Thursday, August 23, 2018

I Have No Idea Where I'm Going With This


Last week, I drove east through the prairies. This week, I’m driving west through the mountains.

Back in May, I drove 10 hours north and saw my childhood homes and where I went to elementary school.

Since May, I’ve taken 8 road trips for a total of 15,000 kilometers (9320 miles). I bought my CX-5 back in March and the odometer now reads 16900. 

That tells you- when I am home, I don’t go out much. 

This particular trip is to spend the remaining days of summer playing in the lake and writing, away from the city. 

                         My favorite place to swim

My brain feels a bit foggy this morning, it usually does after a day of driving. I am not sure what direction this post is taking, but I know that I have to write. 

It always feels good to write. It always feels right to write. 

Ha!

As I was driving along the winding mountain roads, I thought about the choices I have made this year. 

2017, my job as an office manager for a lovely bakery came to an end when the owners retired and closed the business. I had debated buying the business for myself but the economy was crap and I wanted to have a life. 

I had enough money to take a year off and so that’s what I did.

I decided to travel a bit, taking time to relax and explore what makes me happy.

I drove my 2010 Mazda3 GT sedan into the ground. 4 months of driving and then a harsh Canadian winter, well now I have upgraded to an all-wheel-drive SUV. 

And got a house with a garage. 

New car, a new house to live in, those were at the top of my list of things to acquire in 2018.

The other item on that list is a ticket to see Elton John. He has yet to announce concerts in this part of the planet.

Also, what was I going to DO?

You know, that stupid question people ask when they meet you...”So....what do you do??”

I have business cards for that question now. 

But back in January, I did not have an answer. 

By then, I felt I had traveled enough for a while, and I wanted to focus on creating...something.

I also needed a new car and a house where I could feel creatively inspired and peaceful 24/7.

Over the winter, I spent weeks sifting through plastic bags of receipts and preparing tax returns for a friend who was years behind.

I was enjoying myself so much.

Lightbulb moment!

I should be a Bookkeeper. I already had years of experience, but no official certification.

So I spent the weekend researching courses at nearby colleges and found one that I could complete in a year. I enrolled that following Monday.

I have since finished the course, and am currently working on the practicums, which I can do while on road trips. I have a 56-page handwritten assignment and another 30-hour assignment using Quickbooks which I complete on my laptop. 

Now, my intention was to work as a bookkeeper while I continue writing my novels.

This is still my intention, but a few events happened shortly after I enrolled in school.

January 8th-I enroll in the course. I excitedly email my uncle, who was an accountant.

January 20th- That uncle dies. 

February-I spend two weeks with my cousin and my brother, cleaning out his house. My uncle had no children and he had A LOT of stuff. 

March-My aunt (sister of my uncle) dies. 

These were my mother’s siblings. My mother died in 2005 and both of her parents have died. So that family is all gone. 

I also began my classes in March. I enjoyed every moment of that first course.  

After the news of my aunt’s passing, I realized I needed to just go and grab the life I really want. 

So I found the perfect house for me to live in right now and against many odds, like not having a traditional income, I acquired that house. And I love living in it.

I also got a brand new vehicle that month as the snow ruts ripped out headlight sensors in my previous car. 

Wow, March was a crazy month. 

Life kept chugging along, I attended my classes,  packed up my stuff, and moved in May 1st.

May 3rd, I was on the road heading north to my aunt’s funeral. 

More classes, more road trips, setting up my new home, more road trips, finished my classes...

And then another lightbulb moment.

The Bitchy Bookkeeper.



The first time that popped into my head, I loved it. It made me laugh. 

I googled it and nothing appeared. 

Then I ignored it and continued doing whatever it was I was doing. 

It kept appearing in my mind and I thought

“Is this an idea for a bookkeeping business?”

But I didn’t want to start a bookkeeping business. 

It still made me laugh so I had to do something with it.

July 13th-I was home in between road trips, my two nephews had been staying with me for 6 days. I pulled out my laptop and was looking at my empty website and random social media accounts.

I even had an empty blog site. 

And then a thousand lightbulbs collided in my brain and after that, it was a big blur. 

By the end of the weekend, this blog was born, I had business cards designed, my website was up and I had 500 ideas for future posts.

Now I have a new animated YouTube channel—you can go to YouTube and type in Bitchy Bookkeeper. 

That idea came to me in the middle of the night while I was visiting a friend for the weekend. 

The Bitchy Bookkeeper is my online persona of sorts. 

An outlet for me to state my mind, to express creativity and develop my writing skills. 

It’s also to see if I can make you laugh. At least once per post. 

If I can make myself laugh as I write, once per post, then I know I’m on the write track.

I mean right track. 

I make no apologies for my sense of humor.

Ok, I made myself laugh just now. Good enough. 

Enjoy your day...


Sincerely,

LeNora Faye
Bitchy Bookkeeper 
Almost an Author 
Former Fantastic Violinist 








No comments:

Post a Comment