I guess you can call this the start of year two. Almost the end of May but a full moon to get past before the finish line. Then the start of the quiet season. Work to do on the store, work to do on the house, work to do on me. There's never a defined start or finish. They just flow into each other. Dad's still gone but I still have the dreams. At the same time I'm trying to move in the direction he always wanted for the store. He was always afraid of being too successful. Not quite sure why, but that was dad for you, stubborn bastard.
So many people have given advice on what to do with the store. Some of it good, a lot of it not in line with what the store needs. And I have my skills to improve as well. Replacing a man with more than 30 years of experience is a touch difficult when I have only close to a decade. Hell, replacing the man period is difficult. I can't replace the husband my mother lost, because that would be fucking weird. Besides, my knowledge is distinctly different. I'm becoming a knowledgeable source of watches and I'm working through the GIA courses to earn my gemologist certification. I'm learning how to translate my design ideas into physical form. Sketch books plastered with photo refs, partial ideas, plays with colors. It's coming together but slowly. Like seismic shifts moving mountains and rivers.
At the same time there's myself. I'm reading more again. Always a dangerous thing. In a way it's getting my mind back in shape for when I finally go after my PhD. I'm filling my head back up, picking up the sledgehammer and banging my skull a few sizes larger to make room. That's typical of me. Bang out my head and then go back and smooth it all out.
It's a start flowing from an ending that never really ended.
So many people have given advice on what to do with the store. Some of it good, a lot of it not in line with what the store needs. And I have my skills to improve as well. Replacing a man with more than 30 years of experience is a touch difficult when I have only close to a decade. Hell, replacing the man period is difficult. I can't replace the husband my mother lost, because that would be fucking weird. Besides, my knowledge is distinctly different. I'm becoming a knowledgeable source of watches and I'm working through the GIA courses to earn my gemologist certification. I'm learning how to translate my design ideas into physical form. Sketch books plastered with photo refs, partial ideas, plays with colors. It's coming together but slowly. Like seismic shifts moving mountains and rivers.
At the same time there's myself. I'm reading more again. Always a dangerous thing. In a way it's getting my mind back in shape for when I finally go after my PhD. I'm filling my head back up, picking up the sledgehammer and banging my skull a few sizes larger to make room. That's typical of me. Bang out my head and then go back and smooth it all out.
It's a start flowing from an ending that never really ended.