Thoughts upon a move

I have amazing friends. Last night, JoyAnna and I (and her mom) went to get some cabinets for in the dining room. The kitchen has pretty much zero counter space so we needed to nip that problem in the bud. Anyways, we were driving back into the District at 10 last night and realized that we needed help getting the heavy cabinets off the truck and into the house. So, I called two of my friends in the neighborhood and in 10 minutes there were three guys there to help us, one girl to offer moral support and an adorable doggy to take it all in. How awesome is that! Seriously... when I talk about living in community and having a family of friends I never expected, THIS is what I mean! Thank you guys so much! (And, um, feel free to drop over tomorrow morning for more fun!)

Things I will miss about my current apartment:
the HUGE windows -- I was soaking up the sunlight as I woke up this morning, knowing it was one of the last times I'd get to do that for a while.
the view -- I won't be able to see the top of the capitol dome from my basement cave nor will I be able to watch the fireworks from my bed!
living in an apt. building -- I know this is weird, but I feel more secure living in an apt. building. I like having lots of doors between me and the outside world.
my big pretty room -- It's so comforting and brown and wonderful.
the walk home -- I love our neighborhood and there is something wonderful about walking through it to get home each day. Plus, there's always the chance that I'll run into someone I know which is a super bonus.
my super-huge wonderful closet!
the crazy-cheap rent!

Things I will NOT miss about my current apartment:
bugs!
water damage! -- Seriously, I have this fear that I'm going to come home some day and all of my stuff is going to be submerged in ceiling pieces and water
inept building management
dragging the trash the whole way out to the back
the phantom that puts a sticky residue on all of our kitchen stuff --ok, I don't understand this one, but we get a weird, well, sticky residue, on anything that sits out in the kitchen. Very weird. Is it the gas?
crazy temperature changes beyond our control
psycho laundry room -- in the last month alone, we've dealt with broken machines, broken card system, a laundry caper, and an all-day full-house

Short thoughts

• Yesterday, it dawned on me that I hadn't been off the Hill in 7 days. For those of you not in DC, the Hill would be my neighborhood, Capitol Hill. It's amazing how happy I am here in my little neighborhood.... and how much of my life is within a 15-block radius of my house. However, 7 days is a little excessive. Chris (unknowingly) came to the rescue and dragged me to another quadrant last night. Ahh, the joy of the late-night coffee (or chai and tea as the case may be)!
• It is SO freaking cold in my office. My Diet Coke stays cold all day long... it thinks it's in a refrigerator. No, but seriously. I'm shivering. Is it not possible to turn the temperature up a few degrees? Seriously. It would even save some energy and money!
• I'm seriously missing some of my long-distance friends this week. Amy, Jeni, Jess, Jaime, Jan, Lisa, Gail --- I really miss you guys and hope to see you soon!

Closure

(Warning: Some of you will have no idea what this post is talking about and others will know exactly.)

The worst of all the catch-words: closure.

I resisted for seven years. More than seven years, actually. But, I had to do it. I had to take physical steps to move toward emotional wholeness in this area of my life. For seven years, I've carted around a box, marked with his initials, filled with the souvenirs of our relationship. Once I tried to burn the contents to no avail. But, tonight, I emptied it. I threw out the letters, the printed emails, the rose he brought me when we first met and the pictures. Well, most of the pictures. There's one still sitting on my desk. I'll throw it out before I go to bed tonight. I just needed a few minutes.

I just threw all the letters out. I didn't read them. It was SO tempting, but I didn't. He is (was?) a hugely important person in my life-story, but that chapter ended (several times!!) and so it's time to truly move on. Now that we've been out of communication for several months, I figured it was time. So, tonight, through some real, authentic tears, I got rid of every piece of him I was holding onto.

Sometimes, I wonder.... But, I can't. I have to just move on. And, claim closure.
(Also, to be clear- I have a great relationship with Chris and love him to death - this is a separate issue entirely.)

