Oh so much to tell...and yet...so little. I figured it was beyond time for an update. I think frequently about updating, I just rarely manage to actually do it. In my defense, there are about 4 drafts sitting in my blogger account that I never posted. Why not? Eh. They seemed...unimportant, I suppose?
Primarily, as usual, I've been working too hard. Plans for Pride are well underway. We are way ahead of our usual schedule in terms of planning, which is good because we'll have a better event, but slightly annoying because instead of devoting all of my time through May and into June to Pride stuff, I've been doing about 10 hours a week for the last couple of months (which I expect to continue until the day of). This will be the third big pride event we've done, and we've learned a lot along the way. Last year I handed the drag show off to someone else, as the first year made me want to put a size 15 stiletto in my eye. However, there was just as much trouble to be had giving it to someone else last year (too many f-bombs on the PA system in downtown) so it is back in my hands. *sigh* That, in and of itself, has been an educational process. We've decided to do a fundraiser/competition to decide who gets to perform. We'll see how that goes. I'm hoping well? But it appears we may have a little boycott on our hands, as some are less than pleased that they have to compete for something they've done the last couple of years. I suppose time will tell... It should be a really amazing event. We have some fantastic musical performances lined up during the day, and luckily, my committee agreed to have the lovely little Rockabilly band I loved oh so much from last year playing throughout the day. My only beef thus far is that I have been unable to convince my committee that we should have PBR on tap. Oh well. You win some you lose some.
I think the last time I updated I was unsure about my job continuing. While nothing is official, I feel confident enough to stop searching for jobs elsewhere. For one, competition is fierce for positions like mine thanks to a growing population of the over-educated and unemployed. After a couple conversations with my boss & mentor, I was able to step back and realize that I am getting amazing professional development and mentoring here. As much as I'd like to be closer to friends & family in Iowa and my mom in Minnesota, I can't walk away from the opportunities I feel like a couple more years of development will provide. It's rather amazing when I really look back on it. On a minimal level, conversations with my boss have progressed from "What do I do with this situation?" to "Give me permission and back me up if I handle this this way." In some ways, I almost felt like I was getting bored. However, I realized that "boredom" is more because I know what I'm doing, I know how to do it, and it is coming easier and easier as time goes on. January was my 3 year anniversary in my position. I suppose it is good that I've figured it out by now. After some minor attitude adjustments, I'm back to really loving what I do and being able to be more productive and forward looking.
Hank is doing fairly well. We had another severe bout of separation anxiety, so bad that I thought we were going to have to medicate him. Luckily he's not generally destructive, although he did decide chewing on the corners of the coffee table (that isn't actually mine and belongs to a friend) was a good idea. I suppose it's right there at mouth height... He primarily just howled/screamed/bayed all day while I was gone for a couple weeks...maybe 3 weeks. My neighbors were less than thrilled. However, somehow things improved slightly, all on their own. He even managed to stay with some friends of mine for a couple days while I made a trip back to Iowa to see a few friends and catch my mom while she was at my brother's. He spent most of his time staring at the door, but he managed. This is pretty amazing considering I've been unable to leave him at a friend's for even an hour most of the time. I know rescue dogs go through phases, so I'm going to hope that was another phase and he'll pretty much be over it. I know that he's also been a tad harrassed by some kids in the building (running by smacking the door while I'm gone), so it has been time to look for somewhere else to live.
There are a lot of bad landlords in this city, so I wasn't about to blindly start looking at ads for houses to rent. However, a friend asked her fantastic landlord if she had anything open, and lo and behold, she did. I'll be moving into a 3 bedroom duplex (a big old house converted probably 60 years ago to a side by side duplex) with a little yard. It's closer to campus, which will be nice, and is also directly across the street from my friend that recommended it. As excited as we are to be neighbors, part of that excitement is knowing that we are both such homebodies that have anti-social streaks that nobody will be showing up on anybody's doorstep unannounced. The place is beautiful, with hardwood floors and big windows and an open staircase. I'm most excited about the washer and dryer really...and the ability to put Hank out on a line rather than having to walk down stairs and go outside and wait for him to do his thing while I freeze. It'll cost a bit more, but it's manageable. I was a little hesitant, actually, until I found out it came with a 2 car garage. It looks like I'll be moving the week after Pride. That's not the most ideal time I suppose, as I'm usually exhausted, but I get to take lots of flex-time that week, so it will be easier in that respect. The good news is that I will have a couple of guest bedrooms that won't be occupied by a litter box. I'm rather excited about this, as should everyone else be, since my living room floor has served as a guest room since my spare bedroom currently is overtaken by Baxter. (yay for basements!)
I've been dating again. Nothing like a new relationship to remind you how screwy the last one was. I'm taking my time with this one, carefully getting to know her, and still even trying to figure out what exactly I want. That being said, I'll leave it at that for now. I am a difficult woman to date... some might accuse me of being married to my work. While I'm not entirely sure that's true, I do have an interesting schedule sometimes which doesn't help things much. Nevermind that I'm not very good at dating local women...ha! It's entirely too hard to date women here. My position is so public that everyone is either a student or a potential volunteer (ie. someone I need to not piss off). Eh, what do you do? But yes. I'm dating one person at the moment. We'll see how that goes.
As stressed as I have gotten lately, and as difficult as things have seemed, I've been trying to be a tad more reflective and be thankful for how far things have come. While I struggled financially for several months after making the switch from a poor grad student to a full time job, I'm actually living within my means now. I'm still trying to take care of the ridiculous amount of credit card debt I managed to incur while I was a student. It isn't easy, but I'm trying to remain hopeful. Some day it will go away... some day... Nevermind that student loan payments start soon. *sigh* But yes. Things are getting better. I still look at old classmates on Facebook who keep popping out children and wonder how in the hell they are ready for that, but I remind myself that I will, most likely, NEVER be ready for such things. And, well, I refuse to believe that makes me less of an adult. What does make me an adult, however, is realizations such as "Sarah, you cannot get another enormous dog until you get a bigger car." While this realization doesn't make me all that happy, at least I'm no longer trying to make life harder for myself.
So yes... if anyone is still reading this... all is well in the life of me. I'm learning on a daily basis-- but I consider that an accomplishment in and of itself.
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