Hello, friends.
Today, I have something a little different for you. There's no recipe or giveaway. There's no traffic or income report (and there hasn't been for a while because I'm lazy, but we'll get more into that later). There isn't even a kitchen-related tip for me to share with you! I recently got laid off from my full-time job and I'd like to talk a little about it.
It's been a weird couple of weeks. I wanted to write a post sooner, but I didn't really know how. It happened a couple days before I posted about the recent giveaway I participated in and I wasn't about to be all like, "YAY LOOK AT THIS AWESOME GIVEAWAY OMG! By the way, I lost my job this week. Okay, byeeeee!"
Then I thought I could share the news with a comforting recipe. You know when you have a rough day and only a certain type of food can really hit the spot? I have a friend whose go-to is spaghetti and meatballs; mine is usually Chinese food. But I struggled even with the idea of cooking and photographing. To be honest, I haven't felt inspired to cook much of anything these last couple of weeks. Which brings me to ask myself: what the hell have I been eating lately anyway?
The answer is boring. Boring food. Usually paired with bourbon.
I didn't want to push the food angle to get myself to post sooner because the last thing I wanted to do was make myself feel forced to work on my blog. I accepted I just wasn't ready yet and worked on other things instead, like my resume, updating LinkedIn, and other funemployment-related things. Yay, adulting!
To get myself back in the blogging groove, I started thinking of recipes I want to post, new secret project ideas (don't worry, you'll know about them soon enough), and I've been doing little things a day to get back on a regular schedule, like keeping social media mostly active. I also started using asana to create actual blog tasks, goals, and deadlines for myself and seeing everything listed out really got me pumped. Yeah, things got serious up in here. Doing these things made me feel like I was ready to get a blog post out again, but it still felt weird to me to pair a recipe with semi life-changing news and I wasn't going to ignore it, so here I am rambling on in this post just to get it out there.
I should mention I'm doing fine. It was a tough transition at first because I worked at this company for about eight years and I'll miss it a lot, but I'm also excited about the idea of what's next! Do you know what's next? Cause I don't! 😉
In all seriousness, I'm still figuring out what the next step is. I'm currently looking for a job that will be more in line with what I do on the blog (content creation, social media managing, etc). Of course, if my dreams would just come true right now, I'd be able to work on the blog full time and that'd be that, which brings me to traffic/income reports...
I'm lazy and terrible and haven't done them in a few months. I have no good reason as to why I stopped. I actually really enjoyed working on those, but it doesn't take much for me to lose my focus and procrastinate a bit (this is why I started using asana). But they are back on the list!
SO. Starting very soon, you'll be seeing a lot more from me. Now that I got to ramble a bit in this post, I feel good about moving forward with the blog and sharing tasty recipes with you again.
I missed you. See you again real soon. <3
Well Marissa, I for one will be looking forward to seeing your next income and traffic report!
Wipe the slate clean, take a breath and give yourself a break.
The moment you post your next report, I will be sharing it with my tribe as I feel your blog is a great resource people will want to learn from!
Take care!
Carl
Thanks so much, Carl!
Take care, girl! I love your recipes and your photography. Losing a job is a huge blow, but it also opens up new opportunities. Don't feel rushed to put out content that isn't true or authentic. 🙂 If all else fails, you can write a few bourbon reviews. 😉 Hang in there and let me know if I can help. I'd be happy look over your resume or help with a cover letter. When I was laid off about four years ago, it was honestly the best thing that happened to my career.
Thanks, gorgeous! I'm so glad we've become bloggin' buddies. I may take you up on the resume/cover letter look-over because I feel like such a noob with this stuff. 😀
Hi Marissa - this is actually the first time I have visited your blog and I look forward to checking it out more.
I can empathize because I am going through a difficult time too - and have taken a break from blogging myself. I also remember when I lost my job 10 years ago - and it was not a pleasant time for me. But fortunately I found a new job 4 months later - better than the previous one - and I've been working there ever since.
So just have faith that one day you may be able to look back on this as a positive thing.
Jim
Hi Jim, nice to meet you! Thanks so much for your kind words. I'm sorry to hear you are also going through a difficult time. Sometimes, taking a break is just the necessary thing to do. I hope things turn for the better and that you're back to the blogging world soon!
Fuck them. My impression of you and your blog is that you can make it a success!!
I hope you give it a try 🙂
Haha, thanks Hauke! I'll certainly try! They're not so bad. 🙂 It's pretty standard for layoffs to happen in the games industry because of projects ending and such.
So sorry to hear about you losing your job BUT super excited to see what you do next!! I hope you're able to find something awesome thats in line with blogging and social media.
Thanks, lady! <3
Marissa you and your family have always been very special to me ... this is what I tell Ann-Marie "When one door closes, another better door opens" its the law of the Universe ... Ann-Marie is looking for work too. I encourage her to have faith that something better is just waiting out there for her! And you too! I love you always ... I'll be sending you positive energy for good luck ... be sure to eat healthy ... 🙂
Thanks, Marianna. I hope Ann-Marie finds something soon. Miss you and love you both!
It's ok. I think all of us understand. You'll get back on your feet. You're in my prayers.
Thanks, Lisa. <3
Hi Marissa! Missed you...life throws all kinds of shit at us. If we didn't go through bad times we wouldn't know how good the good times are! You will land on your feet and they will lead you in the direction that you need to go! Stay strong and pursue your dreams! 🙂
Thanks, Dorothy! Missed you too! I'm taking it easy for now and doing all of the cooking. 🙂 I'll be posting more starting next week, which I'm very excited about!