The Laundry Caper

So, earlier today, I posted about my laundry being snatched from my laundry room. Well, I thought I should update the situation. After a day of getting un-mad at the person that stole my laundry and figuring out exactly which items needed to be replaced this weekend and how I could purchase them the fastest, I got a surprise! I decided to stop by the laundry room on my way back in the building tonight and lo and behold, my laundry was all there in a big pile. I don't know what happened, but it was returned to me!
Yay! I don't have to buy new shirts and undies!!! yippee!!

Today's score

Getting up late: -1
Realizing someone stole 75% of my summer wardrobe from the laundry room: -10
Securing a roommate for the summer: +3
Not being able to reach Chris to vent about stolen laundry: -.5

10am subtotal: -8.5

Mornings

I once had a conversation with a girl whose identity I no longer remember, but I use her line all the time: "There are some things in life that I really wish I liked and have even tried to like, but I just don't." Here are some things I really wish I liked:
beer
running
being alone for long periods of time
mornings

Which brings me to today. Nope, I'm still not a morning person. Every time I have a reason to get up early in the morning, I secretly hope that it will be the catalyst sending me into a lifetime of loving mornings. There are very, very many reasons why I wish I loved mornings. If I liked mornings, I could:
work out in the morning
read the Bible in the morning
not look like a hobo when I get to work
always have time to make my bed
see the sunrise sometimes
consider teaching school as an actual occupational option
understand Chris' love for mornings
generally accomplish SO much more

But, alas, I do NOT love mornings. In fact, I had to be at work at 7:30 this morning and it wasn't until about now (9am) that I'm starting to feel coherent.

Well, back to work... until 4.... when I will leave and go to another job until God knows when. And, then it will pretty much be tomorrow.

Update: Rejection

So far the 2008 employment rejections have looked as such:

Silence: 2
Went with someone more junior: 2
You’re a really strong candidate, but…: 1

I’ll keep you updated as the plot thickens

Coming Soon!

Bike sharing! You thought I was excited about Zipcar?! Now, there's bike sharing. I never got a bike b/c it's a pain to store and I didn't know if I'd use it, yada yada. But, now there's going to be a bike sharing program. I'm pretty excited about this. It costs about $40/year and you can rent and return them at any of the stations in the city.
The only apparent flaw to date - all of the currently planned stations are in NW. Boo. I'm soon we can lobby to get one on the Hill soon.
Imagine the options:
Ride to the movie theater and then just leave the bike so you can go somewhere else afterward.
Ride to work, but then choose to metro home.
Ride to your kickball game on the mall. Park the bike. Get another one and ride to a friend's party. Park the bike. Jump on a bus to get home.
Oh the glory.

Today's goals

• Be productive at work. (starting immediately after I finish this post)
• Shake this incredible allergy attack. Seriously, this is one of the worst mornings I've had in a while. I feel like my throat is going to cinch up and choke me.
• Try not to flirt too much with the super-cute IT boy.
• Find out if I can attend classes at the office gym this week since it's "come on by even if you're not a member and you can work out for free" week.

We know they're most likely not from Antarctica

On the back of my package of adorable little gummy bears:

Product of U.S.A. or Mexico or Brazil or Czech Republic or China or Indonesia

Really? You can put the nutritional information on the back and convince me that it’s accurate, but you can’t narrow down the source of my snack to even 1 or 2 continents?

On the resume wagon

Well, I did it. I had been feeling guilty because I hadn't been sending out very many resumes in the last week or so. I resolved to change that tonight and just sent out 5! Add to that the one I sent yesterday to a friend for a recommendation and we're up to 6 in 24 hours!
Whoo-hoo!!

In other news, cross your fingers, send a prayer, cast a spell or whatever it is you do for us. We've applied for a house here on the hill and we need to both get approved for that house and for the management company here to let us out of our lease at the end of May.

I found the house on Craigslist on Saturday night. I wasn't even planning to look that night, but I did for some reason and I think it may have been a devine appointment. Sometimes God puts you in the right place at the right time with the right people. (2 points go to everyone who knows who I stole that from) Anyways, the house is great. I would have a semi-private space, which would make me mucho-happio, JoyAnna gets a house instead of an apartment and it's 4-5 blocks closer to the metro! yipppeee!

