Thrihyrne

Had a long but very meaningful and social day yesterday. There was intense work (as in, Airbnb work), and going on a currently secret afternoon excursion that involved cleaning and tidying, laundry, and spending much-appreciated time with evannichols's mother, Gwen, and then coming home and then going to a scumptiously social cookout at sanguinity and grrlpup's house and seeing the Maki family as well. Sang is an accomplished griller, and H. made amazing potato salad (I still need to get that recipe!) and meeting Nicole's young men in person was a delightful experience that I'll admit I didn't expect to feel to that level. I'm not much into other people's offspring in general (even my own siblings' children), and I haven't been around teenagers in… years?? Anyway, they were articulate, not-posing, independent souls and their genuine affection for each other and their parents was actually mind-blowing the more I think about it. Yay for a family unit that's healthy and respects everyone's individuality, and is effusive in affection.

As the years have gone on, I've recognized within myself (and also Sang has pointed out to me) that I don't really care about the pyrotechnics of fireworks and the sparkler bomb. It's true. I get nothing out of it. So this year, I enjoyed the food and companionship and conversation and social part of the evening and then came home to get in a run that I'd intended to have first thing Friday morning— except that I'd neglected to turn on my morning alarm at all so I overslept my ability to run before work. Oooops. I had a great run and then futzed around the internet looking at fun purple/wild orchid/lavender/magenta hair colors until it was time to go pick Evan back from the night's festivities. I was treated to bonus social time as everyone was still there! There was also ginger and caramel ice cream. NOMNOMNOM. And a second round of hugs, which was really wonderful to top it all off.

Today?
BLISS ON A STICK. A DAY AT HOME WITH EVAN DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IF I DON'T WISH IT.
Even Mod Physique was cancelled so Jessa could have a holiday weekend, so I truly have nothing on my calendar. There are only a few things I plan to accomplish:
~ giving emansil_12 a call
~ finishing my Reggie/Kelp story (only 1.5 scenes to go! then Grand Editing will commence)
~ doing a half hour or so of my favorite Mod Physique toning moves but no cardio today

and the usual of enjoying Evan's company and playing a helluva lot of Facebook games. :D

It's early (5:25) but a common time to be awake for me on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays when my work schedule and Evan's are in sync. I'm taking 2 days of PTO this weekend, which means this is our first 3 days together without working some of it since last October. WOOT! And I need it. I'm on the threshold of a work-free weekend (we're using 'koala' as a sort of reminder word if I find myself talking about work, and I absolutely will not even log in to see how many emails I may have), and it's much needed. :P

Yesterday was an absolutely delightful usual day off. It was unexpected in that I had company! evannichols was home because he'd come home sick midday Tuesday, and was still not feeling well yesterday. I took the opportunity to sleep in as much as my body needed, which was a lot: didn't wake up for a final time until 9:30. So no ballet, but I was certainly rested. I enjoyed a leisurely morning, including writing a letter to Evan's mom, then ran a couple of errands with Evan before leaving him at the apartment to rest while I went out and did my own things. First on the list was a truly lovely hour visit at my former residence on 79th. I met up with Gail and Robin, had tea, shared some of my knitting projects, and just enjoyed their company and seeing Cooper, the boxer [dog] again. What made me particularly happy about that whole scenario is that they are the first people since my Years of Struggle (approx 2005-12) whose residence I've left as a tenant under positive circumstances. They have enthusiastic roses in their side yard, and Gail sent me home with a stunning bouquet of a dozen, which are gracing a table now.

Other adventures included going to Value Village in search of sandals. Instead, I bought a pair of flip-flops (o_O), and a unique pair of side-zip quasi-dress shoes in a kind of rich grey. They need a lot of love, and some thoughtfully-chosen shoelaces, but I bought then for $5.99 and 20% off. I've decided to invest up to $40 in them to bring them back to life, and I'm oddly attached to them already. I rounded out the day with a wonderfully long phone call with Jen in Eugene, then a few episodes of season 3 Project Runway Evan and I are watching (my second go-round, his first) before going to bed. All in all, just a splendid, enchantment-filled day. And it was overcast/some rain, the perfect Portland day for me. :)

So today is work, and then 3½ days off as my Monday schedule is 1-10. We're trying to keep much of our time unstructured and free for spontaneous activities, but there are a couple of planned events on our docket: I bought a Groupon for a 2-hour jewelery-making class for 2 at a studio in Newberg, so Evan and I will take a bezeling class tomorrow from 2-4. I'm taking a years-old pendant with 2 circular peridots and a teardrop citrine and will plan to convert it into a pair of earrings with the peridots. But we'll see! The other thing I really want to do and have brought up on occasion is for Evan to show me around the Lewis and Clark College campus, as it's his alma mater and I've never been out there. I applied to several jobs there during my time in Portland, but was never invited for an interview and consequently have never gone to see the campus. I think it will be insightful to go through the buildings and on the grounds where young!Evan spent some formative years. And, like my alma mater, it often shows up in top lists for beautiful campuses. Maybe there will even be a picnic. ♥

