In the past few years, it felt like our chapters were written for us. Not only due to COVID and government restrictions (we were lucky Norway was not as affected as many other countries), but mainly due to our toxic employer; being moved around several times at short notice, being laid off temporarily, and intimidated in ways that remind you of your narcissistic parent or ex. Just to name a few. Great stuff!
I thought all was planned out for this year; I would start helicopter school and work 30% on the side based on “utdanningspermisjon” (educational leave). It is up to the employee to request this and the employer can only reject it if they can prove that they need you 100% and that your leave will cause problems for the company. Instead, my employer said they can only accept 20% or I would be let go completely. Yeah… It was to be expected, as many people are being squeezed out at the moment and they want people to work the same amount for less pay. Not going to happen! If you give me 20%, I’ll only work 20%. But that meant that my income would not be enough to survive – either, we would have to move again and I live in a student dorm next to school or I would need to find another job which is hard to combine with full-time studies and a part-time job already.
And then my friend called, whether I am available for a project for her ex-husband’s company. Heck yes! So, I registered as a sole proprietorship, established my hourly fee and started working for the company on a freelance basis. It pays three times as much as my other job and they require me for less hours. What a blessing!
And I got in touch with a tattoo artist I admire (Mo Ganji), who helped me design a Pegasus for my logo. Like it was meant to be!
So, while my employer has been making me/us feel so small the past years, these minor things have brought me new-found and positive energy to start the new year! Yes, I still need to spend 7,5 hours/week on that toxic employer, but I won’t be wasting any time or energy on them for the remaining 161,5 hours/week.
Last week, my Lånekassen (government student loan) was approved and EHC (the helicopter school) confirmed my first day of school will be on the 14th of February. I’m looking very much forward to that date! 😉
And this coming week, I’ll start another thing that’s new: figure skating lessons! It’s something I’ve wanted since I was a teenager (I used to admire Michelle Kwan, who has apparently become a US Ambassador – I’m definitely not the only one with unusual career changes!) and they’re not that expensive – so why not get the basics down and then I can keep skating for free and maybe do some tricks too? First horse riding lessons aged 24, first motorglider flying lessons aged 34, first figure skating and helicopter flight lessons aged 38… I’m definitely a late bloomer in that regard. Or just someone who didn’t get everything handed on a silver platter and had to work for it all, so it took some time and prioritising?
Anyways, what a start to the new year! Looking forward to see what else is in store ❤
wwwanchi 