Goodbye Sabatical Secrets

Today marks the culmination of the LoraTastic Sabbatical and Retraining Extravaganza. I've written and talked about it so much that I programmed MS Word to recognize just "L," "T," and "S" as a shortcut for "LoraTastic Sabbatical and Retraining Extravaganza." (What a time saver!) So, I have changed the name of this page from the lovely and beautiful Sabitical Secrets to Worky McWorkface.

I'll soon be able to cancel my Obamacare insurance and bid farewell to the constant pursuit of freelance gigs. It's a bittersweet moment. I cherished the illusion of complete autonomy in my life, even though, as any freelancer knows, it's not reality.

This time last year, I sat at DevLearn in Las Vegas (a conference for higher education) so so happy and proud of my new freelance status. I had just invested in a new computer and expensive instructional design software. At the conference, I envisioned that by the next year (aka now), I would be presenting my own success story about breaking free from the constraints of Purdue Global Curriculum and forging my path. I thought I could share my folksy back-to-my-roots wisdom and Storyline tips with a grateful, adoring audience. HAAA! no.

Looking back, I'm amazed at what I've achieved. I didn't fully comprehend how much I didn't know. Times change quickly in Instructional Design.

For example, about a week after I left Purdue, some dork invented AI and changed the world. This led to a series of events that were already swimming in circles from just a few minor things like the pandemic, which led to the great resignation, quiet quitting, and all of the other bologna.

I went from practically being stalked by recruiters to stalking them. (I wonder if they found it amusing that the tables turned.)

Gigs I thought were a done deal dried up without explanation or warning. New work came around that I never would have considered. I was an editor, office assistant, voice actor, spreadsheet creator, writer, creator of an entirely new school (a big flop), and, duh, a blogger. Many many things didn't work, but those are blog posts for another day.

I can be a kind of Pollyanna. But I want to be truthful. Interviewing is fucking hell. Attitudes, scams, liars, gaslighters. If you know, you know.

But all is well that ends well, and I ended up with the perfect situation.

I was fortunate to be promoted to a full-time position at the National University of Natural Medicine. My official start date is set for November.

I am thrilled about working with old and new colleagues at the university. That is all you can ask for in life. Doing important work you love with nice people.

Eventually, I will create articles to support instructional designers and education workers in general. But today, I am just Worky McWorkface.