the important things (to varying degrees)
I don't know about you, but sometimes I get too busy living to have time for writing. This happened to me long before I started blogging. Believe it or not, it's actually easier for me to keep up with post-blog (and that's really sad when you consider my lack of substantial posts as of late). So, after scrolling through, it appears that I haven't written much in the past month. While each of these topics probably deserves (deserved) its own post, I'm just going to lump it all together because I have a few minutes to spare here.
My birthday--Good. Thirty-one is a little freaky. Turning 30 was weird but I guess I grew accustomed to it. It's a nice round number. And now it's the past. I've had several moments lately where it's apparent that I'm (we're) getting older. That, too, is weird. I compare my timeline to that of my parents' generation (and some people's today) and I'm overwhelmed at what some people accomplish at such a young age. I could not imagine being 31 and having multiple children and a several-year-long marriage. I'm so glad other people make that work for them. Lately I've also been struck with the thought that I wish I could go back and tell the cjh of a year ago (a few years ago? several years ago?) that everything will work out. Not only that but everything will work out for the best. Just like it's supposed to. Now if 31-year-old cjh can keep remembering that...
Valentine's Day--Oh, to just have a Valentine. But I realized that I'm just not a huge fan of the day, even with someone to love. My someone was sick that day but it didn't matter. It was our first Valentine's Day (like so many other firsts in our first year) so that was good enough. It was also very exciting to be able to give gifts (receiving's not bad either).
Work--Things are getting rearranged with my projects. I'm finishing up the one study I've been working on for nearly two years. It will all be over at the end of this month. Sort of. With all change (even change you think you really, really want), there are mixed feelings. I've been so tired of this study and really wanted to get back to working in psychology/psychiatry. Now that it's coming to an end, I've realized (even more) what a good team we've had. I'll miss my co-workers even though I only saw most of them a few times a year. And I'll miss some of my sites. This is the longest I've worked on a project where they're developing a new drug. I sure hope it works out for the company as well as the people who have the indication. Because of all of this transition, I've had zero down time. I'm just now starting to dig myself out of the work hole I've been in for weeks. (Perhaps I'd be closer to getting out if I weren't blogging right now?) I'm going to be working on a COPD study part-time. Local sites. Definitely not going to London for the meeting. I got an e-mail about that meeting this morning and realized that I really am disappointed I'm not able to go. And then the majority of my allocation is up in the air. I may be working with an old co-worker on a depression study. If that happens I'll have half Texas sites and half California sites. Sounds good to me.
Shreveport--Yeah, it deserves its own category. To some degree I am going to miss the people there. Oddly enough. And I'm going to miss being so near an Ann Taylor Loft. And some of the restaurants. If you haven't already heard it, I've got to tell you the story of my last day there. I was very excited about it, as you recall. So I finish up with my site, say my good-byes, and walk out to my car (a Cadillac on this, my last trip). I thought I may cry...out of joy. Seriously. I make it to the airport and the Hertz ladies are sad to see me go. One of them hugs me good-bye. I go to check in for my 4:50pm flight. It's been cancelled but my ticket prints out and it says 5:30. No big deal, I think. I go into the bookstore where the man gives me a free tote bag because it's my last trip there. I go through security where the second person who looked at my ticket says, "This is for tomorrow." Holy crap. It sure is. For tomorrow. For 5:30. A.M. O.M.G. I go back to the ticket counter where I learn that there are no more flights--on any airline, to any destination--until the morning. Something about the terrible storms moving through and overbooking. Again, OMG. Sometimes I really hate having to problem-solve. I was supposed to get in Thursday night (to our big airport), get home, pack, sleep, and head to our small airport at 9am Friday morning to go to Vegas. At first I decided to suck it up and stay. I called our travel agency and they booked a hotel near the airport. I called said hotel to have them pick me up. Then I decided to just drive home (thanks for the suggestion, The Boyfriend). Good thing, too, because when I called the hotel back to let them know they shouldn't pick me up and they can cancel my room, turns out they were overbooked anyway and I never had a room. Swell. So I rented a car one-way, drove the 6 hours through all that weather, and made it home by around 11pm. Turns out that having to rent that car? Allowed me to have the same rental car twice (not the Cadillac, an SUV I had months before). So. Glad. To. Be. Done.
Volunteering--Survived all the trainings and observations. Turns out that the most time I needed to devote there coincided with the busiest time for work. Yeah, that sounds about right. But it's going great. I'm glad to be back doing something with kids and in mental health. It's like I have an extracurricular activity again. I'll have to devote an entire post to this one. It deserves it.
The Boyfriend--Who surely doesn't deserve to be so far down on this list. I think things are going swimmingly. We had this Vegas trip last weekend that was partially for my work but, as it turns out, mostly just to run away briefly. It was a great trip and couldn't have come at a better time. It had just the right amount of fun and just the right amount of relaxation. He sneakily bought tickets to O. Fantastic. So glad we got to see it together. And we ate in a fabulous Parisian restaurant for dinner. Also had quite a good brunch. He's a very nice boy.
Weddings--This will get it's own recap on Sunday or Monday I imagine. My brother is getting married on Saturday. Thank God I don't have PMS because the last few days I've been briefly overcome with emotion if I think about it all too long. I wisely invested in waterproof mascara yesterday. It is surreal. I guess you just get so caught up in the practical aspects, all the planning. I realized on Sunday that I'll be seeing people I haven't seen in awhile. That it's going to be a big party. That it's THIS SATURDAY. Sheesh. Ok, I can't write anymore. I need to go take some deep breaths. And then maybe dig myself out of that work hole a bit more. But there you have it. A real post.
