Your permission.

Many of you have probably heard this story. If you're reading anyway I give you permission to skim it. That's right - I will allow you to do that.

I was sitting at my lovely oak-colored desk, starting my morning with a small skim mocha when my new boss walked in the office. Remember it's early. The phone rings and I answer in my pleasant phone voice I cultivated at Eurosport. "Thank you calling ------, how can I help you?" I wrap up the conversation neatly and professionally and turn to my boss who is now sitting in the chair across from me.

-Joy, I just wanted to tell you that you are doing a GREAT job.

-Oh thanks...

-I also wanted to tell you that when you answer the phone, I give you permission to use your name.

I look at him very confused, absolutely certain he's not taking this where I think he's taking it.

-Uuuhhhhm...

-Yes, I have heard that in SOME CASES, people need to know they are EMPOWERED! to do things. And this is it. I am giving you permission to be confident.

OMG. He's definitely saying it. I am mentally scrambling for the appropriate words but he has already launched into a story about how a sad little employee from McDonald's always felt guilty about charging a particular customer 15 cents for a cup of water until he said it was ok to charge him.

-You see, Joy, that McDonald's employee was just not confident in herself until someone told her she could do it.

I could tell my blood pressure was rising. I think I closed my eyes for a few seconds. Thankfully it was far too early to react quickly and I very calmly (in work-Joy mode) told him that I feel extremely comfortable on the phone and don't necessarily feel like I need his permission.

I can tell the words aren't getting through.

-Well good, Joy. I'm so glad we had this conversation. Good work. Good work.

What are you most looking forward to?

I have decided to start blogging again. It's been awhile. My lovely (former) roommate, Elizabeth, gave me this amazing Question and Answer book as my moving-away-from-Charlotte gift. Today's question was "Are you holding a grudge against someone?" I answered that for my own personal knowledge and decided to answer tomorrow's question for this entry, which is: What are you most looking forward to?

I love lists. I love New Year's resolutions. I love goals and I love questions that make you think. It can be especially annoying to some people but I love what if questions. What if I reached my goals? What if I didn't get roadblocks everywhere? To start envisioning things that I hope for was a good exercise for me because the past few months have made it difficult to imagine happy endings. After reading this amazing book about creativity, Breakthrough Creativity, I learned that one thing that helps me visualize solutions is to map them out using pictures. So I started doodling little stick figures that depicted the things I'm most looking forward to:

having my own place with a spot for my piano, having two hours out of my week where I get to volunteer at the Mexican consulate, feeling content with whatever job I get, reading the books on my 2011 book list, making one new recipe a month and finding community where I am. It's a neat exercise. Try it. In list form or maybe the stick figures will work for you too.