The conversations I have had with myself and those around me this week have really influenced me in phenomenal ways. When I think about the fact that I am leaving North Carolina in 5 days for the next chapter in this adventure, I reflect on what I have learned and how I have grown over the past 8 weeks. I honestly feel as though I have learned more about myself and what I am striving to accomplish these past 2 months than I have in the past 2 years. I have had more time to reflect and slow my mind down. I feel I have regained focus on who Sheila Hill is and what I believe my purpose in life might be based on my strengths, beliefs and values. I am currently taking the stepping stones to get there. I feel like I made the right choice walking through the doors presented to me and I am happy with where I am at. I realize I can always turn around and go the other way if it just isn't working!
I have a huge agenda the next 3-5 months and am so amazingly excited for it! I am leaving for Atlanta on Saturday to start the first leg of my second journey. I am living with a friend's mother for the month of August and am really looking forward to my time in Georgia and also traveling Alabama. I will be traveling a lot, but that is how I will get to see everything and meet people! I will also be spending a weekend in Myrtle Beach and a weekend in Tennessee. I think the month of August is going to fly by.
Next stop is in the air, but I am working on a definite plan for September. I will definitely be living life by the seat of my pants, but that is what I love. I have some ideas of what I might be doing, but stay tuned...
October is definitely Florida for the entire month. My goal is to see a ton of customers down there and also enjoy the beaches on the weekends. Hopefully hurricanes won't disrupt my plan!
I have the idea that I might need to settle down in November and at least get an apartment somewhere, but that will be determined when I feel like I want to do that. I am in zero rush at this point, as a tent sounds more appealing.
December I have a couple of vacations planned and then there is my birthday and the holidays. The rest of my year is tentatively planned, but it sounds like a goal accomplishing, fun and challenging year. I love it.
This week is going to be full of excitement and challenges, but I am so ready and so looking forward to it. I will try and check in this week, but if I am not able, I will write when I get to Atlanta.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Live It! Love It!
Talk about an inspiring day. I seriously feel like I have totally revamped my life and my attitude in the last 24 hours. I feel like I have FINALLY come to terms with a situation that has been lingering over me and I feel like it held me back a lot last week. I was kind of up and down in emotion because of it and woke up this morning feeling really good and as I was laying in bed, I said a little prayer about the situation. I knew that I just wanted to let it go and give it to God. It was put into my life for a reason, I think I learned from it and I was ready to let go and give it back. I am learning that if you can let God into your life just a little more, he will take care of it. I went to church this morning after this experience and I feel like I have started the week on a good note and I am feeling really strong.
Today was one of the most exciting days of my life. I decided to see where the road would take me. This was after a little thought provoking text message from my manager, Bill. I was going to head over to Tallahassee and then up to Macon then onto Atlanta this week. That got tossed aside when I was told I didn't need to be back for a vendor meeting on Thursday if I didn't want to be so that kind of got me thinking that Tampa was calling my name. As I was driving to Tallahassee, I text messaged Bill and told him I would be back on Monday and was headed to Tampa. I love randomness and I am so happy I made this decision. Tampa is BEAUTIFUL and I could definitely see myself living here. After my hippie lifestyle days are over, of course. First things first.
I went to Davis Islands for dinner tonight and had the best shrimp I have ever eaten in my life. It was fresh and tasted so good. The people were really nice too. It was a small family owned restaurant and as I was paying my bill, it started pouring. The daughter came out and offered me an umbrella to take to my car, but I opted to sit there and watch the torrential downpour. It was relaxing and something I would rarely take time to do. When the rain slowed down, I walked to my car and the warmth of the rain water on my feet was actually quite nice. It doesn't seem like they have the best drainage systems here because lakes and puddles build up everywhere. I kind of just wanted to start splashing around.
I am really looking forward to my day tomorrow. I have quite a few things I want to get done that are work related and then I want to take a run along the boardwalk. I feel like I have turned another corner in this journey and I can't wait to see what this week will bring. I have some big goals that I want to accomplish and I know if I take each day and do a little bit towards the larger picture, I will get there.
