This is my Big City view as I walk to and from my covered parking garage every day, and seeing it all gives me that uptown-chic kind of vibe as I go. I mean, how can you ever get enough of this awesome sight? Must say a slight jolt of electricity hits me every time I take in this view while walking around downtown Omaha, and then I shake my head in disbelief at how crazily scary it all felt just 4 short months ago. Who knew living the career dream could rise up out of nothing so unexpectedly? Feeling blessed and grateful that it did, just in time to save me from living in hermit mode for the rest of my adult years.

*sniffs back tears of happiness*

The worst part of being a new employee during the holidays? Lack of PTO ("Paid Tme Off"). The best part of being a new employee during the holidays? Other peeps have an abundance of PTO, hence leaving the workplace considerably empty compared to non-holiday times. So this week I'm doing all kinds of online training and enjoying my personal skyscraper view with NO. COMPLAINTS. WHATSOEVER.

So I made the fatal mistake of wearing unbroken-in high heels during the first week of my new job and paid for it with an elevated iced foot all weekend long, complete with limping around the following Monday - today. No more treadmill until this situation clears up. *sigh*

In fact, my fellow teammate is a former long-time cheerleader friend of whom I have the utmost respect in too many ways to count. Who knew life would come full-circle in such an unexpected way?

Holy new job situation! Things are just moving all crazy freight-train-like after making my final role choice (See what I did there? I'm talking HR-speak after so many months of getting schooled on the proper lingo.)

So here's my new bulleted list of key events that have taken place since my last blog post:

• Successfully completed a background screening and drug test, thus confirming I'm not some closet gangsta-druggie, but quite the opposite with the most boringly cleanest background/urine test of any other living job candidate
• Searched out and secured downtown parking accommodations and now must overcome my fear of sketchy-looking pedestrians roaming around the new-job area
• Actually TURNED DOWN requests for 2 more phone interviews for positions that have been way up there on my radar
• Also got me some more application rejections that are no less painful than before accepting an offer *ouch*
• Continued that video streaming marathon of "Friends" via Netflix, and while getting super annoyed hearing about Ross and Rachel's so-called break, I'm finding Phoebe's surrogate status even more interesting to watch now - must be that whole empty nester thing

All of these things happened today, and I am exuberant and busting at the seams, to say the very least:

• Interviewed with another highly recommended employer, then was invited to attend the second round of interviews with hiring managers
• Call with HR representative (from another company) resulted in actual JOB OFFER #1, the first in almost 7 months of job searching and also one that is way too amazing to refuse
• In less than an hour of that phone call, received a call from yet another HR representative (ANOTHER company) with JOB OFFER #2, one that is also unturndownable
• Husker Dude returned for a quick weekend visit, and we toasted today's good fortune over homemade pizza, complete with hugs & high-fives

So yeah, if I weren't so shocked and in disbelief at this super-fortunate turn of events, I'd probably be dancing on the table to a funky Prince playlist. (Although, it just might happen yet!)  But for now, I'm feeling blessed and thankful to be able to breathe again.

... check-check, shaboom. (Long-time rah-rah friends will pick up on that reference.)

Strange how a cheer from WAAAAY back in the day popped into my brain when all I wanted to do was stop in and post a blog documenting my latest status. So I'm either experiencing a synapse miss-fire or minor brain dump, not quite sure. Here goes, nonetheless:

• Took the cat to the veterinarian for a wellness checkup only to learn she needed a molar extraction as a bonus procedure. Yikes.
• Found a doctor to replace my recently retired gynecologist and got that annual exam checked off my "To Do" list.  Oh, along with a mammogram.  Because I'm a glutton for self-torture, obviously - so why not get it done all at once, right?
• Last but most certainly not least, interviewed for the job opportunity OF. A. LIFETIME. So basically if I die tomorrow, at least I can say I lived long enough to be considered for the position of my absolute dreams.

*mic drop*

As all of this full-time-job-search activity rolls on, life just continues forward. So in an effort to keep the blog all fresh-like, here's a handy bulleted-list of latest achievements:

• 3 trips to the University of Lincoln shuttling the Husker Student home and back for Fall break and various doctor and dental appointments
• assisting long-time business client on a communication-related project
• scheduling and tending to other vehicle, personal health, and pet-related appointments
• maintaining a regular exercise routine, house cleaning, and shopping schedule only with more flexibility due to open work-day hours (no complaints there!)
• keeping Sling, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video in business by streaming multiple seasons of Seinfeld, Friends, Sneaky Pete, Suits... amongst others

After an exciting week of having a certain Rockstar Recruiter help me land an on-site interview with a Rockstar dot-com company, I still required more words of wisdom to keep that forward momentum going in my job search - and Alexa's Inspire Me skill did the trick with these loving words from STEVE JOBS, a lifelong hero.

The cool take-away from his motivational quote is that I have already found what I love to do. Steve would be so incredibly proud to know this!  So now I just need to put that love to use so I can go back to doing even more Great Work, lest I resort to Lyft driving or something else completely outside of my Love Zone.

**Sending out serious Ninja Brain Waves channeling that next Rockstar Career**