Swanky

I'm staying in a really nice hotel here in Chicago. It's so nice they provide a robe and slippers! Though I think the robe is a little big.

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

I'm in Chicago for the next couple days but tonight I'm really wishing I was in Phoenix. I'm missing the opportunity to lift a glass and toast to the fabulous and talented Amanda on her birthday. I hope she's out tonight celebrating and having an awesome time.

Amanda, know that I'm thinking about you and sending happy birthday thoughts your way today. I hope you had an incredible day. I can't wait to celebrate with you soon.

Transitioning

The first three weeks at the new job have been a whirlwind. I've gone through three weeks of training which was intense, but very helpful. The first week was in Phoenix and focused on application training. The second week was in Dallas and focused on the consulting methods we will use. The third week was more application training. It was an excellent boot camp and I feel prepared for what lies ahead.

It's funny how when I start something new and big like this, I feel a little out of sync. It's like I'm going through the motions but I'm just not in the groove. I don't have a spring in my step. I think I'm missing the confidence to really rock life. I know this is a temporary feeling and won't last long. I'll get more experience and get more settled into the job. I'll get more and more sure of myself and the confidence will return. I guess I'm thinking a lot of about how it feels during transition because that's where I'm at right now. I'm looking forward to getting my groove back.

Some of the transition difficulties is the drastic change in schedule. I'm going to work some 2 hours earlier than I was before. Plus I need more time to get ready since I can't just throw on jeans and a t-shirt like I have for the past few years. Ultimately I like getting going early in the morning because I feel good about accomplishing so much before lunch. It's just going to take some time to adjust to the early alarm.

Last week when I went to Dallas, I got up at 4am so I could catch a 6am flight. Got to the office in Dallas around 10:30am and worked until 5pm. I'm not really sure how I survived it, but I'm glad to know I can do it. I think I'll be doing this kind of thing fairly often in the coming months.

While in Dallas I got to have dinner with Leia, which was wonderful. She's a good friend that I don't see or talk with nearly enough. We're both in similar places in life; cosmically, she just re-joined a company she worked for a few years back. According to Leia, "It's super trendy right now to go back to old employers." Agreed.

I also got to have dinner with my parents while in Dallas. They picked me up from the hotel (which feels really, really weird every time it happens) and they took me to a family-run Brazilian steakhouse. It was a lovely, lovely dinner and so great to spend time with them. I wish it could have been longer. I'm so thankful for the good relationship I have with my parents.

Now that the three weeks of training is over, I've been assigned to a project. I'm excited about the customer and the project. They are in Chicago which is where I'll be spending a significant amount of time in the coming weeks and months. Let the adventure begin!

First Day at the New Job

It was a great day full of warm "welcome back" greetings from many old coworkers. This was the first time I opened my email on the first day and saw personal messages scattered among the IT instructions and company policy documents. It feels really good.

I so appreciate how supportive Chris is being through this change. He got up early with me and cooked an amazing breakfast. He took my picture. He hugged and reassured me when I left the house. He sent a text message at lunch. I know he loves me by all the little things he does. I'm so happy.

Quote of the Day

"I feel I've been swindled by fiction. No one's got anything interesting to say. The real world's more interesting than some pretentious person's imagination."
- Jonathan
in How the World Makes Love by Franz Wisner

Social = Busy

Sometimes I feel like my life is too busy. Chris and I tend to fill up our schedules with social events, but hey, we're social. We love being with friends and making new friends. So we get busy. I can't help but think how traveling most of the week will change this. One of my friends pointed out that getting together with me will be harder as "weekends will be sacred."

Monday Night
Had dinner tonight with an old friend from Texas, Billy. It's been almost 5 years since we've seen each other. Wow, how fast time goes. It was awesome catching up. We had a lot of reviewing the past in order to catch up. It's amazing how much happens in 5 years. FIVE YEARS. Geez, that used to feel like a lifetime.

It was great hanging otu with him and being reminded how good friends never fade away. People change and lives change, but you can pick up where you left off and keep going. That's how tonight felt with Billy. We just caught up and kept going. I hope we see each other a little more often than every 5 years, but I'm thankful for what I get. A great night, good food, great company. Can't ask for any better in life.

Tuesday Night
Went shopping after work. I intended to just quickly pick up a gift for Celeste's bridal shower, but couldn't find what I wanted. Ended up going to two malls. Stupid malls...the Internet is such a better place to shop. I just have to be more timely. I also picked up Chris' Valentine's present and hid it under the bed. Heh.

Wednesday Night
Dinner with Jamie. It's so, so awesome to have good women in my life. Jamie's dating a friend so we've been getting to know each other for awhile. I definitely consider her a friend now and feel lucky for that. We talked a lot about job changes and getting in better shape. Jamie is a runner. Her boyfriend is a cyclist who is racing for the first season. It's inspiring.

