onwards and upwards June 15, 2008 |
Just in case you all thought that because I had got married, life around here was going to be dull and monotonous, think again!
Less than two months after our wedding day, I was rather unceremoniously retrenched at work. Well, me and 26 other people to be precise. A combination of factors (severe budget problems, the crashing US dollar and appalling management) all led to what was in effect a mass axing of close to a third of the organisation.
The day that it happened, I went home in a semi state of shock. I was numb. What had just happened? I've never been ousted from a job in my life! I've never been out of work full stop!
Doron and I had literally just paid off all our outstanding wedding expenses and we were beginning to talk seriously about buying a place next year. Needless to say, all those conversations have been put on hold.
I waited until Doron came home to tell him the news. He was as shocked as I was, but immediately he hugged me and reassured me that everything would be all right. Rather than staying at home that night, we went to the movies together and by the end of the night my shock and anxiety was slowly transforming into something new, but as yet unidentifiable.
After Doron left for work the next morning, I found myself alone in the apartment and stumped as to what to do exactly. Apart from when I was sick, I was never home in my pyjamas at 9am on a week morning. I had a shower, got dressed and did the handful of dishes left in the sink from breakfast. Hmm, I thought. The place could do with a bit of a clean...
Four hours later I collapsed on the sofa sweaty and exhausted but filled with a sense of deep satisfaction. I might be unemployed, but my apartment is spotless!
I made myself a cup of tea and sat down to think. What do I want to do with my life? What do I really want to do? Now that I have been forced into the position I am currently in, I can either use it to my advantage or continue to feel deeply wronged and pissed off at the cards life has just drawn me.
The truth of the matter was, I was ecstatic not to have to go back to my job. There were elements of the job that I enjoyed (mainly my interaction with students from overseas) and let's face it, the money was great. It was great for stability and security. But apart from that I never stopped feeling like a fish out of water. I was swimming with sharks who had PhDs. I am not an academic - not even a wannabe academic. I am an arts person. My body feeds on creativity and my brain shuts down when someone tells me that I have to staple pages on a 45 degree angle (I am not kidding about this by the way!)
I started to think about the things I love to do, that I am good at doing - things that I am passionate about and that I care about. I remembered what it was that I had wanted to do the first time I came to Israel in 2003 and participated as a writer-in-residence in Arad at the WUJS Institute's Arad Arts Project.
My dream was to work with Israeli artists and help to promote them internationally. Anyone who have been exposed to Israeli culture, be it through theatre, music, dance or the visual arts, knows what an incredible wealth of talent we have in this little country.
It has frustrated me for years that so little of this talent gets recognized overseas. Israeli artists are raw, passionate, deeply honest, exciting and very cutting edge.
And so, as I sat there, sipping my tea, I knew exactly what it was I was going to do. I was finally going to set up my own company and pursue my dream of exporting the very best creative talent Israel has to offer. I was going to put my many years of arts management, marketing and PR experience to good use and get this venture off the ground (finally!)
Proof that there is no such thing as co-incidence in life (example #1)
Some time ago - and long before I knew I was going to lose my job - I submitted an application for a summer fellowship at the PresenTense Institute for Creative Zionism (PICZ). I was thrilled to find out I had been accepted, even though I knew that I would only be able to participate in the evening sessions - thereby missing out on a very large part of the programming - because I worked full time.
Now that I am not working, I can devote serious time during the six week program to fine tune my business model, develop a business plan and budget and really define the vision, look and feel of my company. I have purchased a domain name for my website and my aim is to have the site up and running by the end of August. You can read my profile (and the profiles of the other fellows) by clicking on this link (just ignore the last sentence about my job - I am waiting for them to update it! ha ha!
I have now started to re-connect with old colleagues and friends and I am cultivating exciting new contacts here in Israel. I have been really thrilled with the response so far and I hope to confirm my first clients in the coming weeks.
I know I have a long road ahead and it is not going to be particularly easy. Starting one's own business anywhere is tough and inherently comes with a degree of risk. Thankfully, my overheads are low (me, my phone and my laptop are about the sum of "Israel Arts Management" at the moment!) but I really feel confident about this venture. Not just because I know I will give it my all, but because I really believe in what I am trying to do. To the majority of the uninitiated, Israel is a news headline, a damning story on the BBC, an academic boycott, a protest rally on campus...
In my small way, I know I can make a difference - not just show the world that Israel can compete with the very best on the world stage, but to provide a gateway of understanding and tolerance, appreciation and respect.
Great art goes beyond international boundaries. Great art feeds our souls, regardless of the language we speak, or the politics we hold.
