiet – until I get to know someone, then I’m my usual crazy self.  Part of joining Arbonne was so that I could force myself to break out of my shell, meet people, and earn my own money on my own schedule.  So far so good, but I still have a LOT of work to do.  I know how to do this, I’ve been a network marketer in the past, and earned trips, but that was BC – before children.  I had a much wider social circle and worked full-time outside the house, so I was exposed to hundreds of people every week.  Now my life revolves around the bus pickup/drop off times, nap time, and bedtime.  Most of the human interaction I get is right here between my keyboard and your computer monitor.  I’m out to change that!  I know how to meet people, but have very limited opportunities to actually get out of the house and MEET people.

The neighbor I joined Arbonne with/under has already reached management (in two months!) and I need to get on the ball.  For ME.  I’m not a competitive person in so far as competing with others to win, but I am very goal-oriented if the right carrot is dangled in front of me.  Cancun works for me!  So I need a plan, a checklist to get out and meet people and share this opportunity.  More importantly, I need introductions – online or in person – to connect me with people that need to make a difference in their paycheck, self-esteem, and to share drinks with in Cancun!!!

[tags]arbonne[/tags]