SEX

I recently purchased a decent used condition copy of Madonna's glorious underrated coffee table book.
If you're completely unaware, it's called SEX and I've been looking for a decent copy of this book since about 2007. I've never found one within my budget in decent enough shape to purchase.
I can't tell you exactly why I've sought this book out for years and years, but I have. Something about owning a tiny piece of controversy tickles me pink.
Considering I've been looking for naked lady to mount above my mantle, a long-deabted, often deemed offensive coffee table book seems totally fitting to my living room.

That's Isabella Rossellini

If you're wondering, the cameos in this book are incredible. ---------->
Madonna is genuinely incredible.
Despite some people claiming it's really only for shock value, it's genuinely a piece of art.
I've owned a few coffee table books in my day, but this is the epitome of coffee table books.
They're supposed to make you want to look at them. Well, a coil-bound book with a metal cover grabs your attention. And if naked people don't make you flip the pages, I don't know what will. If you've never picked up a copy and flipped through it, I encourage you to visit my book me and take a look. 
Like I said, it's a work of naked art.
You can't really go wrong with that.
xo
Jill

I Should Have Been A Mermaid.

I went to the beach with thousands of dollars of gear and took this with my cellphone. #fail

If someone asked me if I was happy with my life right now, I would probably answer yes. 

Less being unemployed, I can't complain too much lately. 

But we all have those negative days where you would rather mope around like a whiny asshole than commit to being happy for the day. 

I had one of those days this week. 

I was just angry about everything.

I have no job and it's starting the grate on my patience and my confidence in my employability. 

Feel free to check in with Tracey. I was just miserable. 

So to make me feel better, she suggested I take some photos of her and Jordan instead of just going to the beach to sulk like the whiny asshole I wanted so desperately to be on Friday. 

I did. 

I packed my gear up. And I was miserable. 

I put some clothes on. And I was miserable. 

I got in the car. My A/C is still not working right. And I was miserable. 

I turned out of the driveway still inexplicably miserable and I made my way down my street. 

I turned the music up. I was listening to angry 90's Alanis, if you must know. She is still the best Alanis. Happy hippie Alanis does nothing to dissipate inexplicable rage. 

As I got closer to the lake, my misery started to fade. 

There's something about the breeze that comes off the lake that is completely satisfying. My misery faded as I thought about how I was a few short minutes from my toes in the sand. 

About half way through my drive I even.... shudder.... swapped angry Alanis for happy hippie Alanis. 

By the time I pulled into Port Stanley, I was almost not miserable. 

I laid a blanket down, ate some grapes that were later traumatized by a firetruck, and I read a book. 

I took some photos of my beloved friends, ate some dinner, almost moved to a 4 million dollar boat with a man who presumably owns the pizza shop, and then returned to my book until the sun disappeared behind the shoreline. 

I stayed a while longer and took in the sights, smells, and sounds of the lake. 

And I wasn't miserable. 

Just like that I no longer wanted to be a whiny asshole. 

I was glad to have taken some gorgeous photos of some gorgeous people. 

I was glad to have eaten a pretty fantastic burger with those same gorgeous people. 

I was glad to have taken the time to watch the sun disappear. 

I was glad to have packed up my misery and left it somewhere between the house and the beach. 

I can't tell you why the beach heals my soul, but it does every single time. Some people aren't meant to be land-locked. I am one of them. If I could feasibly live on the beach, I would without hesitation. I never feel far from home when I am near the water. That's what I love best about it. It feels like I belong there. Any body of water will do, really, as long as it has that gentle sound of waves slapping the shore. 

I was probably meant to be a mermaid – I mean, my thighs already touch so I'm halfway there... May as well commit and get myself a seashell bra. 

If you're looking for me in the next few months, just check the beach. 

Given my unemployed status, it seems like the best way to spend my free time is training for my future as a mermaid. 

xo

Why I Quit a Perfectly Good Job

This should more appropriately be titled Why I Quit Two Perfectly Good Jobs but that's semantics.
Today I quit a job after only a few days there. I came home, took a nap, and poured myself a glass of wine.
It was a WONDERFUL company with some of the most amped-up, happy, and enjoyable people I have ever met in my life.
I can honestly tell you that I have fun for two days and got paid to do it.
Was I in love with the job? Probably not. I don't really know because I wasn't there long enough to know I was or I wasn't. I quit.
My last job was a job I loved. I liked going to work. I loved (and still love) the people there – both at work and in the community at large.
I left all that behind because I felt a pull to be closer to my family. I was sick of missing them all the time. I was sick of missing all the good and the bad stuff.
I missed having coffee with my mom. I missed my dad laughing at his own jokes. I missed seeing my extended family. I missed my friends here.
I knew that by leaving, I would leave behind friends that I would also miss. I've left a giant piece of my heart in Manitoba with my lovelies there. I love them like family. But there is only one place they call you one of their own and that's home.
That is why I left a job that I loved. I just had to come home and regroup before I could take on the world again.
When I started my journey from Manitoba back to the motherland, I knew that although I would miss my friends, I would have my family and my friends here to keep me whole. That ache would still be there, but it wouldn't be so sharp. I would be okay.
Fast forward a couple weeks: I was offered a job at a wonderful company. I agreed to take it.
I knew the hours would be hectic and a promotion might mean uprooting again, but I thought for the earning potential, it would be worth my time.
I liked the people I was working with. I liked the atmosphere. I turned down another job to give this company a go.
But when it takes you away from your family, it's not worth all the money in the world.
Right now, there is a lot going on in my family. There's a lot going on with my friends. My life is full and busy and I'm grateful to be here for it. The good and the bad.
But the reality is that there is no job worth time away from my family and friends.
I can always earn money.
But I can't earn missed time back.
I can spend my life working to live a life I'm not getting a chance to live or I can just live my life.
I already have to miss my people in Manitoba. The last thing I want is to miss my people here too.
It's absurd to me to be this close and still find myself missing them.
While I loved the opportunity, I love my friends and my family more.
When I am 90 and I look back on my life, I won't remember how being unemployed just a little longer affected my life. I won't remember how I didn't earn as much money in those few months I took to figure my life out.
What I will remember are the times spent with the people I love and how regardless of financial impact, I did what I could to spend the most time I could with them.
I will remember the people who have made my life worth living. Not the money I made.
The only way to live a full life is to actually live it with the people you love and the people who love you back.
And that is exactly why I left two good jobs.

xo