Sunday, September 21, 2008

Another Chapter

It's been some time since I've posted anything here. A lot has been going on. Here's the Reader's Digest version. I found out I was pregnant on May 2nd. A few days later my boyfriend, with whome I had spoken about marriage and kids, decided that a baby and a relationship with me was not in his cards. So, I'm going to be a single mom and I'm preparing for that. Baby comes in December, so I still have a couple of months to pull some things togehter. Namely the groundwork for my next career move.

In that vain, I can't stop thinking about France, more specifically Paris. Elle me manque (I miss it). I had planned to do a Food Minded Traveler R&D trip this September, but I'm a little too pregnant to go to Paris by myself right now. So, my new plan is to have a 'dry run' tour with (hopefully) six paying guests whoes opinions and feedback I can use to fortify future tours. I also plan to alter the tour a bit in that I will rent an apartement large enough to house everyone insteadd of just me and a chef. This way it will be cheaper for the guests (no hotel fees).

Also on the career track, I am waiting to hear back from a gal who runs a Seattle food tour with whom I have spoken about taking the position of Operations Coordinator/Manager. This is a fantastic opportunity for me to cross over from F&B to Tourism. She also brought up the idea of incorporating FMT tours into her company, which I would welcome!! I would also be assisting her in the developement of other tours in Seattle as well as other American cities. The pay will not be that great in the beginning, but the oportunity I just can not pass up like I did with Europanache and Backrroads. I need to have a longer vision and not be so shortsided.

So, for now, I won't be able to afford to go out and eat in order to review restaurants, and I'm definitely not hitting the bar scene anytime soon. All I can do is attempt to budget the money I make, and make smart moves in regard to my tour and job potential.