My Second Career

I have been working for over 30 years. I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. "Walk into the light, Carol Ann." I do want to walk into that light and I have been thinking,"What will I do then?" For some reason, unbeknownst to me, I feel the need to start looking for a new career. Ideally I would like to do something part time that would generate some decent bucks. It's all about the Benjamins, right? Since I have a BS in Biology, I am naturally drawn to science-y stuff. I also wanted to work in a hospital setting. Don't know why. Maybe I am a frustrated doctor but I would really like to try that. So I got it in my head that I would work in a laboratory doing whatever. I thought it would be a nice change from being in front of a classroom constantly talking. There wouldn't be any work to take home. It would all be left there. However, I was clueless. I had no idea how people became lab techs. I thought you just apply and the place trains you. That's a big N-O! After doing my initial research, I found out that I would haveto get another BS in Clinical Lab Specialist. Ok...still not so bad. I was a biology major (x amount of years ago) and not all of my courses are obsolete, are they? I was asked to send in an unofficial transcript to one college and they will determine what I would need to take to enter their program (other than the fat tuition). I called another place where I could do distance learning and then I could intern in my area since they are located in Brooklyn. However, I would be unable to sit for the qualifying certification exam since my BS was not in the right area. OK, scratch that. Then I looked up how to be a phlebotomist. I imagined myself sticking someone with a needle. I think I could do that. Blood doesn't bother me. I think the sticking part will bother me more but I could get over it. So I made some calls about that. I'm interested in a summer program so I have to call again in March for the summer schedule. I'm just glad I'm thinking about it and actually doing something about it. My next step is to contact my local hospital and see what advice they can give me. The worst thing they can say is NO!

My other second career is creating beautiful things from knitting. However, it's not the most lucrative thing I can do and it's not generating a decent amount of income but I'm still not discouraged. I just listed 3 new pairs of handknitted earrings and got 17 views in less than 3 hours. It really made me feel good. One pair was favorited by a person who I found out later sold beads. I guess she's hoping I become a customer of hers! She lives in the Czech Republic. I don't think so. The fact that people look at my stuff makes me want to create more. I know my designs are offbeat but that's what makes them mine. They are different. Who wants to wear the same thing that everyone else is wearing? Okay. Sometimes I want to wear what everyone else is wearing but not all the time. So if you are reading this, please take a look at my etsy shop. The link is right over there...to the right. Let me know what you think. This hipknitta wants to keep busy.