November 11th, the day my boss called and asked me to head up to Human Resources. I knew something was up because she told me the day before that her boss wanted to talk to us and she had no idea what it was about. (This was the red flag: I never hear from her boss.) It was so kind of her to give me such a vague heads up, right? But it’s not like I didn’t know what was coming: after 10 years with the company, I never had to visit HR. I hung up the phone and made my way to the 5th floor. Talk about living in the moment.  I sat down in the chair and listened to my boss stumble over her words via speakerphone: “we’re eliminating your position. It has nothing to do with your performance. I don’t know what else to say.” Chicken. It’s funny, 10 years of service and attached sales in the millions and the meeting lasted maybe 5 minutes. The HR rep closed the meeting with one final question: ” do you have anything to say?” Oh, I had plenty to say, but I made a conscious decision to keep my integrity intact. They took enough from me over the past 10 years, and I was going to walk out of there with grace.

I was asked to put a turnover report together and review it with my boss before my official last day on 11/16. It was 6-pages long. It included my current campaigns, outstanding proposals, contacts and day-to-day job duties.  I turned it in two days early and it was up to my boss now to schedule a follow up call to review the report. The call was re-scheduled three times. When we finally got on the phone she could only speak in 15-minute intervals because “she was too upset.” At one point she asked me: “what if I asked you to stay?” I was confused … obviously … and the back and forth was pure torture. Perhaps the turnover report concerned her?  I just wanted to walk away and now we were playing head games again. But it was just another confirmation –  I needed to get out of there. Of course there’s an underlying fear with this opportunity: What am I going to do? What about my house? My livelihood? But I had something to look forward to, I was headed to Los Angeles on 11/17 for a planned vacation! I hadn’t been to L.A in at least 13 years, but I knew in my heart that this trip was going to be much more than I expected. And this is when my life took another interesting turn.

I picked up my rental car at LAX and made my way to Red O on Melrose (thank god for GPS!)  to meet up with friends that I was staying with. It was the perfect place to spend the first evening in Los Angeles. Amazing. It was so nice to see them and we picked up right where we left off. These are the friendships that stand the test of time. I am so proud of them. One is a SVP at Warner Bro Records, and the other is a VP at Live Nation. They are living the life… the life they worked so hard for. After Red O, we headed to their place in the Hollywood Hills – a few doors down from Charlize Theron. Paradise.  I went for a hike every morning and fell in love with the west coast all over again. It felt like home.

I was scheduled to leave on 11/21, but the universe had something else in store. I landed an interview with HR at WB, thanks to their other roommate – the president of WB Records. Oh! Did I forget to mention that part?! At first I was hesitant to change my plane ticket – with no job and all –  but the voice in my head said: “are you nuts?!” I changed my ticket and headed to WB studios on Monday morning. I was rather nervous at first, but the HR rep made me feel so comfortable.  I told her my story (the shorter version) and she gave me some incredible feedback. She said the universe has given me an incredible opportunity and there were bigger things in store for me. I couldn’t thank her enough. We ended the interview and I handed her my resume. I started to head back to my friend’s office, and she came back to discuss my resume. She said wanted to “spice it up a little bit” and would send me a completely revised edition. It arrived in my in-box two days later. It’s amazing! Talk about a blessing! After I interviewed with HR, the president wanted me to speak with their new VP of Digital Services. This just took things to another level. He shared their digital strategy and mentioned their need for someone to build their custom digital packages for artists. I had the biggest smile on my face. It also made me realize how much I wanted to get back into the music industry. I spent 10 years at Alternative Press Magazine (my first job) and I loved the creative environment. I quit because I wanted needed to experience the corporate world.. and boy did I ever. I’m not sure what will come of the WB interview – and hiring tends to die down over the holidays – but I do know which direction I’m headed.

They say be careful what you wish for, but I say that’s rubbish. Just make sure that what you wish for is exactly what you want … what your SOUL wants. Wishing is energy, and when we put a wish on continuos loop it often comes to fruition. I know in my heart that this is the best thing for me. I needed this push. And there’s something else, I haven’t felt this peaceful in a very long time. I’m enjoying some time off and putting things in order. It’s time to make a big move.

Speaking of music… I discovered this lovely lady when I was in L.A – Lana Del Ray. Mad love! The video is so Hollywood!