It's 2009 and I am sitting here doing nothing but play on the computer. The past year has been full of learning experiences and I expect 2009 to be the same. As I look back on 2008 I realize how much I didn't accomplish but also how much I did accomplish. My main goal for 2008 was to get out of where I work and start doing something I have been wanting to do for awhile, coaching high school soccer. That goal was never met. It was heart-breaking for me. For the first time in my life I set a goal and I did not reach it. I was close and I watched as opportunity after opportunity slipped just out of my reach thinking that the next one was going to be the one. If that hadn't happened I wouldn't have anything to look forward to for this year. It turned out to be a pretty good thing that happened. One of my accomplishments for 2008 was finally feeling more like an adult. No more help from Mom and Dad. Although I love their help, I wanted to be more independent. My parents don't like it, but I think they have known this was coming for a long time now. Their little girl is finally all grown up.
Last night was a blast as I spent the evening with friends dancing and making sure all the food was just right. There were some speed bumps along the way that made my blood boil a bit though. In one of my past posts I talked about someone that wanted to dye my hair because she felt that my hair did not match my eyebrows. She was at it again. This time it was all about shooting down ideas from other people because the "future wedding and event planner" already had everything all planned out how she wanted it done. Funny, I always thought that planners had to know how to listen to others and what they want, not what the planner wants. Hmmmmm, will there be success in that business? I have been doing parties and things like this event since I was 11/12 years old and I know what I am doing with food and epediting the food so that it is the freshest and best quality it can be. I wanted to be a caterer for many years but I also had other things I wanted to do so I went a different path. Trying to tell me how to do things does not bode well with me. The best part of this, she was suppose to get the dollar store champagne glasses for the Martinelli's and she never did so we ran out of cups for the whole toast at the end of the night. She then wanted me to put the Martinelli's out at 10pm because, "everyone is here that is coming". Hellooooo! It's a singles dance. I know that everyone will not show up within an hour of the dance starting so to serve the toasting drink before the toast when I know the nature of the dances does not make sense to me. DUH! Instead of looking at the people with experience in these things and having trust and faith in them that they know what they are doing is not going to bode well when you have a business. You have to be able to make connections and relationships with your vendors. If you rub even one of them the wrong way you could lose everything you have built. You can't go in to the professional florist and tell him/her that you don't like what they have created for your client, especially after the client has already signed off on it. You can't expect a bride to listen to you when you won't listen to her and give her what she wants. One of my master's professors once told me that when dealing with people you have to remember that it's not about you, it's what's best for the other person. You may not like what is going on but it's not about you. If you can't think about the other parties involved then you are going to be the most stressed person in the world and end up doing nothing and losing whatever you have. So maybe not that dramatic, but dude, you have to listen to other people and stop thinking that your way is the only and correct way to do things. It is not a "my way or the highway" life. In order to still have a good night, I tried to avoid that person at all cost. This person also felt that she should have more of the Martinelli's than everyone else even after telling her that since we don't know how many people are there and how many are going to want to the drink we have to ration it until everyone that wants any has some. Afterwards, the rest of the bottles were placed on the table and it was free-for-all. Some people just get on your last nerve and you can't be around them or deal with them. I am so totally over it all. Whatever, cry a river build a bridge and get over it.
2009 will be another extension of another year with even more to experience. Maybe this year will be different. There will still be trials. There will still be laughter and fun. And I will still be me, Katie G.