Today was one of the most exciting days of my life. I decided to see where the road would take me. This was after a little thought provoking text message from my manager, Bill. I was going to head over to Tallahassee and then up to Macon then onto Atlanta this week. That got tossed aside when I was told I didn't need to be back for a vendor meeting on Thursday if I didn't want to be so that kind of got me thinking that Tampa was calling my name. As I was driving to Tallahassee, I text messaged Bill and told him I would be back on Monday and was headed to Tampa. I love randomness and I am so happy I made this decision. Tampa is BEAUTIFUL and I could definitely see myself living here. After my hippie lifestyle days are over, of course. First things first.
I went to Davis Islands for dinner tonight and had the best shrimp I have ever eaten in my life. It was fresh and tasted so good. The people were really nice too. It was a small family owned restaurant and as I was paying my bill, it started pouring. The daughter came out and offered me an umbrella to take to my car, but I opted to sit there and watch the torrential downpour. It was relaxing and something I would rarely take time to do. When the rain slowed down, I walked to my car and the warmth of the rain water on my feet was actually quite nice. It doesn't seem like they have the best drainage systems here because lakes and puddles build up everywhere. I kind of just wanted to start splashing around.
I am really looking forward to my day tomorrow. I have quite a few things I want to get done that are work related and then I want to take a run along the boardwalk. I feel like I have turned another corner in this journey and I can't wait to see what this week will bring. I have some big goals that I want to accomplish and I know if I take each day and do a little bit towards the larger picture, I will get there.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Hippie
Somehow I slept until noon today. I haven't slept til noon since I don't even know when. I haven't been sleeping very well so I must have finally relaxed enough to be in sleep mode. It was nice to wake up feeling refreshed.
I got ready and headed down to Crescent Beach for the afternoon. I am learning that the water looks different at every beach I visit. The sand is also different. It is kind of interesting. I like Crescent Beach way better than Jacksonville Beach. The sand is white and the water isn't as dirty. I met a really nice gentleman while at the beach and he's lived in St. Augustine for 35 years. He's a retired security officer and even showed me his drivers license so I would believe him. He got stranded on his boat earlier in the week and found out there are still nice and genuine people in this world after someone saved him and brought him home. He got his boat back today and will probably take it back out tomorrow after church. He gave me his phone number and if I ever need anything, I am to call him. I thought that was really nice of him. I will put him up there with my other 72-year-old boyfriend.
While down at Crescent Beach I did some thinking and decided I don't want to plant my feet anywhere. I want to travel my territory and see what I can make of it. While I am out on the road I will figure out where it is I want to be and then I will plant my feet there. For all I know I could really like Atlanta and if I have already committed myself to St. Augustine, then I will be missing out. I think I will travel each state for a month and see what I think. The idea keeps reoccuring so I better do it so I don't live wondering what might have been. I am going to become a hippie (less the drugs) for three months. I bet I will meet some really cool people and see some really great things.
Tonight I ventured out to Boston's to watch the UFC fight. I was sitting on the bench texting while waiting for a table when two guys came up and asked if I was there by myself or what I was doing. They invited me to come in and sit with them so I did and they are total college guys, but I had so much fun joking around with them and watching them drink shots. Boy-oh-boy. My days of that are over and I hope they feel okay tomorrow.
I got ready and headed down to Crescent Beach for the afternoon. I am learning that the water looks different at every beach I visit. The sand is also different. It is kind of interesting. I like Crescent Beach way better than Jacksonville Beach. The sand is white and the water isn't as dirty. I met a really nice gentleman while at the beach and he's lived in St. Augustine for 35 years. He's a retired security officer and even showed me his drivers license so I would believe him. He got stranded on his boat earlier in the week and found out there are still nice and genuine people in this world after someone saved him and brought him home. He got his boat back today and will probably take it back out tomorrow after church. He gave me his phone number and if I ever need anything, I am to call him. I thought that was really nice of him. I will put him up there with my other 72-year-old boyfriend.
While down at Crescent Beach I did some thinking and decided I don't want to plant my feet anywhere. I want to travel my territory and see what I can make of it. While I am out on the road I will figure out where it is I want to be and then I will plant my feet there. For all I know I could really like Atlanta and if I have already committed myself to St. Augustine, then I will be missing out. I think I will travel each state for a month and see what I think. The idea keeps reoccuring so I better do it so I don't live wondering what might have been. I am going to become a hippie (less the drugs) for three months. I bet I will meet some really cool people and see some really great things.
