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Make it Happen

~ Lifelongdancestudent ~ Leave a comment
Sunset Run
My Cheesy Instagram Shot

Hey, how’s it going? Well, my news is that I am back to work 2 days a week and the other 2 days I’m still on furlough until mid-September when I return to my normal working pattern and come off the furlough scheme altogether – hopefully permanently! It has been great to get back to some sort of normality even though I have been keeping myself occupied while not working.

What I’ve been doing

Of course I have been working on my soap side-biz, making products, doing social media posts, planning new recipes and packing and sending out orders, which have been fairly steady. One decision I made was to quit my HR studies. I’ve completed and passed 4 out of 6 modules, but I have been working at this thing for over 3 years, I have to pay money to extend the course 3 months at a time, it’s only foundation level and Human Resources is actually not where I want to be in 5 years’ time. (HR is also ridiculously competitive in terms of the job market, it can be difficult to move up into more strategic roles and the jobs were few and far between even before Covid-19). I think I’ll hang onto my student membership of the CIPD for the time being while I continue to work in my current job, just so I have access to the community forum, knowledge base and other benefits, but oh it feels like such a relief to get the course out of my hair!

As I’ve said in previous posts, my passions (besides tap dance!) are my soap biz and writing (plus I have an English Literature degree), so I decided to bite the bullet while on furlough and I switched to learning how to write copy, proofread and edit! I think this pandemic and lots of time at home has made many of us re-evaluate our lives, our priorities and how we spend our waking hours. I know right before the lockdown I was so sick of London and the commute and I wanted a new job after 10 years in this role…and now I feel like I have a clearer vision of what I want to do. What I really want and have always wanted is to be fully self-employed. Hopefully I can make it happen!

Keep on Running

After having done the ‘I Love the 90s’ virtual charity run in May, I’ve just completed another 5km run in stages (‘I Love the 80s!) for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, and I’m now doing a charity run for Alzheimer’s Research UK, aiming to get to 20km by the end of August….I’m at just over 7km so far! I started off by doing Couch to 5k (walk, run, walk, run…) but I found the stop-start aspect demotivating, so I’m now just running as far as I can in each session. I’m pleased to say I’m now able to run just over 1km non-stop, especially as someone who does not enjoy running!

All that Jazz

Tap & Tea has finished, but some other interesting talks have now popped up online, which I’ve been attending. BOP Jazz have started a series called ‘Let’s Talk Jazz’, discussing jazz dance in the UK, and Tap Dance Research Network UK are running a series of panel discussions on the history of tap dance in the UK, and of course there is some cross-over with these as it’s all jazz. I joined the first one from TDRUK on Tuesday night entitled Remembering Bebop Jazz Hoofer Will Gaines. Guys, it was AMAZING and full of so many hilarious stories, and I really must tell you all about it in another post, but in short: Will Gaines (1928-2014) was an American tap dancer who worked with all the big bands, jazz musicians and singers in the US (e.g. Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole) and he ended up settling in the UK after a gig brought him here in 1963. Will is credited with influencing a whole new generation of tap dancers in the UK, including the creation of the fantastic London Tap Jam.

Writer’s Block

~ Lifelongdancestudent ~ Leave a comment

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A few months ago I decided to make 2019 my year of getting back into writing. I’ve been writing this blog, plus small amounts of content for my soap biz website and social media, and I update web pages for church and work…but now I want to concentrate on improving my writing and future prospects by developing skills in particular types of writing such as:

  • copywriting
  • copy editing & proofreading
  • digital content writing
  • report writing

I have begun my ‘journey’ by enrolling on a copywriting introductory workshop, which takes place in London at the end of July, and I have been reading a great book called ‘May I Have Your Attention Please?’ by copywriting whizz Mish Slade. It’s funny – since stating my intentions a few months ago and saving off a load of writing exercises to have a go at, I suddenly find I am writing less than before!

I was going to write a blog post on one of America’s tap dance legends at the weekend and then I had a mental block. Maybe I’ve been overthinking it and getting too concerned with putting out a FANTASTIC AWARD-WINNING blog post. To be honest, it’s probably more because I’ve been doing a lot at the weekends with my soap biz now that Spring and Summer fete season is upon us! Well, as I am now 2 events down, with 2 to go (a small one this Saturday and a BIG event 22nd June), I can look forward to setting aside some time this summer to do some writing practice exercises. There are also various free creative writing workshops around my borough in the autumn as part of a local literary festival.

In other news, rhythm tap classes resume this Thursday lunchtime and I am VERY excited! I was feeling a little jaded yesterday and wondering if I need a break, but GIRL, you’ve just had a 2 week break and it’s the final stretch before the summer break (and our teacher asked me for a song suggestion)! I have also been keeping up with weekly gym sessions at the university and I feel a lot fitter. I’ve even lost about 2kg since I started training – BOOM! I’m hoping to fit a session in tomorrow as I met an ex-colleague for lunch today (Gym Tuesday). Because it’s a bit too close to tap day, I’ll probably just go easy….

:))

I’m Saying NO

~ Lifelongdancestudent ~ 7 Comments

I have been having an almost existential crisis lately about what I am doing with my life, my English Literature degree and am I reaching my potential(?). For a while, everything was about moving house and getting enough sleep to be able to drag myself to a job interview and finally get out of the job I’ve been in for 7 years. I felt I should be doing more, getting a better job title or climbing the career ladder or something. I even applied for a couple of jobs in London recently that I was kind of glad I didn’t get.

We are constantly fed a stream of stuff about how we should be better, do better, achieve, achieve, achieve. “Be your best self!” and all that. There are so many blogs out there about success and I’ve received some emails lately about how bloggers and creatives were able to turn over six figures in six months. There are career advice websites telling you not to stay somewhere too long, and not to get stuck somewhere in your thirties and I’ve found it all quite discouraging. It gets to the point where you are almost in a panic about being left behind. Well, I’m saying NO today.

I’m saying NO today.

Since settling into my new home and feeling more rested, I realise I am enjoying life again, and work is actually much more positive these days. I care about the organisation and what they do (as opposed to just working somewhere for money or status or whatever), and I get to do a 4 day week, while spending Fridays on developing my creative side gig, which I had to pretty much postpone last year. I also have time to get on with my HR certificate for my (day job) professional development, which I am currently halfway through (procrastinating a lot at the moment though!). Oh, and I have time to write a blog and pursue my tap dance goals of course!

If something comes up that’s suitable, I may go for it, but I’m not going to allow myself to chased out by the careerist success-mongers!

 

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