Thursday Night
The weekly ladies bike ride was moved to downtown instead of Tempe. Small showing but a lovely evening all the same. I love downtown and especially love riding bikes in downtown. I especially love the weather in Phoenix this time of year - 50's in the evening. We had dinner on a patio. Awesome. Especially when the rest of the country has snow (even Dallas!).

This is a picture of my parents backyard in Dallas. Brrr!

Friday Night
I couldn't hold out and ended up giving Chris his Valentine's day present early. He's going to give me crap about this for the rest of my life. He has a theory that my sisters and I can't keep a secret and we always open/give presents early. This isn't entirely true...but there is some truth to it. While this is probably the first gift I've ever given to him early, it will be held over my head for the rest of my life. That's OK, it was an awesome gift that I'll get mileage out of for a long time. He got a Play Station 3.

I spent Friday at Amanda's house with a few other women. It was great making new friends and just hanging out talking. It's funny that at the end of the evening we all agreed to find each other on Facebook. I wanted to say, "But what about my blog! Just Google Erica!!" I didn't.

Saturday
Quiet morning around the house since Chris had to go to work. In the afternoon, I attended Celeste's bridal shower. It was lovely, lovely, lovely! I'm so happy for her and am really glad I get to participate in this special time in her life. Saturday evening Chris and I just stayed at home, eating hot dogs and playing PS3. Not exactly a hot Valentine's date but fun!

Sunday
Got up early to watch friends race a criterium in downtown for the Valley of the Sun (VOS) bicycle race. We got to hear about Chad's crash from the day before and were surprised he decided to race again today. He won first for his category!

Met up with Celeste, Jo, Danielle, Clint, Jason & Sara for brunch. I really enjoyed hearing about Danielle's new job and Clint's upcoming conference about ant socialization and the things that can be applied to humans. The ladies started planning a trip to Vegas for Celeste's bachelorette party. (Excited!) Spent the rest of the day & evening around the house. Accidentally spent an hour cleaning house too. I know you're not supposed to do that on Valentine's Day, but it just happened. A clean house is nice.

Best Band Name Ever

We Were Promised Jetpacks

Happy 3rd Birthday to Braydon

My nephew turned three years old today. How do they grow up so fast?! I'm sad I wasn't able to attend the birthday party, but living on different continents makes it hard to attend some events. It sounded like fun - bowling, pizza, & two cakes!

Chris and I were able to watch Braydon open up the gift we sent via Skype. Yeah, technology! We sent a belt with a Superman buckle and a comic book for kids. I was thrilled to see how excited he was about the comic book. It's neat how that medium still fascinates kids.

Employed

Great news! I'm going back to full time employment next week. I've accepted a job with a software company to be a business consultant. In this new job I'll be helping customers install, configure, and customize the software. I'll be helping them create the best business processes for using the software. I'll be writing a lot of documentation and solving problems. But before all that happens, I have a lot to relearn.

This job is at a company I worked for three years ago so I know the software and the customers. But things change in three years and memory fades. So I know the coming months will be challenging as I learn / relearn a lot of information. I'm really looking forward to the process!

I'm also really looking forward to going back to this company. Many of the moments in my career that I am most proud happened at this company. Plus, I'll be working with many people that I already know. It will be like a homecoming. I'm really looking forward to my first day!

Chris and I are very thankful that I've been able to find full-time work so quickly. It's only been three months since I found I was unemployed. Even more lucky for us that I was able to work as an independent contractor during much of that time. I worked with a fantastic team who are doing some really amazing things on the web.

The coming weeks and months will be full of change for us. I'll be getting settled into a new job and working through all the challenges of learning as fast as possible in order to be productive as soon as possible. I'll be going from a very laid back part-time schedule back to a normal full-time schedule. I'm moving from small, independently owned businesses to a large, publicly traded corporation. I'll go from wearing jeans and t-shirts at work to wearing business dress.

The biggest change will be the significant amount of travel my new job requires. I will be consulting with customers at their locations all over the US. I will be traveling Monday through Thursday most weeks. Chris and I know that adjusting to the schedule will be hard. Neither of us like the idea of being apart three nights a week, but we're confident this job is best for both of us. Chris can continue to focus on school full-time for the next year and a half until his degree is complete.

Right now I'm feeling excitement about the new job and going back to a great company. I'm feeling very thankful that I have a strong network of friends and coworkers who have helped me through the job changes. Considering the current economy and the high unemployment rates, I'm feeling very lucky to have full time employment. Finally, I'm looking forward to the adventures and growth that lie ahead.