Tonight I ventured out to Boston's to watch the UFC fight. I was sitting on the bench texting while waiting for a table when two guys came up and asked if I was there by myself or what I was doing. They invited me to come in and sit with them so I did and they are total college guys, but I had so much fun joking around with them and watching them drink shots. Boy-oh-boy. My days of that are over and I hope they feel okay tomorrow.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Smoothing it out
Today was a day of going through the motions and my day did not start how I would have liked. I get kind of bothered when I have 8 million things going on and then someone wants 20 minutes of my time to ask me about something I have already explained 20 times and given notes for. Call me a bitch, but it irritates me. I knew for sure I needed some "me" time and that always means the spa.
I went and got a massage tonight at the Sawgrass Spa, which is now my second favorite spa after Tallgrass Spa in Evergreen, CO. It turns out the massage therapist is actually Tiger Woods' massage therapist. Kind of a cool thing. She did wonderful work and I felt so good when she was finished. Afterwards, I sat by the spa pool and had a glass of wine along with some fruit and cheese. I was going to walk the beach tonight, but it started pouring as I was leaving the spa. I went to Target instead. I'm not sure if that is any sort of tradeoff, but I really do like Target!
My decisions and contemplations from yesterday about the living situation may have subsided some. I made it to St. Augustine today for a sales call and I absolutely love that area. I sent out a few emails about places to live and we'll see what happens. I realize there is a really good chance of a hurricane, but there is also a really good chance I could have been eaten by a tornado in Minnesota. I have the ability to work wherever so if a hurricane does occur, I will travel during that time. I won't live there forever, but I would kind of like to try it out and see what happens.
Tonight I am going to watch a movie and relax. Tomorrow I am going to St. Augustine to walk around the city, hit the beach and go to the national park. I hear there are alligators and I kind of want to see one in the wild. I saw crocodiles in Australia, but they were on a farm or at the zoo. I don't want to see one face-to-face, but just close enough to get a good look.
I went and got a massage tonight at the Sawgrass Spa, which is now my second favorite spa after Tallgrass Spa in Evergreen, CO. It turns out the massage therapist is actually Tiger Woods' massage therapist. Kind of a cool thing. She did wonderful work and I felt so good when she was finished. Afterwards, I sat by the spa pool and had a glass of wine along with some fruit and cheese. I was going to walk the beach tonight, but it started pouring as I was leaving the spa. I went to Target instead. I'm not sure if that is any sort of tradeoff, but I really do like Target!
My decisions and contemplations from yesterday about the living situation may have subsided some. I made it to St. Augustine today for a sales call and I absolutely love that area. I sent out a few emails about places to live and we'll see what happens. I realize there is a really good chance of a hurricane, but there is also a really good chance I could have been eaten by a tornado in Minnesota. I have the ability to work wherever so if a hurricane does occur, I will travel during that time. I won't live there forever, but I would kind of like to try it out and see what happens.
Tonight I am going to watch a movie and relax. Tomorrow I am going to St. Augustine to walk around the city, hit the beach and go to the national park. I hear there are alligators and I kind of want to see one in the wild. I saw crocodiles in Australia, but they were on a farm or at the zoo. I don't want to see one face-to-face, but just close enough to get a good look.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Decisions and Contemplations
I feel like I am on a roll posting two days in a row. I'll try and keep up the pace! I felt like today was a successful day. I had my meetings in the morning and then this afternoon I met with a distributor to go over some of our new offerings, sold a gutter job and got in two more estimates that need to be worked up tomorrow morning. I feel like being on the road and having to juggle 8 things at once is going to take some practice, but once I figure out what works for me I will be just fine. Today was the gas light issue and remembering that the car won't go forever. I didn't run out, but that little light was on for at least 25 miles before I came back from my "working" mindset to reality. I have my little list created of what needs to be ironed out before I make the real move at the end of the month and then I will be all set based on the challenges I have faced on this little "practice" run.
