smitche: Hey folks, I got a new gig!

what?!

And by new gig, I mean quite possibly the best new gig in town. I'm the new design assistant (behind the scenes) on HGTV's show "Curb Appeal!" I design and implement the mini neighbor makeovers and contribute to the main house re-design for things like house colors, lighting, staging and other final touches. I just gave myself a giant pat on the back. And a gin & tonic.

It happened really quickly in comparison to how long I've been looking for a new gig. Ever since The Start-up Who Shall Remain Nameless kicked the tech bubble bucket and took my newly minted Vice President job with it, I've been on a roller coaster of reexamining what my next step would be. Of course there's always the fall-back of re-starting my little design consulting business, of which I am so lucky to have the option.

But working alone is a lonely business, and it's hard to teach yourself new tricks. It's hard to be your own challenger in a one-woman workplace, no matter how many design magazines you subscribe to or how many hours you spend sitting alone in the Design Center cafe, hoping someone will notice your awesomeness and invite you to sit at their table.

I crave learning new things. I need collaboration and water cooler chat and gripe sessions about that lady from Pottery Barn who thought she knew everything but was so far off the mark. I miss happy hours with my co-workers and constructive criticism from my boss. I need to work with actual human beings so that when my sweetie gets home from work, I don't meet her at the front door spewing word parts about how the new Anderson Cooper daytime show is surprisingly two parts boring and one part Maury Povich.

This is what working from home *alone* will do to you.

You forget how to work. You get job search ADD and start applying for jobs you've never done but think it would be cool to try out. You get rejected on a weekly basis for jobs you're over qualified for, and you take yourself to the brink of excitement that the next interview will be the one. You bury your head in a good book and forget that you need a job. You start to think that you could actually live on unemployment for a while.

John Gidding = Handsome Personified.

And then POOF! You get a text that says your name is being considered for an opening on a design show! And then you go in the next day to interview with some producers and (name drop alert) John Gidding! And the first thing you say to him is, "Hi! I'm Shannon! I want to run my fingers through your hair."

So inappropriate.

And then they go through your portfolio, ask you a few questions and say, "Yeah, I think this is going to work out. Do you want the job?"

YEEEESSSSS!!

Thank you very much.

Ok, I might be a little too excited...
Photo by Peter Campbell

But this is what you've been waiting for, get excited! The right job in the right environment with people who will challenge the way you think about design, teach you new ways to communicate your ideas and take full advantage of what you bring to the table.