B E B E R E

Have been doing a lot of reading lately -

Partly because I work next door to a library, partly because it takes the place of actually doing work on certain things I think I want to accomplish.

I Don't Know What I Want, but I know It's Not This: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work, by Julie Jansen

The Career Fix-It Book: How to Make Your Job Work Better For You, by Diana Pace

One of my problems is that though I'm an extremely fast learner, have developed some marketable skills, and am unintimidated by any new task set in front of me, I get bored, frustrated and demoralized very easily. How does this happen? I guess because, though I'm good at some things, it doesn't mean that I enjoy doing them. I've been learning the hard way that it's important to do more than barely tolerate what one spends 8-10 hours a day on.

What do I enjoy doing? How to translate this into a career?

Both questions are pretty complicated for me, as I like lots of things, but none of them seem (right now) to be able to support me in as expensive a part of the country as where I live. I often fear that my dream job faded away when the music company shut its doors. I also fear that, if I do try to nail down that 'obscure object of my desire,' I'll end up hating it or being disappointed in it...kind of like getting to really know a guy one has a crush on and finding out that he wasn't all that, after all.

Same-Day Resume: Write an Effective Resume in an Hour (2nd edition), by Michael Farr

My resume's needed an overhaul for some time, but I have a block against doing it. Just thinking about it upsets me sometimes. To an extent, this book's been a good little kick in the be-hind. Now, I just have to take my notes, pare them down and format them into something distributable.

The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World With Kindness, by Linda Kaplan Thayler and Robin Koval

I devoured like 1/2 this book while waiting in a cafe for a friend the other day... Somewhere during my tenure (in not-for-profit human services - some seriously unhealthy environments), I lost the will to be anything beyond just courteous or civil. It's been nice to read something that gives lie to the notion that you have to walk all over people, steal their work, stab backs in order to be successful.

Don't know where any of this will take me, but it has been interesting. Guess I'll have to get off my duff make some decisions eventually, though.