NormBlog

so, this is week 2 of a new job and a new life in a new city. that’s a lot of news in one sentence. and you can imagine the stress involved in all those news. there should be one more new in that sentence, new apartment, but it’s new construction and that means delays and such.

the new apartment is quite awesome. i can’t wait until it’s done. and not just because it means an end to the 1 1/2 hour commute into the city from my parent’s house.

i have to say, living with my parents has been the best part of this experience so far. anne has to stay in stl until the end of the month. :( i have the dog with me :) and that helps with feeling more at home. but most of all, having someone physically there to get a hug or talk out my day with is what is making all of this possible. never underestimate the power of a hug.

the job is exciting and fun. the biggest hurdle is getting a handle on the procedural aspect of the job. the work is what i am comfortable with. so far, everyone here has been really nice and really friendly. that is very good. many people that i would like to get to know better.

the city. oh my, the city! well, it’s big. that’s new. working in the city is fun. getting to the city is hard, but there’s a zen to that and i can do zen. learning where things are is daunting, but okay. thank goodness for the grid system. i’ve quoted freeburg before and i’ll do it again now, “i may not know where i am, but i have full confidence in the grid system and know that i can get where i am going.” that is so true! the other surprise is that it really does smell like brownies on some of the bridges here. depending on the wind, right around ohio, if you roll down the windows, you get free brownie smells.

anne comes up this weekend and we will spend our first night together in the new apartment, if it is ready. that is definitely something to look forward to, for a lot of reasons.

in most situations of general newness, i try to take the attitude of “it’s only new at the beginning. in a few days/weeks/months/whatevers it’s all going to be old hat.” this philosophy is supposed to keep me from sweating the details and generating a lot of unnecessary angst over my uncomfortable feelings re the newness. so far, i have not been too successful with this approach, probably just because i don’t have anne here.