Skidding Into Home Plate

We are now in the home stretch.

My son and me, that is.

It is May and that means high school graduation is officially three weeks from today. He's counting down the days as we speak (or type, in my case).

The job search for myself is also taking off and hopefully landing somewhere wonderful soon. Tomorrow I have two job interviews at two different types of salons. One is a corporate-type facility while the other is a private, very upscale salon. Each type has its perks, but if all goes well and the vibe is right, I'd love to have the luxury of leaning toward the private salon.

For most of my life, I have worked the corporate lifestyle and mentality. Time is never one's own and your value is determined by someone else.

Not that I'm into money alone, mind you. I've had some wonderful jobs where I got paid well.

But it's just that the time/money thing is so heavily connected that you don't have the freedom to really live. Part of my doing the cometology thing is to finally gain back some of my own life and be able to live again. That's really hard to do in a corporate environment.

So if all goes well, I'm hoping for a chance at the private salon. It will be an enormous risk, something that is a real struggle right now. But with risk comes the chance for reward. Plus it gives me another opportunity to show my son that mindset not just in word but in deed.

So here's hoping for sunny skies ahead these next few days and weeks. I'll let you know when I skid into home plate.

Job Search Java

Been really busy all day today doing some research.

While my parents were here over the weekend, we got to talking about some different ideas I've had about what I might consider doing outside the norm.

Truth be told, I'm tired of the corporate life. My time is not my own. It's a constant struggle to keep a balance between work and home life. A losing battle pretty much.

So I told my parents I didn't care about making the big paycheck anymore. All I want to be able to do is once again enjoy my life and just be able to pay the bills with a little to continue putting away in savings for retirement and emergencies.

No more corporate life for me.

Ideas floated around. We got to talking about what I might be able to do and how I might be able to go about doing it.

Don't mean to sound cocky when I say this, but I have no doubt that I'll be able to accomplish whatever I set out to do.

My dad believes that about me too. We're considering the oddest of possibilities - a partnership, as you will.

I live in one of the fastest growing and most sought after communities in the entire state. Housing is at a premium out here. Rentals are an enormous rarity. My dad once owned and rented some properties, but they weren't in highly sought after neighborhoods or towns. He had a difficult time dealing with it as a business, God love him.

He's got such a tender heart sometimes that it doesn't bode well in such an industry. But he's always wanted to be successful at property ownership.

So we're thinking - JUST THINKING - at the moment that if he can pick up some REO properties on the market here for a song that I will manage the business side and he can enjoy the profits to add to his retirement.

See, I've got the business mind and he's got the money right now. I don't have the corporate job weighing on me at the moment, but I love being around other people.

Strange as it may sound, this just might actually have the potential to work to both of our benefits. Not alot of money in it for me until we get into several good properties, but the potential is there. Plus there's also the potential to help my mom and dad enjoy an even cushier retirement.

If you've got the money, now's the time to be investing it in real estate. Property values will always come back.

Who knows about my 401k!