The decisions and contemplations factor set in today when I realized that Jacksonville just doesn't feel like "home". I have experienced the feeling of home in both Denver and Minneapolis, but I'm not feeling it in Jacksonville. I know I will find a place I want to call "home" but this isn't it. I am going to check out Tallahassee on my way back and see if this does it. I don't want to get too far from the Alabama and Georgia borders for traveling purposes. Maybe I will just become a backpacker and do three month stints in different places...
Today the weather wasn't the greatest, but I did get down to Jacksonville Beach this evening for a few minutes before it started pouring. There were some surfer dudes out there and if it hadn't been raining, I would have made some new friends and asked them to teach me. I now know that they really do surf there (no matter how small the waves are) and hopefully this weekend I can learn how. Aside from the fact that I am scared silly of the sharks and sting rays, it is one of my goals and I will do it.
The decisions and contemplations factor set in today when I realized that Jacksonville just doesn't feel like "home". I have experienced the feeling of home in both Denver and Minneapolis, but I'm not feeling it in Jacksonville. I know I will find a place I want to call "home" but this isn't it. I am going to check out Tallahassee on my way back and see if this does it. I don't want to get too far from the Alabama and Georgia borders for traveling purposes. Maybe I will just become a backpacker and do three month stints in different places...
Today the weather wasn't the greatest, but I did get down to Jacksonville Beach this evening for a few minutes before it started pouring. There were some surfer dudes out there and if it hadn't been raining, I would have made some new friends and asked them to teach me. I now know that they really do surf there (no matter how small the waves are) and hopefully this weekend I can learn how. Aside from the fact that I am scared silly of the sharks and sting rays, it is one of my goals and I will do it.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
It's Been Awhile...
After all the emails and text messages wondering where I have been, here I am. I have been incredibly busy with both work and socializing and now it is time to get back to this blog thing.
I can't believe I have been on this adventure for almost 6 weeks now. A lot has changed in the past 6 weeks and I have grown and experienced many new things. Some of these new things have been hard life lessons, but I feel like these experiences have also taught me quite a bit about myself. I will never regret and will only move forward. The good experiences have definitely outweighed the not-so-good experiences and I am excited to share these things with all of you.
The first weekend after I moved to North Carolina I went to a music festival down on Carolina Beach. I learned what "beach music" is and danced the afternoon away on the ocean shore with my co-worker Carla and some of her friends. Dancing in the ocean has definitely been one of my favorite moments since moving down here. Just laughing, dancing and being silly in the ocean water is something everyone needs to experience. We spent the night on Mike's boat on Wrightsville Beach and did some shopping the following day before heading back to Durham. Carla has become my "mother" here in North Carolina and I just love her. She is awesome.
The next week I did some traveling with Jackie, our outside sales rep for North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. We traveled South Carolina Tuesday-Friday and then spent the weekend in Charleston. This week proved to me how wild and crazy redheads become when they are together. We definitely had a lot of good sales calls and a lot of good times after those sales calls were over. Charleston was an experience I will never forget and can't wait to visit the city again. It is a city full of history and elegance. I just loved it. Mike and Jackie's husband, Eric, met us down there for the weekend so it definitely made for a good time.
The following weekend Jackie, Eric, Mike, Gabe, Kodiak and I went to Mike's boat for the weekend. We played at Wrightsville Beach on Saturday and hung out at the pool on Sunday. It was a really fun weekend and I learned how much fun dinghy rides at 2am can be. Wow. We were laughing, singing, entertaining everyone we came in contact with and just having a weekend to remember. I also learned a new game called corn hole and I love it. It is kind of like horseshoes, except you use bean bags and a square board. There was also a moment to remember when I got brave and jumped into the water and had a fish thrown at me...
I had to stay home and rest the next weekend. All the traveling was starting to catch up.
Last weekend Mike and I took a motorcycle ride up to Charlottesville, Virginia. It was a great ride with beautiful weather. The vineyards were amazing to see and I definitely want to go back for some tasting. We saw the fireworks at the Durham Bulls Stadium and then went out afterwards.
