Recap, Review, Refocus.

First, an apology. I have few followers but those of you appreciated souls who keep up with me have noticed that I have not been around AT ALL in a very long time. I apologize for my absence. It is inexcusable, and hopefully I can use this point in my life to reevaluate and refocus my energy.

Now, at this point in my life, there is a lot going on but I will briefly recap. I moved to Baltimore very soon after Thanksgiving last year to start my second REAL job after leaving college with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management. I am an assistant store manager at a casual dining restaurant store chain. I moved nearly 6 hours from every single person I have ever known to take an opportunity that should have catalyzed my entire career.

Well it did. Just not the way I expected it to do so. I am looking back on my hard-considered choice and decided in hindsight that it was a bad decision; not the wrong one, just not the best one. Not a decision based in my best interests. Some things have changed, including the management structure I was introduced to; and now I am uncertain and relatively uncomfortable with the way things are going. Unfortunately, I have no choice at this juncture but to ride it out and make better decisions from this point forward.

Currently, I am considering options, utilizing my social support structure and attempting to make my position as useful as possible while I decide on my next course of action. As I do so, I am attempting to restructure my personal life as much as possible to maximize my happiness and productivity (as well as my lifetime passion of learning) until a major life change becomes imminent.

Tabling until a major change in which I *hopefully* get to move home and restart in a direction that is more beneficial to me and my goals, I intend to make the most of my situation both financially and personally. I continue to learn professionally as I contemplate my next move, and I make attempts to learn nonprofessional information to help me grow as a person.

"At times you need to lose sight of the goals to concentrate on the steps one-by-one in order to move forward in a positive direction. "         ~Me

There is no single way to achieve success; no one path towards the end goal. The matter is in the journey-the travels of the individual- which is the important part of being successful.

Unforgettable!

I just finished reading the Tiger's Curse series penned by Colleen Houck. Fantastic set, let me tell you.

Colleen wrote a set of books that had two main paths, the "journey" the characters were on and the "romantic" aspect that is in most books I enjoy!

When I first finished them, I felt like something was missing because Colleen remains more PG and does not explore the romantic aspect as in-depth as I prefer. After some quiet meditation, I realized that I would not have been happy if the situation were reversed and she spent more time on the romantic aspect than the journey. So, here I am in the middle of the perfect problem.

The reason I share this story is because, had Colleen chosen and managed to write these books and concentrate fully on both pieces to this very delectable puzzle, she would have fallen by the wayside like so many before her. The books would have conformed to others and they would have sounded exactly the same as all the books I have been reading for over a decade.

She was smart about this. She made it so that those looking for the journey got it and those looking for romance got some of it; just enough to keep them interested and enjoying the book.

My point is, it was a great read and Colleen Houck has met the standards I keep on my wall at home:

"Never settle for being MEMORABLE when you could be UNFORGETTABLE"

Colleen and her world of characters I fell in love with will be unforgettable because she did not meet my standards for perfect enjoyment. Memorable would have been the case if she had woven more romanticism into these Tiger-themed books than she did; and I appreciate the challenge these books provided to me. 

Happy Reading All!

What do you like to read? Do you have any suggestions for me?