Today is my parents’ 57th wedding anniversary. It’s amazing to me that people can be married for so long. I think 24 years is a long time! They’re so cute together, too. They laugh a lot and take good care of each other. What a blessing it is to celebrate this anniversary. I wish we were there with them upstate at my sister’s house. We missed a lot of celebrations this past week – my Dad’s 80th birthday, Father’s Day and now their 57th wedding anniversary.
So – new subject. I haven’t talked about my weight in a while. I can assure you, if there was good news I would have written it – in big bold letters! The truth is, I have been in a rut for the last few weeks. I tend to gain a pound or two every weekend (apparently, eating too much on Saturday and Sunday!). During the week I lose a couple of pounds, then gain it back over the weekend. My lowest weight, to date, has been around 124, and today I weighed in at 127.8. I might get down to 125 by Friday, but then I go up again.
The only way to stop this cycle of madness is to start exercising. I’m pretty good all day, but tend to snack when I get home. I admit my snacks are pretty healthy and non-fattening, but I guess I’m still eating more than I’m burning. If I could just get into a real exercise routine, but I always have an excuse – my arm hurts (still does), my foot hurts, I’m tired, I’m busy, I’m working. I’ve got a million of ‘em! Since I want to get down to 116, I have my work cut out for me. They say the last 10 pounds is the hardest – and they’re absolutely right!
Meanwhile, they had told me at work that they were putting me in a new department as of July 1 (when this job ends) and the hours there were much earlier – 6:30am – 2:30pm. That’s because they are involved in trading and since the stock exchange in NY is 3 hours ahead, they start much earlier than normal. I wasn’t happy about the new hours at first, because I wouldn’t be getting my ride to and from work every day – and that’s a big deal for me. I’d have to drive on my own.
Other than that, I thought it might be great for me, because I’d really only have to get up an hour earlier than now, but I’d get home 2 hours earlier! I figured I’d have absolutely no excuse not to exercise if I had the whole afternoon ahead of me.
Unfortunately (or fortunately – it depends on how you look at it), they informed me today that I would NOT be starting at that job on July 1. They are putting another girl in there and moving me to HR! I’m so happy, because HR is a great place to work.
Also, I’ll be working with the girl I commute with, who is a doll. She’s the one I went to the movies with this past Sunday, so I’m really happy about that. She’ll be my boss! She also told me that she’s going to see if she can get me a raise. It will probably just be a few dollars an hour, but – hey – every little bit helps!
I had talked to her about asking the agency for more money, but told her I felt bad making the firm pay more money for me, because they have been so nice to me. She said I shouldn’t feel bad, because she thinks I deserve it. So, even if I don’t get the raise, at least I know she appreciates all my efforts!
So, this morning I read my book until my trainee arrived at 10:00am. The rest of my day was pretty busy. I did manage to finish my book before lunchtime (it was great!) and started reading my DICK FRANCIS short stories in the late afternoon.
When my trainee arrived we worked on expense reports and a few other projects. Then, I went down to HR to help them out there and start training for the new job. It all seems pretty easy to me. I’ll be a lot busier, but it’s all very simple, non-stressful stuff, like arranging interviews for job applicants, printing and filing resumes, and maintaining their extensive file system of staff – past, present, and future!
I came back upstairs to eat lunch and then, after my trainee left at 3:00pm, I went back down to HR to help out. There are about 8 people in the department – all girls. They seem to be very nice. The only bad thing about HR is that they are very shut off from the rest of the floor, because they are dealing with very private and confidential matters. So, there’s not much socializing going on. You’re really just interacting the people you work with.
Where I am right now it’s a big open area with people walking by all the time. You get to see lots of fun people every day and talk to them about movies, TV, fashion, crafts, whatever. There are a lot of great people in this group that I’m really going to miss. They make me laugh every day and I enjoy seeing the camaraderie in the department. I hope it’s as much fun in HR!
When I got home I jumped in the car to go pick up my dress and cardigan after being altered. The shop is in the big shopping center a few miles away. While I was there I figured I’d keep looking for my old lady shopping cart. ACE HARDWARE said they could special order one for me, but they suggested I try CVS, BIG LOTS, or RITE-AID. Eric and I went to RITE-AID last night and they didn’t have it. They also didn’t have it at CVS or BIG LOTS.
Eric said he’d try to find me one tomorrow, otherwise I’ll go back to ACE and ask them to special order it for me. What a pain!
When I got home Eric was busy organizing and cleaning. He wants everything to look great for Joe and Miguel this weekend. They’re not staying with us, but we want them to be able to come here to hang out for a while on Saturday afternoon. I wanted Scott to see the apartment when he was here a few weeks ago, but Eric had his bicycle stuff and tools all over the place and didn’t want to put it all away.
He’s now much more organized. He’s been getting all his tools together and organizing all his things. He’s starting to get ready for a trip back to NY. He says he’s really going to do it. He’s packing the RV and will drive back in the hopes of getting work.
He says he can’t just stay here, with me working and him not working and not enjoying the riding. He feels if he can go back, find work, get an apartment and get settled I can join him. He’s been in a much better mood the last few weeks, since he started talking about it. I think making a decision and working towards something has improved his outlook and given him hope for the future. He just feels there is no immediate future for him here in San Diego. There’s no union work, and there’s no mountain biking.
Obviously, he wants me to go with him, but I told him I can’t just drop everything and go back to NY since I am working. Packing up everything all over again and going back to NY just seems crazy, if we’re not sure he’s going to be able to find work. I would be willing to go back to NY, but only if he’s working and happy and I know he’s going to be content. I told him I am willing to go back, but not willing to start working in the city again and commuting – especially in the winter. I haven’t done it since 2002, since I had my shop for 5 years, and I don’t think I could go back to that lifestyle in New York.
I would be willing to temp, during the nice weather, and then just hibernate during the winter. I know it isn’t an ideal situation, but I rather be unhappy for a few months of the year than have Eric unhappy all year round. Life and love is all about compromise and we’re trying to find some way that we can both be happy.
Eric says he just needs 10 more years of mountain biking and he’ll be ready to give it up. So, even if we do end up back in NY it will just be for a few more years. I know this sounds crazy. It does to me, too, but what are you going to do? Life is what happens while you’re busy making plans!
Anyway, Eric’s been really happy lately and he’s really looking forward to our friends coming this weekend. I know he’ll be cleaning and organizing all week, making sure the apartment is perfect for our friends.
I made us a big salad for dinner and we watched HELL’S KITCHEN after his basketball game was over. The CELTICS won. Eric used to be a big CELTICS fan, but now he isn’t as enthusiastic as he used to be, although he admits they did great this year!
HELL’S KITCHEN was as entertaining as ever. You’ve got to love that Gordon Ramsay! It’s down to the final three, so that means there are only 2 more episodes and another reality show is over! Fortunately, there’s always another one right behind it!
My boss is still away tomorrow, and we got a lot of work done today, so tomorrow should be a little more relaxing, although I will be going down to HR at 1:00pm and will probably stay the rest of the afternoon.
I am starting a new DICK FRANCIS book tomorrow, so I’ll try to get a lot of reading done in the morning! I don’t know how much reading I’ll get to do in HR, so my life of leisure may be over on July 1. Oh, well. It was nice while it lasted!