This past weekend was hard in more ways than one and I think I felt a little bit homesick for the first time since arriving here. It was a weekend full of experiences that definitely changed my life, but at the same time gave me the urge to turn the next corner and keep working towards my goal. I thought about my plan on Sunday and somehow God willing, my manager asked if I had a time frame in mind of when I wanted out of the office. I told him at the end of the month and I wanted to visit Jacksonville over the weekend to look at living arrangements. I actually left North Carolina this morning and stopped in Savannah to visit a customer and will be in Florida until next Wednesday. While I was traveling today, I was so excited. This is truly what I want to be doing and I love the industry that I am in. I made my plan and now I am getting to work my plan. I love it. I am really excited to dive in deeper and learn more. In an industry with so many challenges and so many avenues, I can't wait to see what I come up with.
I have meetings tomorrow morning and then I will be hitting the pavement hard with sales calls tomorrow afternoon and all day Friday. Monday-Wednesday next week I will be traveling different parts of Florida and then working my way up through Macon and Atlanta back to North Carolina. This weekend is going to be all about R & R. Surfing lessons are a good possibility....
I can't believe I have been on this adventure for almost 6 weeks now. A lot has changed in the past 6 weeks and I have grown and experienced many new things. Some of these new things have been hard life lessons, but I feel like these experiences have also taught me quite a bit about myself. I will never regret and will only move forward. The good experiences have definitely outweighed the not-so-good experiences and I am excited to share these things with all of you.
The first weekend after I moved to North Carolina I went to a music festival down on Carolina Beach. I learned what "beach music" is and danced the afternoon away on the ocean shore with my co-worker Carla and some of her friends. Dancing in the ocean has definitely been one of my favorite moments since moving down here. Just laughing, dancing and being silly in the ocean water is something everyone needs to experience. We spent the night on Mike's boat on Wrightsville Beach and did some shopping the following day before heading back to Durham. Carla has become my "mother" here in North Carolina and I just love her. She is awesome.
The next week I did some traveling with Jackie, our outside sales rep for North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. We traveled South Carolina Tuesday-Friday and then spent the weekend in Charleston. This week proved to me how wild and crazy redheads become when they are together. We definitely had a lot of good sales calls and a lot of good times after those sales calls were over. Charleston was an experience I will never forget and can't wait to visit the city again. It is a city full of history and elegance. I just loved it. Mike and Jackie's husband, Eric, met us down there for the weekend so it definitely made for a good time.
The following weekend Jackie, Eric, Mike, Gabe, Kodiak and I went to Mike's boat for the weekend. We played at Wrightsville Beach on Saturday and hung out at the pool on Sunday. It was a really fun weekend and I learned how much fun dinghy rides at 2am can be. Wow. We were laughing, singing, entertaining everyone we came in contact with and just having a weekend to remember. I also learned a new game called corn hole and I love it. It is kind of like horseshoes, except you use bean bags and a square board. There was also a moment to remember when I got brave and jumped into the water and had a fish thrown at me...
I had to stay home and rest the next weekend. All the traveling was starting to catch up.
Last weekend Mike and I took a motorcycle ride up to Charlottesville, Virginia. It was a great ride with beautiful weather. The vineyards were amazing to see and I definitely want to go back for some tasting. We saw the fireworks at the Durham Bulls Stadium and then went out afterwards.
This past weekend was hard in more ways than one and I think I felt a little bit homesick for the first time since arriving here. It was a weekend full of experiences that definitely changed my life, but at the same time gave me the urge to turn the next corner and keep working towards my goal. I thought about my plan on Sunday and somehow God willing, my manager asked if I had a time frame in mind of when I wanted out of the office. I told him at the end of the month and I wanted to visit Jacksonville over the weekend to look at living arrangements. I actually left North Carolina this morning and stopped in Savannah to visit a customer and will be in Florida until next Wednesday. While I was traveling today, I was so excited. This is truly what I want to be doing and I love the industry that I am in. I made my plan and now I am getting to work my plan. I love it. I am really excited to dive in deeper and learn more. In an industry with so many challenges and so many avenues, I can't wait to see what I come up with.
I have meetings tomorrow morning and then I will be hitting the pavement hard with sales calls tomorrow afternoon and all day Friday. Monday-Wednesday next week I will be traveling different parts of Florida and then working my way up through Macon and Atlanta back to North Carolina. This weekend is going to be all about R & R. Surfing lessons are a good possibility....
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