A lesson learned

But, first, the backstory:
Last week, on one of my first days at this temp job, I went down to the cafeteria on the bottom floor of the building. I successfully wound my way around the seeming labyrinth of hallways and promptly ended up at the cafeteria. I wasn’t so lucky on my way back. I jumped on the elevator, but when I got off, I realized that I had gotten on a different elevator than I had the first time so I swallowed my pride and rode back down to the ground floor, crossed the building through the lobby and found my way back to my office. Oh well, lesson learned and only a little bit of scraped up ego.
Until today…
Today, I realized that the “wrong” elevator that I got off last week actually comes out just steps from my office, which is even closer than the “right” one that I take every day. I guess I thought this building was bigger than it actually is. So much for my intuition.

Last moments of my 20's

In less than two hours, I will officially be 30 years old. How very crazy. And, I am totally ready. The twenties were great. So great. I got to see three new continents, got two degrees, and learned way more than I ever wanted to about relationships. I also gained a nephew and many friends and some work experience. I may be saying good-bye to being a twenty-something, but I am very much looking forward to being a thirty-something.
Good-bye 29! It's been fun!

Because what else would I do?

Just sitting here having a traditional tax-day dinner -- macaroni & cheese and jelly beans with diet coke. That is the traditional April 15th fare, isn't it?

Making up for lost time

Not a day goes by that I don't think of something I want to blog about. Unfortunately, many days go by when I don't actually get those thoughts out onto the screen, though. So, what follows is basically a brain dump of the things rolling through my head the last few days.

• This has been a month of reconnecting with long lost friends. First, thanks to the wonders of facebook, I was reconnected with my friend Jess from high school. I had looked for her on and off for the last 10 years or so and am SO thrilled to be back in contact with her. She's just one of those incredible women that you can't help but love and respect! Anyways, her blog is linked here as "long lost Jess". Very cool.
  
• Then, my friend Wynette from college randomly commented on my blog last week after being out of touch for a good 8 years or so. Turns out she's married with 4 kids! I guess a lot changes in 8 years! She's linked now, too. See "long lost Wynette".
  
• I happened to be flipping through some tv tonight and heard this on (of all places) Desperate Housewives. One of the women said, "Church is a place for answers, not questions". Oh my. What a horrible way to try to travel on a faith journey! With suppressed questions? I probably have more questions now than I had 10 years ago, but I also have more faith. I believe a church, or the global church, is not living up to its full potential if questions and doubts aren't welcomed with open arms. Just a thought.
• Pick-up line of the day I was walking Jones today and I thought I'd just stop and get some Chinese food, but when I got there, I was concerned about leaving Jones outside so I was stalling on the sidewalk. There was a parked car beside me with the window down, but I wasn't paying much attention. Then a guy inside the car said, "Excuse me." When I turned around he said, "Will you walk me later?" It took me a good 2-3 seconds to even realize what he was saying. And, then I just had to laugh. I didn't have the quick wit to rebut with a comment about a leash or picking up poop, but that's really probably for the best.
  

Thoughts walking from the Hirshhorn

Quitting my job was one of the best things I ever did. I feel more like myself now than I have for a long time. Today I was just so happy and content and I don't know... I just felt like "Hyla!" And, I was funny, too. I am a funny girl. fuu--nnny.

I love my temp job. The organization is great and does great stuff, has a great office environment and culture (can we say soft and natural light and live plants?) and I've really enjoyed what I've been doing thus far.

This city does have its charms. I can't deny it. The capitol, the monument, the memorials.... it was all beautiful to take in while I was walking to and from the Hirshhorn tonight. The capitol is almost welcoming at night. With no tourists staggering around, it's actually quite beautiful and serene.

Roller Coaster ride

A smattering of the events in my life over the last few days:
- temp job started
- found out that 6 week temp job will only be 2 weeks
- had culture shock of being under utilized
- same temp job unexpectedly ended
- turned down for one job (it went to someone more junior -- geesh)
- rent and bills due
- minor freakout
- frantically try to figure out how to make some money
- decided that tomorrow I need to go to TJs and ask if I can work there again
- got a new temp job offer that starts tomorrow (preempting my need to beg for my TJs job) and pays more than the original one that I lost

Geesh. That was a lot to handle in 4 days. But, through it all, God is good. And, it looks like I'll be able to pay rent for another month. I'll keep you updated!

