Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Big Changes

Despite my best intentions, things have been very quiet around the blog the last few weeks. I've talked about the Real Life Stuff that's been going on, but I've been unable to share. Well, the last few pieces have fallen into place, and I finally can! (Thank God, I hated being a vague blogger!)


Michael and I have been long-distance our entire relationship. (We've known each other since fourth grade, though, which I think helped us make it work.) In college we were only about 1.5 hours apart, but since we both started working, it's been 4.5 hours.

That's why I'm super excited to announce that I got a job in Cleveland and will be moving to join Michael!


It was actually the second job I applied to (womp womp) once I started looking, and I am thrilled about the position, the organization, and my future team. I'll still be in accounting, but I'll be moving from cost to doing grants. I've had a little exposure to this in college, but I'm certainly a newbie, but grants seemed very interesting, so I figured what the heck, why not apply. I'm so glad I gave it a shot! As a very risk-averse person, this was especially exciting for me. (And just to note, I was totally up front about this in all my interviews!)

I obviously didn't want to share on the blog I was looking for work, in case anyone from my current job stumbled upon it. It was weird keeping it a secret though, since it obviously affected my stress levels and my running. (I skipped a few runs to work on job apps, and I felt sort of keyed up a lot of the time.)

Though to be honest, it's still affecting my running. We planned our races this year around my work schedule, and it sounds like my new job will have a very similar set-up, so the races should still work. Worst case, we only have one marathon in the fall, so there's lots of other races we could do instead, and the only thing we are out at this point is registration fees. (And I think some of the races even allow transfers, so maybe we could re-coup some of that.) Plus, the next three races we could squeeze in with no time off - though it would be an awful suckfest - so there's really no reason to worry.


However, I am who I am, so this is causing me a ton of anxiety, but I know it's out of my control, and I will just talk to my boss when I start. My only concern is sounding lazy (hey, I know I just got here, but I'm going to need to take some time off, byeeeeeee), but I'm sure it's normal for new employees to have pre-planned trips, and I'll obviously communicate I'm flexible. Plus - it's a marathon, I'm not just running off (ha!) to lie on the beach or something.

I'm also having some anxiety over fitting in my training with the new job. I'm eligible to get a gym membership at Case Western, which is only a few minutes walk from my office, but I'm not sure they will pro-rate the membership. (I'm fine with $33 a month, but $80 would just be stupid.) That means lunch time workouts are probably not an option until July, but I know I can just get a gym near where I live and (gasp) actually get up to do some workouts in the morning. I'm also hoping to use my lunch break to get active and go for a walk in the building or outside.

I realize this post makes me sound like the love child of Grumpy Cat and Debbie Downer, but I want to share my honest thoughts about the transition. I sort of realized suddenly I was depressed again after starting my current job because of all the changes and related anxiety, even though I was certainly happy.


I think being open on the blog (and with myself) will help combat it this time around. I have had a lot of fun researching gyms and found what looks like an awesome one near my new apartment. (Their indoor track is made of rubber. I might marry it!)

There was also one other big change to share (that I will detail a bit more in my South Carolina Recap), but Michael and I got engaged while we were at Myrtle Beach!

It's very exciting to move on to the next step of our relationship. (Though since I look like I'm 12, people still keep calling him my boyfriend instead of my fiancé, even with my engagement ring on.) I personally find it annoying when running blogs I read suddenly morph into wedding blogs, so I will try to keep everything to a minimum here, and only talk about it as it applies to my running.

But wedding planning won't even begin in earnest for awhile since our next goal is to buy a house. Michael's lease will be up at the end of June, and we would like to be out of there by then. We are both sick and tired of loud and inconsiderate neighbors. I can't wait to live in my own place and know it will be quiet whenever I want it to be. (Read: 100% of the time.)

Please be patient with me as I go through these changes. I will get my recaps up soon, but it is a little overwhelming packing up my life and getting ready to settle in a new state. I can't wait to share my new Ohio adventures, but I need some time to get into a groove.

My New Year's resolution was to post three times a week, but I think I will scale back to just once a week for now. Hopefully once I settle in and have someone to share chores with, I will have more time than ever to write!

Have you ever had to ask for vacation time soon after starting a job?
Any house hunting tips for us?

4 comments:

  1. What a post! First of all, congrats! Being engaged and moving to be together is absolutely wonderful and I'm so happy for you! I know how anxious you must feel but it will all work out in the end. The transition will be hard but in the long run you'll be living with your fiance (what a fancy word!) and so happy. I'm so excited for you!

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    1. Thanks! I realized at the end this blog post was a huge dump of life updates, but I couldn't share until work knew! It's a lot of (positive) changes all at once, but I'm sure I'll feel much more at home a few weeks after I move.

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  2. YAY!! Congrats on so many levels! The engagement, the job, the move! So excited for you!

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    1. Thanks so much! It's definitely a lot of huge changes at once, but hopefully it will give me new and exciting things to write about.

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