About

Hello, my name is Kelly Gurnett, but you can call me Cordelia .  I’m 30 years old, I work (for now) in a typical 9-5 office gig, and I am officially calling it quits.

 WHAT?

What exactly am I calling it quits to?  To living on autopilot.  To structuring my world around other people’s schedules and other people’s expectations.  To resigning myself to a 9-5, bottom-line, lather/rinse/repeat life.  And especially to the notion that that’s “just the way things are.”

WHY?

When I was little, I had this recurring dream where I woke up one morning to find myself in someone else’s life.  (This was most likely caused by my fondness for Quantum Leap.)  I’d have to try to get through the day without tipping anyone off to the fact that I was actually an imposter.  It was a little scary, but also a pretty cool adventure.

Lately, I’ve been waking up feeling more and more like I’m doing the exact same thing.  Only it’s not really an adventure, and it’s definitely not cool.  It’s just sort of depressing.

HOW?

I’ve set myself on a mission to learn to live deliberately.  To make intentional choices, to live an intentional life, and to try to make each day just a little bit closer to the life I’d like to live.

My grand master plan?  To pay down my credit card debt so I have the freedom to leave the 9-5 and do something better with my life, like the writing and editing I’ve always loved and dreamt of doing (payoff date: November 2013!)  I had some pretty stupid spending habits right out of college, and I’m atoning for them now by selling too many hours of my life to a job that means nothing to me.  I accept the consequences of my actions, but I’m aggressively working to free myself from them.

In the meantime, I’m just trying to live each day a little better than the last.

**For updates on the Grand Master Plan to date, see here.

WHO?

Who am I?  I’m just a conformity-hating, challenge-loving, fight-the-power writer stuck in an office worker’s body.

I was supposed to be an editor, journalist, or prolific author when I grew up.  Instead, I took a part-time office clerking job my freshman year of college and have been unintentionally climbing the corporate ladder ever since.  I’ve finally realized I’m ready to jump off.  Step number one:  pay down my debt to break free of the need to work for The Man (in the process).  Step number two: become a freelance writer/editor and regain my rightful place in the wordsmith world (check!  hire me here).

Some random, get-to-know-me tidbits:

• I have a husband, a house, and two dogs.  In spite of those facts, I refuse to call myself an “adult.”

• I like things neat and orderly.  I get inordinate amounts of joy from things like junk drawer dividers and closet organizers.

• I do both the regular and the “commuter” crossword puzzles in my local paper.  I secretly like the commuter one better because it’s meant to be finished in 5 minutes and always makes me feel really smart.

• I like watching bad reality TV and feeling much better about my own life afterward.  I am not ashamed of that.

• I do not like getting up early, grocery shopping, or people who end plural words with a “z.”  I am not ashamed of that, either.

• I would love to hear from you !