A few years ago, I was working for an "upscale home furnishings company," at their Las Vegas call center. I was a supervisor with a team of twenty Customer Service representatives and there were "issues" with one of the best selling sofas. As a result, I was talking with hundreds of people a day-- team members, irate customers, managers looking for status -- I lived at the office, managing people and freight carriers in locations nationwide. Conference calls with the corporate offices were my nemesis and I was burning out fast. When my fiancee suggested a getaway to Greece, I jumped on it.

Day four of our trip I was still jet-lagged. We had arrived at our current location at midnight and were due back on the bus at 7am. Today we would visit the famed Oracle at Delphi, where the "civilized world" paid respect to the Gods and asked for their good tidings. Just after dawn, tired and cranky (don't talk to me before the first cup of coffee), I crawled out of bed and went to the closet. Oops, wrong door. It went to the balcony (I didn't know we had a balcony).

And time stopped.

The view was amazing and the calm. . . . inspiring. It seeped through the pores and ran through my veins. When I need to decompress and get away, this is what I remember.

Since then I have finished my Bachelor's, been promoted twice (and laid off), and gotten married. Although I'm between official jobs, I am a contract content writer for a marketing firm and a travel company. I've also recently been asked to create a marketing budget for a technology start-up in northern New England. Between them, I'm writing and researching about 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Did I mention, I'm also in a Boston University Master's program? I don't think I have ever worked so hard for so little. But I'm much happier!

Before my foray into customer service, I spent 7 years working for hi-tech startups. It was the mid-1990's and the Internet was truly in its infancy. I'm just coming back to technology after being away for almost a decade. I know the theory behind the blogging, article submission and social networking, but practice is a much different story. I'm looking forward to the experience this course will provide.

Oh, the chocolate and vine? I've been lucky enough to spend some time in Italy with the owner of a small wine shop and in Napa Valley. In both places, I was introduced to the sinfully decadent combination of Dark Chocolate and fine red wine. Instant evangelist!