Just a tad anxious...

Feeling a bit on edge these days. Not the type of sleepless anxiety, mind you. But, still I'm aware of a slight churning in the stomach and a sense of tenseness.

First ...new manager at work. The manager who hired me left after 3 months. For the last 5 months or so, I've had no management whatsoever. Which suits me just fine. But, it certainly didn't suit the people who had to take over the management tasks (it definitely wasn't what they had signed up for). So, after a long search, we have a new VP of Engineering. On the plus side...people I respect are really excited about the new manager AND she's a woman! In a company that heavily male-dominated, it's nice to have a woman in a position of authority. HOWEVER...does she know anything about technical writers? Has she ever managed any of them? I did hear through the grapevine that she's looked at the documentation that I've produced for the product and liked what she saw. So, at least we'll start out on the right foot. On the other hand, my previous experiences with reporting directly to the VP of Engineering as a solo writer has not been very positive. This will be a time of adjustment for me, I think.

Next, I've been invited to sell my glass work at a local benefit event. I was thrilled to be asked -- at the same time, I've never done anything like that and I'm concerned that my stuff will look amateurish next to the other vendors. I'm working on putting some objects together (key chains, book marks, swizzle sticks) that will be salable. It's been tough finding beads that I feel are good enough to sell. And it's costing me a fortune --extra time at the studio, buying objects that are "bead ready" (there are all sorts of things you can buy that allow you to add beads to them). I just put together a couple of swizzle sticks and I kind of like them. I think they might be appealing as you don't see them often. But still, I'd hate sit through the benefit and not have any proceeds to donate to the cause. On the other hand, if this goes well, I might start to seriously consider finding venues where I can sell what I make. The glass work is such an expensive hobby -- having a little income to offset the cost would be welcome.

So, deep breaths for the next few weeks to keep myself calm.