Taking it Back

I quit my job.

This was a big thing for me.  I’ve been with my employer for over eight years.  There has been so much that is positive that has happened over that time for me there: I’ve learned a lot and built confidence; I’ve explored leadership, which was an unexpected treat; I’ve developed relationships with so many wonderful and talented people; and I’ve spent the past five years under a great mentor and role model of a boss whose lessons and example I will always remember.

I promise not to turn into a Mommy blog, but this happened and it was kind of intense, so I’m going to tell you about it.

So, as those of you who have both read my last few posts and can do basic math may have realized – I had a kid.  And I survived.

Well then.

Good Morning 2014.  Here you are.  And here I am.  I’m not sure I was quite ready for you yet, but I’ve noticed that the way time passes is rarely affected by what I am and am not ready for, so I suppose it’s no surprise that you arrived anyway.  You were right on schedule after all, according to my calendar.  I saw you in last night, if only just, and without a bang.  Try not to take it personally.  I was sleepy.  So far you are not raining, which I choose to take as an excellent omen for the year ahead.  Thanks for that.

When Does the Penny Drop?

This whole pregnancy thing – I don’t know.  It is just not sinking in.  I mean on one level, yes, I know this is happening.  Clearly.  I am not stupid.  And I planned this.  And I’m an excellent planner.  But my brain – it’s just not processing the information in the fully aware way I would have expected it to.

The Passing of Time Makes Me a Liar

There are things I thought I’d never do.  I thought I’d never like avocados.  And then one day I did.  I thought I’d never get a “real job” that lasted more than a year or two, but I’m an accountant and next week is my sixth anniversary with my employer.  I thought I’d never own furniture or live in any one city for more than a couple of years, but then I bought real estate.  I thought I’d never get married (not because of any fundamental opposition to the idea, but because my list of criteria of what would make an acceptable life partner sounded shockingly unrealistic), but then I met a guy who ticked all my boxes.

This is what time does.  It takes your ideas of how your life is going to go and it laughs.  I’ve always known that.  My life plans have never been solid.  If something doesn’t work out, I’m ok to move on and if an unexpected opportunity arises, I’m happy to go for it.  Or if my whims take me somewhere I didn’t know I wanted to go, I trust myself and see how it works out.  As a rule, this has gone well for me.

But we’re talking here about vague plans.  Things I thought I’d do.  Things I thought I’d never do.

But then there are the things I swore I’d never do.  The things so based on my understanding of myself that I never questioned that I might change my mind on them.

Solo travel and confirming that not everyone on the internet is a serial killer

I went traveling again, chickens.  And I went alone.

One of many gorgeous buildings in Charleston

I haven’t traveled alone in quite a while, to be honest.  My husband is my usual travel partner and I intersperse that with occasional short trips with a friend or my mother.  A ten-day trip by myself though, it’s been a while.  And it’s a whole other kettle of fish.  But there’s something to be said for that kettle.

When you are alone, there is no one to consider but yourself.  You don’t have to make any compromises whatsoever.  You can make plans for the day and then break them for no other reason than that you just don’t feel like it anymore.  And you don’t have to feel bad that someone is going to be disappointed about that.  You can unilaterally decide where and when to eat, what side of the street to walk on, and when to have naps.  (I love my naps.)  It’s kind of wonderful.

When you are in a long-term relationship, there is also the side benefit of having a chance to miss your partner.  I don’t think the loveliness of a reunion after a week or two apart can be overstated.

In case you’re wondering, I went to Charleston and Savannah.  I understand that these are major tourist destinations for Americans, but here on the West coast of Canada, when I told people where I was going, they all said something along the perplexed lines of, “Huh.  I don’t know anything about those places.  Do you have family there?  No?  How did you pick that?”  And I can’t say I even had a satisfactory answer.  The truth is that I thought Charleston sounded like an interesting name and when I looked it up on the internet, it looked pretty.  And I figured that while I was in that neck of the woods, I might as well go to Savannah too, because it was close and I had also heard of it.

Melancholia

I have had this blog for about three years.  Or is it four?  I like it.  I am not dedicated to it.  It has never been my dream to be a writer and I more or less started it on a whim.  Sometimes I just don’t feel like I have anything to say, so I disappear for a while.

That, my friends, is not something they recommend in the good blogger handbook.  It is not how you get followers or comments or views or any of the other things that the statistic page makes you care about when previously you had not been aware that they were even things.  I don’t get a lot of views.  After however many years, I have 99 followers, and maybe 10 who interact regularly. (Love you guys!)

Alternative Festivities

I believe in celebrating.  Life is good.  Any excuse.  But sometimes the traditional methods just don’t work for me.

Take today.   Today is St. Patrick’s Day.  But I don’t drink.  And I don’t own any green clothes.  I don’t think Vancouver has a St. Patrick’s Day parade, and to be honest, even if it did, I probably wouldn’t go because I’m not a big parade fan anyway.  (Except that parade they have in the evenings in Disneyland.  That’s pretty wonderful.)

Photo from The Independent

So what does that leave?  I think maybe not much.  And really, there should be more options.  Here is my list of possible suggestions:

Ok, seriously? I’m ready for a trade-in. (Bonus! Includes a short analysis of pain.)

Feeling cranky this morning.

I have scoliosis.  I think it’s pretty common and mine isn’t particularly dramatic.  You can tell if I’m wearing a bathing suit or something tight because my silhouette is a bit wonky.  Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t know.

But me, I know.  This is partly because of the small fortune I’ve spent on chiropractors, physios, osteopaths, accupuncturists and massage therapists over the years.  (If you’re interested, I find Chinese medicine significantly more effective than Western for muscle pain.)  There was also the time the x-ray guy x-rayed me about a dozen times over because he thought I wasn’t lying straight enough on the table.  (Sorry bud – that’s just how my spine looks.  But if I ever get cancer, I’m blaming you.)  Mostly though, it’s because of the pain.

Extremely Bad Manners

Ha ha!  I have fun plans tonight that I’m really excited about.  But how I got them was embarrassingly shameless.  (Which is why I’m sharing it with you, my lovely readers!)

As you may know, it’s the Oscars this evening.  (They officially changed the name from the Academy Awards to the Oscars the other day, which makes one ask oneself, “Why bother?”)  I watch a lot of movies and this year I’ve seen most of the nominees.  I know awards shows are kind of dumb and the Academy is pretty out of touch with the movies people actually enjoy, but the Oscars are the one day a year when I wish I had a TV, so I could watch them.  If I had a TV, I would host excellent Oscar parties, with pools on who would win and over-the-top themes.  It would be epic.  (But probably also stressful.)