Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Chance meetings you keep

Today I was feeling pretty badly. Sore throat, achy muscles, possibly a fever. But I had to go to work. I know I'm supposed to stay home when I'm sick. I couldn't today - too much to do, no time to do it. Bad practice - yes. Avoidable - yes, if I had known I wouldn't feel well and had brought my computer home. I didn't. So I went in. 

And my sickness got worse throughout the day. My frustration and irritation was mounting.I hate being sick; I hate feeling sow and unproductive. Frankly, I just wanted to go home and crawl into bed. 

I had a meeting after work with an entrepreneur whom I greatly admire - Melanie Notkin who started savvyauntie.com. (If you haven't checked out the site or signed up for the newsletter, I strongly encourage you to do so!) She wrote a post on her blog recently asking for interns. She wanted help, exactly the help that aligns with my experience and interests, to build her brand. I love social media; she loves social media and she needs someone to work on that part of her business. I almost cancelled our meeting, or at least postponed it. I didn't feel well. I was tired. And frankly, I arrived home with a very bad attitude. How could I go talk to this bright-eyed entrepreneur with this dark cloud hanging over my head? I went any way - it's rude to cancel last minute. And we were meeting at a Starbucks around the corner from my apartment. So I put on my best actor smile, decided to be in a good mood, and then was in a good mood. 

Thankfully I place a value on respect because I am thrilled that I didn't cancel! I thought we'd meet for half an hour - we talked, non-stop for 2 and a half hours. By the end of our meeting I was on-board and excited about being an intern. An unpaid intern. Who would have thought? 
   
Turns out I was sick, though I had misdiagnosed the cause. I felt deflated all day today. With savvyauntie, Melanie explained what she needed, I explained what I was interested in, and we found a common ground. And wouldn't you know it - my sore throat went away, my muscles ached less, and my bad attitude had evaporated. I feel more motivated for every area of my life. And I'm pretty jazzed about my new project. More to come... 

2 comments:

runner52 said...

Well that certainly sounds promising. I hope that it all works well for you. What exactly does an unpaid intern do, and does it effect your paying job? (I'm assuming you get paid for what you do). I hope you find it a great experience. A good friend of mine always says that "no education goes wasted", that includes the education we get on a day to day basis....looking forward to see what it brings for you

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, so what was it that was getting you down? Interesting blog post indeed! You've left us in suspense!