It took more and more work, as the days passed by, to wake up each day with a new outlook on this place. But it was my only option. Until Trav and I figured out a new place to go, New York was our only home. However, New York was not exactly beckoning me to stay. I felt like obstacles were continuously being placed in my path, just to test me. I was continuously frustrated because I felt like I was just trying to make the most of an increasingly difficult situation. Doors were being slammed all around me and I was quickly becoming a caged animal.
And once in awhile, the tiger would get out of that cage, and unleash holy hell. I started treating every night out in the city like a bottomless brunch and it was not pretty. When my beloved Broncos lost the Super Bowl, it was Apocalyptic. I was not prepared for such devastation. I try my best not to think of that night but once in awhile I will flash back and only see red (& black, from drinking too much) but I have a clear (and disturbing) mental image of myself picking a fight with, let's say a worthy opponent, by yelling the words "... but I bleed Orange and Blue!!". It's okay to laugh now because it's equally hilarious and sad (and I didn't get stabbed) but you can see that I was certainly spiraling dangerously out of control. But it didn't stop there. I was losing my patience with Bob, in public, (more frequently then normal), and possessed a growing personal vendetta against our neighbors over their trash cans. It wasn't just my personal life that was a giant avalanche either.
Continuous snow days that the weatherman could never predict until flakes were already falling, wreaked havoc and chaos throughout my company. And as a result, another hairpin turn, with a pot-hole thrown in; three of my employees gave their notice within 24-hours of each other. I was so bummed, because for the first time, I had finally amassed the perfect team. Though I certainly didn't blame them. To say this record-breaking winter has been brutal is an understatement. They have been such troopers, trekking through storm-after-storm for these pups. My task ahead was daunting, I knew that it would not be easy to cover over 20 dogs in two weeks during the coldest time of the year.
At first I wanted to give up. I wanted to go to bed and just not get up until everything around me fixed itself (wouldn't that be nice?). But my Plan B included running this company, at all costs, until we have another place to go and I was forced to give it up. So that's what I was going to do.
I woke up each day ready to wear an I heart NY t-shirt, and mean it. I had to redefine what I needed right now to make me (and therefore Travis) happy, and stable, in New York. I devoted myself to filling my open positions and not settling on the wrong candidate, even as it became increasing closer to the dead-line. I needed something personally full-filling peppered in, so I started working on another business plan for a food-based company in NYC. As I started working on the business plan, I realized my always present passion for food. Not the unhealthy relationship I have with nachos, believe it or not, I'm actually talking about nutrition. Those who have known me since moving to New York, I'll give you a second to get back to the computer after falling off your chair laughing, but I'm serious. I haven't always put this notion into practice but I have always had a strong interest in the food that we eat and how our bodies biologically process it (Biology major, here) and most importantly, the diseases that the foods we eat are causing and curing. I'm reading the book It Starts With Food and am loving it. Travis and I eat Paleo (no gluten, dairy or processed foods) about 70% of the time which then led me to researching the science of a dog's diet. Since I have lost all of my dogs, my very best friends in life, to lymphoma and one to a heart attack, I am a strong believer that cancer is directly related to packaged dog food. I was pre-vet in college and had worked at a Vet where I attended many seminars on cancer causing agents in over-the-counter dog food. I was finally merging my passion for dogs, nutrition, and food into one giant learning session every day. I was getting my Quality of Life back. The only thing missing was the salt.
And then the phone rang, again.
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