Friday, July 31, 2009

New Start, New Direction

Well, here we go.... as of Friday, I'm the marketing director for Attitash Resort in Bartlett. New Hampshire, just a stone's throw from North Conway and from the majesty of Mount Washington and, of course, Tuckerman's Ravine...something I hope will persuade some of my ski friends to visit for the spring pilgrimage to Tucks. Of course, it's two weeks until I start work there.

I'm really looking forward to this new opportunity; the people there seem great...very professional and organized and I hope that this is as good a fit as it would appear to be. The house hunting frenzy starts in the morning, as I really need to start work there on August 17th...and that's not very far off.

It's going to certainly seem strange to leave the place I've been living for over 7 years; moved here when married...leaving with a big mountain cat named Hank...a great trade...hehe Hank will have adjusting of his own to do, as this is the only home he has ever known; I expect a month of hiding in the new house before he ventures out and starts hunting again...we're hoping to find a place on one of the lakes in the North Conway area. I doubt Hank will ever swim, but it sure would be nice to live by a lake to feed my kayaking addiction...he can watch me paddle away...haha

This all marks such a big change. No more working from project to project and constantly balancing the ledger books... no more "testing the waters" periodically with resumes to see what the economy will yield. And....back in the snow sports industry, full time in a management capacity for a solid company...yeah, I can live with that.

The grind has started...house hunting, packing...things I truly dislike, but for what they represent. Looking forward to reaching out to friends in the ski and sponsorship world once I get acclimated and educated at Attitash, as they seem to have a very clear plan and goals and it feels like the sort of organized structure will help me learn the resort's needs faster and be able to contribute sooner...and I will enjoy that. Having the ability to offer things that Attitash has said they need makes me feel pretty good about joining their team and busting my guts to make positive contributions.

The only tough thing about this is the actual moving process itself. I can live with the tight time frame...it's nice to feel needed up there. It's just that it's been a long time since I went through such a move by myself, never mind the fact that I have way too much useless crap around here and it just seems like a much bigger task all of a sudden and, for some reason, far more stressful...especially for someone who likes being independent and on their own....to suddenly feel a strong semblance of a need for others like this.

I hope my friends will take the time to both ski with me at Attitash as well as visit the majestic White Mountains in the warmer months...so much to do and so much to show you. We're looking for a place with extra room for friends and the door is open always to my friends. Hank doesn't bite and there are certain friends he expects to come visit him...and you know who you are :-) Don't you dare let the poor, innocent fanged furball down...hehe