WEverb11: Day Fifteen!

Today's prompt is: What event of 2011 affected you in an unexpected way?

My answer for this one is easy: Dan's new casting job.

I know I've mentioned his new job here before, but I can't really stress enough how much Dan getting this job was a major life event for us. It has changed our lives in so many ways, both expected and unexpected.

When he got the call that he had been hired, we both started jumping up and down and teared up. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. This was such a victory for him. And it continues to be so.

He no longer has to work at demeaning jobs, like serving ungrateful tourists at T.G.I. Friday's. He no longer has to juggle more than one job all the time. We no longer have to fret about what god-awful things would happen if one of us were to become ill with no health insurance. He no longer dreads going to work, now that he loves his job and feels like he's accomplishing something meaningful. He no longer feels constantly disrespected by his superiors or like he's going to get fired at any minute, and he no longer comes home from work in a shitty mood because of what's going on with his job (or lack thereof).

For all of these reasons and more, I'm so proud of him and what he's accomplished this year. But these were the expected "side effects."

What we (or at least I) didn't really know to expect were the extraordinarily long hours he would be putting in there. Or how different it would be to have him working a normal weekday schedule. Or how much adjustment there would be in our marriage from this career shift of his. It's been a really bumpy road the past few months, but I'm happy to say that I think we've finally got most of it worked out and things are getting much smoother 'round these parts.

And while I wouldn't say that I've loved the rocky journey of the past few months, I am still so proud of him and of our marriage for weathering this little storm.

WEverb11: Day Four!

Today's challenge was to sum up 2011 with a haiku. Now, as an amateur haiku enthusiast, I could write haikus about 2011 all day. But the one I chose to best sum up the year is:

Central Casting and

Betty's Summer Vacation.

What an epic year.

How would you sum up 2011 in a haiku?

P.S. Yes, I've decided to pick and choose which prompts to write along with. Because...I'm lazy. And I just took a five-hour workshop on Saturday all about reflecting on 2011 and gearing up for 2012, so I'm only going to get invested in the prompts that really intrigue me. Sooooo sue me.

Beginning WEverb 2011: Words for 2011 & 2012

Although I didn't participate in the month-long Reverb10 daily writing prompts, I loved reading everyone else's posts reflecting on their lives and hoping for their futures. My friend Kim has organized this year's "WEverb11" and since my blogging has been a little...umm...stagnant...over on my little ol' personal blog as of late, I thought this would be just the push I need to do a little writing! And I'm always a sucker for personal reflection and goal setting :)

So today's prompt is:

Encapsulate the year 2011 in one word. Explain why. Imagine it's one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2012 for you?

My word for 2011 is PROGRESS. 

This year has been an absolutely astounding one in our professional lives. Both Dan and I have made enormous steps towards our career aspirations, and after how hard we've busted our asses in this city since we've been here, that's no small thing to say.

Dan landed his first full-time casting gig four months ago, complete with awesome benefits and paid time off (which we will soon be taking advantage of for our New Years cruise to the Bahamas!). I worked on my first Equity show, which made me eligible to join the union; launched my showbiz blog called The Green Room Blog; and went on the first audition that my agent got for me. Suffice it to say, this year was huge for us.

I'm hoping that as 2012 draws to a close, my word will be BALANCE.

Although this year has been amazing for us in many ways, it's also been a bit of a struggle in some ways, too. We've spent a lot of time apart because we've been enjoying such career success, and we've transitioned from having weird, sporadic, any-hours survival jobs to Dan being a regular 9-5'er (okay, 9-9'er...) and me running my own businesses. Like...we get weekends together? What are we supposed to do on Friday nights that isn't work? You mean, we have to be up at the same time every day? 

The latter half of this year has been a little tough on things like the general cleanliness of the corner behind the couch and, oh, our relationship. We still love each other like mad, of course. And the dishes usually don't pile up too high. But next year, I'd like to place more emphasis on being successful in our careers AND working our way back to the relationship/household/general life contentedness that we felt in 2010.

Overall, 2011 was a fantastic year. Really, 2011, you've been swell. But there's always room to tweak things here and there :)

If you'd like to join in on the daily writing prompts, click on over to WEverb11 and join us! Or follow along on twitter using the #WEverb11 hashtag!