Sniff

I had my goodbye party today. It was sad! I ran around taking pictures of everyone.

(And totally non-sequiter, but I have a list of favorite books in different genres over at Paperback Musings).

Go shopping

I must be on some kind of author kick, because I've named these earrings Maeve, after Maeve Binchy. The briolettes are made of this pretty white milky glass that turn iridescent in the sunlight.

Also, some of you may remember this, a little over a year ago. Well, guess what. Last month my old office - the one I left last year - asked me to come back, and offered me a promotion to sweeten the deal. And I accepted! This week is my last week at my current job, and will be going back to my old office on Monday and starting my new duties. It is a bit bittersweet, as I was just saying a few weeks back how much I love the new place after a year of settling in there. And I will miss the friends I've made. But, I am also excited to go back "home".

One year later

Today is my first anniversary at the day job, and some of you may remember how miserable I was that first day a year ago. Looking back, it seems remarkable to me how much things have changed since that day. I've made a lot of good friends. I feel comfortable in my routine and in my environment. The strange has now become the very familiar.

Funny how things work sometimes.

Snow and old friends

On Wednesday we got our first snowfall of the season. We didn't get as much as other places did, but we did get enough to cover the trees, which is a pretty sight.

I've had quite the nostalgic couple of days. Thursday evening I met up for happy hour with friends from grad school, which is always a nice time. Exchanging notes on the changes in our lives since graduation never fails to make for a fascinating discussion.

And then today I met some of my old coworkers for lunch, resulting in a mini reunion. Afterwards we all trooped back to the old office to say hello to everyone. It was very strange - yet extremely nice - to be back there again, and to see familiar old faces. I made sure to say hello to my old desk, as well.

Familiarity breeds comfort

It's been exactly one month since I started my new job and I'm happy to say that things are on the upswing. If you recall, I had an extremely rough time at the start of the new gig and was desperately missing my old coworkers.

At the time I didn't see how I could possibly ever feel comfortable at my new job, but little by little, as the weeks went by, I could feel myself physically and mentally relaxing. I'm making friends and I've gotten to the point where I feel comfortable enough to start joking around with my new coworkers.

One of my mom's favorite sayings, which I paraphrase here, is that adjusting to new changes is just a matter of familiarity. It sounds so simple when she said this, and, while true, the getting to that familiarity is nevertheless the hardest part (especially for me, who hates changes of any sort) .

Mom knew best, though. My new commute has now become my old commute, my new coworkers are now my old coworkers, and my new computer with the keyboard that felt all wrong is now my familiar old computer whose keyboard has conformed to my fingers.

And, a bonus - today I moved to my new office, which I have all to myself!

MOVIE PLANS

On Friday I am going to see August Rush with my sis (who was the only other person I know besides me who had any interest in seeing it - yay sis!). It stars Felicity and Jonathan Rhys Myers - okay, it's really Keri Russell, but she'll always be Felicity to me. This is a movie that I really, really, really, really (14 to the 9th power) wanted to see because Felicity plays the role of a cellist, and also because Jonathan Rhys Myers is pretty hot (even more so after I saw commercials for The Tudors where he was in all his buzzed cut glory). Furthermore, Felicity learned to play the cello in only three weeks. I read an article where she said she started out learning Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and was playing Bach concertos by the third week. Hell, it took me years before I could play Bach on the violin - and she did it in only three weeks?! This is why I love Keri Russell, and not just because she got to kiss Ben on Felicity.

Finding my footing

I ended the week in a much better frame of mind than I had started it, helped along by these lovely flowers Mr HD sent to my new office to "brighten up my new desk." How sweet is that! There are orange gerbera daisies, yellow roses, and red holly berries.

Consequently, they were also a great conversation piece with everyone who stopped by my office door.

Other factors that helped improve my outlook and helped bring about an end to both my major and mini meltdowns were the following:

1. Bringing along personal effects from my old desk, consisting of a framed picture of Mr HD, my Star Wars action figures (Yoda and Luke), and my postcards from Europe (another great conversation piece - nothing bonds two strangers quicker than comparing notes on various travel experiences).

2. The familiar presence of an old friend and coworker from my old job, who also now works at the new place, and his helpful, wonderful intercession on my behalf on various matters. To say that he was instrumental in easing my transition is an understatement indeed.

3. The discovery of a nail salon only half a block from my new building. I got a French manicure at lunch today and instantly felt revitalized and renewed.

4. The installation of a piece of software on my computer that I used a lot in my old job. I was so glad to see the software's friendly, familiar face again - it was like greeting an old friend.

5. The fact that not only are there a million places to choose from for my lunch and coffee/hot chocolate options all within walking distance, but there is also a food cart that sells Korean food (bulgogi and bibimbap) at a nearby corner. After I sampled the bulgogi I am happy to say that the vendor lived up to his culinary reputation.

Oookay, apparently food never fails to cheer me up.

As I was walking to work on Tuesday, still getting used to my new commute, I saw a bus pass by whose final destination was the neighborhood where my old office is. I followed it longingly with my eyes as I seriously contemplated jumping aboard and never looking back. Yes, I was that homesick for my old job. Sanity reasserted itself, however, and I'm relieved to say that I'm over the hump of my difficult adjustment period, and have slowly found myself on steadier footing as my first week on the new gig ends.