Science and art belong to the whole world, and before them vanish the barriers of nationality.
- Goethe
Less than two months after our wedding day, I was rather unceremoniously retrenched at work. Well, me and 26 other people to be precise. A combination of factors (severe budget problems, the crashing US dollar and appalling management) all led to what was in effect a mass axing of close to a third of the organisation.
The day that it happened, I went home in a semi state of shock. I was numb. What had just happened? I've never been ousted from a job in my life! I've never been out of work full stop!
Doron and I had literally just paid off all our outstanding wedding expenses and we were beginning to talk seriously about buying a place next year. Needless to say, all those conversations have been put on hold.
I waited until Doron came home to tell him the news. He was as shocked as I was, but immediately he hugged me and reassured me that everything would be all right. Rather than staying at home that night, we went to the movies together and by the end of the night my shock and anxiety was slowly transforming into something new, but as yet unidentifiable.
After Doron left for work the next morning, I found myself alone in the apartment and stumped as to what to do exactly. Apart from when I was sick, I was never home in my pyjamas at 9am on a week morning. I had a shower, got dressed and did the handful of dishes left in the sink from breakfast. Hmm, I thought. The place could do with a bit of a clean...
Four hours later I collapsed on the sofa sweaty and exhausted but filled with a sense of deep satisfaction. I might be unemployed, but my apartment is spotless!
I made myself a cup of tea and sat down to think. What do I want to do with my life? What do I really want to do? Now that I have been forced into the position I am currently in, I can either use it to my advantage or continue to feel deeply wronged and pissed off at the cards life has just drawn me.
The truth of the matter was, I was ecstatic not to have to go back to my job. There were elements of the job that I enjoyed (mainly my interaction with students from overseas) and let's face it, the money was great. It was great for stability and security. But apart from that I never stopped feeling like a fish out of water. I was swimming with sharks who had PhDs. I am not an academic - not even a wannabe academic. I am an arts person. My body feeds on creativity and my brain shuts down when someone tells me that I have to staple pages on a 45 degree angle (I am not kidding about this by the way!)
I started to think about the things I love to do, that I am good at doing - things that I am passionate about and that I care about. I remembered what it was that I had wanted to do the first time I came to Israel in 2003 and participated as a writer-in-residence in Arad at the WUJS Institute's Arad Arts Project.
My dream was to work with Israeli artists and help to promote them internationally. Anyone who have been exposed to Israeli culture, be it through theatre, music, dance or the visual arts, knows what an incredible wealth of talent we have in this little country.
It has frustrated me for years that so little of this talent gets recognized overseas. Israeli artists are raw, passionate, deeply honest, exciting and very cutting edge.
And so, as I sat there, sipping my tea, I knew exactly what it was I was going to do. I was finally going to set up my own company and pursue my dream of exporting the very best creative talent Israel has to offer. I was going to put my many years of arts management, marketing and PR experience to good use and get this venture off the ground (finally!)
Proof that there is no such thing as co-incidence in life (example #1)
Some time ago - and long before I knew I was going to lose my job - I submitted an application for a summer fellowship at the PresenTense Institute for Creative Zionism (PICZ). I was thrilled to find out I had been accepted, even though I knew that I would only be able to participate in the evening sessions - thereby missing out on a very large part of the programming - because I worked full time.
Now that I am not working, I can devote serious time during the six week program to fine tune my business model, develop a business plan and budget and really define the vision, look and feel of my company. I have purchased a domain name for my website and my aim is to have the site up and running by the end of August. You can read my profile (and the profiles of the other fellows) by clicking on this link (just ignore the last sentence about my job - I am waiting for them to update it! ha ha!
I have now started to re-connect with old colleagues and friends and I am cultivating exciting new contacts here in Israel. I have been really thrilled with the response so far and I hope to confirm my first clients in the coming weeks.
I know I have a long road ahead and it is not going to be particularly easy. Starting one's own business anywhere is tough and inherently comes with a degree of risk. Thankfully, my overheads are low (me, my phone and my laptop are about the sum of "Israel Arts Management" at the moment!) but I really feel confident about this venture. Not just because I know I will give it my all, but because I really believe in what I am trying to do. To the majority of the uninitiated, Israel is a news headline, a damning story on the BBC, an academic boycott, a protest rally on campus...
In my small way, I know I can make a difference - not just show the world that Israel can compete with the very best on the world stage, but to provide a gateway of understanding and tolerance, appreciation and respect.
Great art goes beyond international boundaries. Great art feeds our souls, regardless of the language we speak, or the politics we hold.
Science and art belong to the whole world, and before them vanish the barriers of nationality.
- Goethe