and we run in 2013-2014

I started my job on Wednesday. There’s a steep learning curve, but nothing nasty. It’s a new software and filing process. Not too bad. Just requires practice and familiarity. Ashley was there that week to introduce me to things and people and walk me through things, but starting on Monday, I’m on my own. The engineers are great, the environment is relaxed, the office is gorgeous, my computer came in the very next day and I could set it up myself. I can skywatch all day with skyline views of east and west, and that close to the ocean, there are some great clouds. The commute is about 40-45 minutes each way, all Interstate, with generic rush hour bullshit. So far, it’s a cakewalk compared to anything remotely Atlantan.

I’m in the heart of downtown, so I can take fun walks to explore during lunch. There’s a park with monuments from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars on the next block where I’ve eaten lunch. There’s a nineteenth century cemetery a few blocks another way. It’s really fun to wander. The print shop we get our massive spec sheets from has a cocker spaniel dog wandering around who likes to get pets while the owners chat. The downside is that there’s a three-story crepe myrtle out my window that’s overgrown and scrapes across the window. Depending on the force, it sounds like anything from nails on a chalkboard to a very squeaky chair to a dolphin in distress.

For sure though, I did not miss getting up before seven every day.

So there’s that. I’m adjusting to having a routine and a schedule and a slightly abnormal sleep schedule. I never outgrew my teenage nightowl stage with the best sleep from about 5-8am. I took some killer naps Thursday and Friday. Oops.

Starting Monday, I have a new workout plan. With a treadmill, I can more easily time out those minute increments. I still want to find some trails, though. I have a sidewalk, but the highway is really busy. I will try to make it out to the university loop 1.5 miles away, though. And I might switch out one of the easy runs for a long easy one of at least an hour every now and then earlier than listed. Somewhere about 40 minutes in, everything starts to get really easy as I hit a second/third wind, and I’ll hate stopping before that point. And I want to occasionally run a 5k distance as fast as possible. I had that under 30 minutes and I was proud of that, damn it. It was fun.

Or maybe I’ll hit 42 minutes and keep going because I can. We’ll see. It’ll depend on what my body tells me.

I am not going to get to 10k in 64 minutes, though. HAH.

*

We hit a Thing today. The crux is that he really wants me to get willingly involved with his church, independent of him, so going to Ladies’ Sunday School and staying for 3 hours for all of it put together and socializing afterward on occasion. I am not a fan of gender segregation, not a fan of women’s groups, and definitely not a fan of getting home at 4pm. And I am absolutely not going to, on a weekend, get up early in the morning to squeeze in chores/food prep/a run/whatever else. After 20 years of church cultures, I have yet to find a small group/Sunday School where I fit in and feel comfortable. I came close in Tallahassee, and that was for two years in the 2000s. So I’m not exactly enthusiastic about trying again.

The other problem is that I have yet to actually be taught at his church. It’s speeches, talks, and discussions and only one have I actually learned something from. So I’m not being intellectually or spiritually stimulated, either, which means that I’m even less excited about spending almost all of my winter daylight there.

I keep telling myself free wedding, free wedding, but that just makes me feel like a dick.

I like them. They’re so incredibly nice. And I have so incredibly little in common with anyone. What’d I do Saturday? Sat around watching football all day and got drunk during my game, and ate an entire carton of buffalo chicken dip because it tasted like crack. What do I do all week? Work for engineers and be the only woman on the floor. What are my hobbies? Exercise, running, football, rock concerts, anything sweaty or dirty. It’s like speaking a different language. No matter how pretty I look, I always end up feeling like a (childless) kid in the corner.

WHERE ALL THE ADULT CHRISTIAN TOMBOYS AT. I NEED YOU.

We kept getting stuck on how I don’t want to spend so long at church, because I have stuff to do even though it’s my “day of rest.” Saturday is my practical day of rest. I don’t do anything in the falls. Sunday is get-ready-for-next week, with the usual pet care, but also making dinner/lunch for the next week, cleaning, laundry, etc. I feel inflexible about this, but as much as I love them all, no one in his apartment spends a tenth of the time I do on pet care and housework. They either share the load or don’t do it at all, but I sort of live alone and I have to do it. I’m not sure there’s a realistic concept of the investment and time required for basic upkeep. I mean, I could do laundry or dishes or whatever on Saturday, sure, but that doesn’t negate at all how I don’t want to spend all afternoon inside on a weekend! I also like to spend Sunday night, all of it, winding down so I’m fully rested for Monday. Not still cooking and cleaning at 8pm.

So… in conclusion, I have no idea how we’re going to work this out. Of course I’ll give this a fair shot, but it’s still not what I want to do. When he finally got back to my place this afternoon it was just after 4pm and I was in the middle of laundry, and just kind of mellow/almost down. I’ll bounce back after I readjust to the new routine. It’s not a big deal. He kept asking me to perk up like it was a button I could hit. It really bothers him when I’m mellow-apathetic. (He better hope there’s no post-partum depression, then.) And then he had to run to pick his brother up from work, and it’s just more of that lifestyles-aren’t-100%-compatible-right-off-the-bat stuff. Just wait until he has to come to terms with how much time and money he spends gaming. Escapism or not, there will be no criticizing my time management and hobbies during current conditions, and “you can come with me and read a book” does not freaking count as time together.

In other news, Jessica got pregnant two months earlier than intended, so now she’s functionally out of the wedding, given that her due date is like, three days after the wedding, and she lives in Kansas. Aimee is probably stepping in just for balance/numbers matching whatever I don’t freaking care. I hate weddings. There is a reason 2/3 of the budget is going to the rings and the honeymoon. BUT BABY JESSICA. THIS IS AWESOME. YAY BABY! SCREW THE WEDDING PICTURE BALANCE, JESSICA’S HAVING A BAAAAABYYYY

I leave you with a corgi twerking. I don’t care how old this clip is. It always makes me smile.