Wednesday, July 18, 2007

One more day

I have to make it through one more day before SF. I'm pretty much ready to go. It will probably be another 12 hour day at the office though before I can leave town. Then I can hopefully relax!

Friday, July 13, 2007

Thoughts of Balance

It’s amazing how much wisdom my friends have. Sometimes I wish it would rub off on me. So, mdog had a very interesting post in late June. From my perspective, I want it both ways. I want to work and work is a big part of my life. I like it like that. I enjoy what I do for a living, aside from current at times. During the school year, I don’t mind the long hours and chaotic schedule of events; I actually kind of thrive on that. I do want my job to validate my life, even though it’s been tempting lately to think about getting a monotonous job that doesn’t require thinking from 8am-5pm. As I say that, I know that I would not be content with such a position, though it seems very tempting. I really just want to have a career where I enjoy my work and can also have a life outside the office. It’s always been very important to me to have a strong work ethic; to be passionate, dedicated, and loyal about all aspects of my life.

I wish I could say, as mdog did, that people are my life. I do not make enough time for people. There are friends in Cincinnati that I haven’t talked to in months and other friends that I used to visit a lot more frequently than I have in the recent past. Too often, I let my work life rule my entire life and don’t allow myself to be with other people.

Mdog’s questions are ones to think about:
“Do I have people I can call up at three in the morning? do I have people that will give me hugs if I need them? do I have people I can share my life with? do I have people that support me? encourage me? walk with me?”

I used to be able to answer yes to a lot of these questions, but not so much anymore. I find it hard to maintain relationships outside of my workplace and that is not healthy. There are some great people who are already in my life, distant, but in my life that I need to reconnect with. How do I find the energy to maintain these existing relationships after a long day at the office or an event? Sometimes to find the energy just to call an old friend is hard and the thought is exhausting. That’s when I feel like I need that alone time. This brings me back to my question about balance. How do I establish that work-life-balance? Maybe it will come with more work experience. I have not yet found my success.

Friday, July 06, 2007

Independence


It was a pretty good Fourth of July. The festivities began Tuesday evening with a very small gathering at our house. It was a total of four that grew to six by the end of the night. Four of us played Mexican Train Game, which we temporarily changed the name to Freedom Train Wreck (drinking may or may not have been involved). We ordered pizza and walked to Papa John’s and continued the game. I had a lot of fun. Tanqueray goes pretty well with Fresca and lemonade.

Wednesday, I paid my Macy’s bill in the morning and ran a few other errands. Wednesday evening, John and I went to Brookville Lake to hang out with some of his friends/relatives that have a boat. We cruised out near the dam where the fireworks go off from. There was still plenty of time, so we went back near the bridge and were on our way back when some storm clouds moved in. It didn’t look to be too bad. Then all of a sudden the rain started a long with some very very strong winds. We couldn’t see anything around us hardly and were getting soaked by the sideways rain. All the boats made their way back to the boat ramp, but by the time we got back to the ramp, it cleared up.

It was still almost an hour before ten, so we made our way via car to the other side of the dam and caught the fireworks show there. It was a pretty good show and made up for the lame fireworks I saw last year in Oxford. They started out with the Star Spangled Banner and went into some other good songs (Proud to be an American, which I remember singing at 6th grade graduation). After the fireworks, we went back to the state park and sat by the campfire for awhile to dry out a little before driving back home. It was nice to be outside and hang out with some new people. And, I always love a good fireworks show…it doesn’t seem like the 4th without them!