My birthday--Good. Thirty-one is a little freaky. Turning 30 was weird but I guess I grew accustomed to it. It's a nice round number. And now it's the past. I've had several moments lately where it's apparent that I'm (we're) getting older. That, too, is weird. I compare my timeline to that of my parents' generation (and some people's today) and I'm overwhelmed at what some people accomplish at such a young age. I could not imagine being 31 and having multiple children and a several-year-long marriage. I'm so glad other people make that work for them. Lately I've also been struck with the thought that I wish I could go back and tell the cjh of a year ago (a few years ago? several years ago?) that everything will work out. Not only that but everything will work out for the best. Just like it's supposed to. Now if 31-year-old cjh can keep remembering that...
Valentine's Day--Oh, to just have a Valentine. But I realized that I'm just not a huge fan of the day, even with someone to love. My someone was sick that day but it didn't matter. It was our first Valentine's Day (like so many other firsts in our first year) so that was good enough. It was also very exciting to be able to give gifts (receiving's not bad either).
Work--Things are getting rearranged with my projects. I'm finishing up the one study I've been working on for nearly two years. It will all be over at the end of this month. Sort of. With all change (even change you think you really, really want), there are mixed feelings. I've been so tired of this study and really wanted to get back to working in psychology/psychiatry. Now that it's coming to an end, I've realized (even more) what a good team we've had. I'll miss my co-workers even though I only saw most of them a few times a year. And I'll miss some of my sites. This is the longest I've worked on a project where they're developing a new drug. I sure hope it works out for the company as well as the people who have the indication. Because of all of this transition, I've had zero down time. I'm just now starting to dig myself out of the work hole I've been in for weeks. (Perhaps I'd be closer to getting out if I weren't blogging right now?) I'm going to be working on a COPD study part-time. Local sites. Definitely not going to London for the meeting. I got an e-mail about that meeting this morning and realized that I really am disappointed I'm not able to go. And then the majority of my allocation is up in the air. I may be working with an old co-worker on a depression study. If that happens I'll have half Texas sites and half California sites. Sounds good to me.
Shreveport--Yeah, it deserves its own category. To some degree I am going to miss the people there. Oddly enough. And I'm going to miss being so near an Ann Taylor Loft. And some of the restaurants. If you haven't already heard it, I've got to tell you the story of my last day there. I was very excited about it, as you recall. So I finish up with my site, say my good-byes, and walk out to my car (a Cadillac on this, my last trip). I thought I may cry...out of joy. Seriously. I make it to the airport and the Hertz ladies are sad to see me go. One of them hugs me good-bye. I go to check in for my 4:50pm flight. It's been cancelled but my ticket prints out and it says 5:30. No big deal, I think. I go into the bookstore where the man gives me a free tote bag because it's my last trip there. I go through security where the second person who looked at my ticket says, "This is for tomorrow." Holy crap. It sure is. For tomorrow. For 5:30. A.M. O.M.G. I go back to the ticket counter where I learn that there are no more flights--on any airline, to any destination--until the morning. Something about the terrible storms moving through and overbooking. Again, OMG. Sometimes I really hate having to problem-solve. I was supposed to get in Thursday night (to our big airport), get home, pack, sleep, and head to our small airport at 9am Friday morning to go to Vegas. At first I decided to suck it up and stay. I called our travel agency and they booked a hotel near the airport. I called said hotel to have them pick me up. Then I decided to just drive home (thanks for the suggestion, The Boyfriend). Good thing, too, because when I called the hotel back to let them know they shouldn't pick me up and they can cancel my room, turns out they were overbooked anyway and I never had a room. Swell. So I rented a car one-way, drove the 6 hours through all that weather, and made it home by around 11pm. Turns out that having to rent that car? Allowed me to have the same rental car twice (not the Cadillac, an SUV I had months before). So. Glad. To. Be. Done.
Volunteering--Survived all the trainings and observations. Turns out that the most time I needed to devote there coincided with the busiest time for work. Yeah, that sounds about right. But it's going great. I'm glad to be back doing something with kids and in mental health. It's like I have an extracurricular activity again. I'll have to devote an entire post to this one. It deserves it.
The Boyfriend--Who surely doesn't deserve to be so far down on this list. I think things are going swimmingly. We had this Vegas trip last weekend that was partially for my work but, as it turns out, mostly just to run away briefly. It was a great trip and couldn't have come at a better time. It had just the right amount of fun and just the right amount of relaxation. He sneakily bought tickets to O. Fantastic. So glad we got to see it together. And we ate in a fabulous Parisian restaurant for dinner. Also had quite a good brunch. He's a very nice boy.
Weddings--This will get it's own recap on Sunday or Monday I imagine. My brother is getting married on Saturday. Thank God I don't have PMS because the last few days I've been briefly overcome with emotion if I think about it all too long. I wisely invested in waterproof mascara yesterday. It is surreal. I guess you just get so caught up in the practical aspects, all the planning. I realized on Sunday that I'll be seeing people I haven't seen in awhile. That it's going to be a big party. That it's THIS SATURDAY. Sheesh. Ok, I can't write anymore. I need to go take some deep breaths. And then maybe dig myself out of that work hole a bit more. But there you have it. A real post.
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