I couldn't make this stuff up if I could tried

As we all know, I’m unemployed these days. So, the idea of making a few extra bucks is appealing. Yesterday, a friend of mine, came up to me and said, “Hey, would you be interested in doing some data entry to make some extra money? I randomly met this guy and he seems legit… just needs some help on a project.” I said, “Sure” and took the business card and called him on my way to my interview.

I should have trusted my instincts. When someone seems crazy on the phone, they probably are. He insisted he needed help right that minute and that I should meet him at the coffeehouse (he just happened to pick Ebenezers – thank god!) right after my interview. I thought, “well he sounds a little crazy, but I’ll meet with him, agree on terms, get some work to do at home and be on my way”.

As I was walking up to the coffeehouse, I saw him through the window and I just KNEW that was him. He was crazed scientist meets passionate activist meets unwise dresser. He had at least three bags with him and each of them had labels pasted on them with his contact info announcing “Big Reward if Returned!!”. Buttons and stickers declaring his political positioning and conspiricist leanings were dispersed among his attire and belongings. Yup, I’d hit the crazy jackpot. (bearing in mind of course, that I am largely afraid of the uber-political types that litter this city)

But, I couldn’t back out now. I had to at least introduce myself. I’m not entirely sure how this happened, but rather than him giving me work to do at home, he had me stay there with him and work on the project right there. I ended up not only doing data entry, but also editing a grant proposal for his left-leaning project (and by left-leaning, I mean buried deep in a well of left). After a battery of questions to try to pull me over to his conspiracy theory side, I eventually convinced him to let me take some work with me and brainstormed the whole way home how I could bow out gracefully.

So, this morning, I woke up early to finish the project and wash my hands of the whole thing. What was waiting for me in my inbox? An email telling me I was brilliant and that he really enjoyed working with me. AND… he was staying out in the suburbs today and didn’t know if he would be able to make it in today, but would I be interested in coming out and spending some time with him as he would “make it worth my while with both presents and presence”. He followed this with several questions about my personal interests and asked me if I wanted to go swing dancing some time. (Several friends stopped and said hi while I was working and two mentioned swing dancing.) Oh my oh my oh my.

Just too much

I feel immense amounts of guilt for not updating my blog in the wake of all the recent change in my life, but somehow the first week of unemployed life has not been the slow, leisurely life I was anticipating. Instead, the last four days have been an absolute blur of sending out resumes and job-related emails, meetings, preparing for interviews and filling out applications. Yes, filling out applications. I'm going to formalize my pet-peeve in an attempt to upgrade it to a grievance. If I submit a resume, cover letter, professional references and a color-coded file of blood relatives, do I really need to fill out a four page application, too? It would be one thing to fill something out asking for unique information, but the bulk of them ask for employment history, skills and references. Really? I just gave you my resume. Are you even going to read this? I understand that it is just part of procedure, but I find it irritating. I could have made a new connection or applied for another job in the time I spent filling out each application. Ok, end rant.

So, here's my current situation. The last day of my job at the Master Chorale was on Friday. I'm spending this week and part of next looking for a new job and then on Thursday, I'll be starting a temp job that could last about 6 weeks. This is good. This will give me a little time to find something.
I thought when I walked out of the office on Friday, I would feel incredibly free, but it turns out that I didn't really feel much of anything. In fact, I was wondering for much of last week if I made the right decision. However, this week, I'm feeling much better and I know I made the right decision and I'm sure I'll find something soon.
Well, I have two interviews tomorrow so I'd better go. I have plenty of website reading to do. (and, wardrobe planning!!)

Some things to ponder

It takes a great suit to run with the big dogs, but people in nonprofits change the world everyday wearing jeans. The lesson to be learned? If you want to change the world, get comfortable.

This morning the escalator opposite mine broke down with a full load of people on it. No one moved. They just stayed on the step they were already standing on. Some of them were only a few steps from the top. "They're stairs, people. Walk up them!"