I'd posted about this in other social media, but one of the completely unexpected perks about moving into my new position in Resolutions & Rebookings is that our training was scheduled for the shockingly traditional 8-5, Monday-Friday. That means that for the first time since my original training at the end of July and early August, I have 2 days together off, and they are days I can share with evannichols!! Weekends! OMGYAY! At least a few of them, and then shortly thereafter I'll have a new schedule. I have no idea if it will resemble my prior one or not, and since my new team lead (the 3^rd thus far in my 7-month tenure) was in a week-long Team Leads meeting at HQ, I haven't even begun to get to know him yet. No constant but change, as they say.

It was a productive but leisurely, very social yet cocoon-y weekend. A fulfilling amalgam of activity and lounging. I was uncommonly social in that my friend Jen from Eugene came over for lunch on Friday, then we went on a lovely walk with grrlpup and sanguinity, and then over to Evan's sister's place yesterday to hang out with them. Evan and I had a very rare lunch out, trying out an Indian restaurant buffet close by (yummy!) and doing the obligatory Portland thing of going outside on a getting-warm, sunny spring day. I even wore spring clothes! ( Exhibit A below the cut )

I tried calling a few folks and had really hoped to Skype with my stepdad and at least one of my stepsisters while he was up in NYC, but despite several texts back and forth, it didn't happen. Last week during my usual Wednesday off I Skyped with my mom and sister (my mom was visiting her out in Salt Lake City) which was especially poignant after my recent wonderful trip to Harrisonburg. I find myself in tears not infrequently after being on the phone with my dad or mom; my relationships with both of them are so open and easy now, and that has not been the case for much of my adult life. I am incredibly grateful for that.

And I'm up and showered and solo earlier than usual today as Evan went into work an hour earlier than the norm. I must have slept very well as I woke up with the alarm and wasn't foggy or tired at all. Woo hoo!! That's a welcome way to start my week!

I'll write more about my new promotion in the coming days. ♥

evannichols had an overarching Word for the Year last year which was 'celebrate.' He hasn't been doing that kind of representational statement for many years, but we were discussing it this morning, it being a new calendar year and all. He's focusing on finishing things, so I suggested 'closure.' And since, of course, I wanted to think about me equally, I thought about my own goals and what word would be my go-to for the year. It came pretty quickly: tenacity. I'm very, very skilled at starting over. But it's been since the first half-decade of the 00s since I've worked on my staying power. This is the year that I want to hold on to what I have: the integral presence of Evan in my life; engaging employment; staying in this residence for a year; and, most importantly, keeping thoughts of 'this is all too good to be true, the universe loves bleak irony and some horrible tragedy is right around the corner to show me how too good to be true this is' at bay, whatever that takes in as healthy an approach as I can muster.

So. TENACITY

Jury duty was nearly as uneventful yesterday as Monday, though at 3:15 or so I was finally called to go to a courtroom! We were interviewed for a while to decide which of us would be unbiased and the appropriate jurors for the case, which was going to go on for the next day, perhaps two. Now, if this had happened on Monday I would have been stoked, but Wednesday is my day off and if I had been selected, it would have meant (I think) that I'd just be in jury duty and not paid or if I was paid, that would all be fine and good, but that day off would not necessarily be rescheduled. To my immense relief I was not chosen, and was able to go and leave the courtroom. The judge thanked us and I spontaneously replied, "Thank you for inviting us to be a part of the process," which she really seemed to appreciate. Fun fact I learned from this process and the juror movie we watched yesterday morning: there are more women judges than men in the state of Oregon. ♥

My left pinkie toe still hurts a lot. I've been icing and elevating it each day when I come home. I realize this may resemble a rib injury in that it just hurts for a long while as it heals. Ah, well. I did buy an exercise ball yesterday, something I'd been intending to do for months, so I can add in that element to my toning, but I think jogging again is still a little ways off. My sister sent me some birthday money so I can try out hot yoga, which I'm very excited about. :)

Today after doing laundry I'll head out to the jeweler who has resized my rings and pay for them and wear them, then go to visit sanguinity until lunchtime or so and then have quiet time at home. Yay!!

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't note the splendid evening we had with oh_that_jocelyn on Monday. There was yummy food and delightful conversation and gifts! I am grateful that Evan and his wife emerita are still close and that I, too, enjoy her company, very much. As Evan noted, she and I do have a lot in common: we both love cats, we love decorative stationery arts… ;)

For the first time since this time last year, this morning I retrieved one of my composition notebooks and began writing on a new fic. This is all thanks to my beloved emansil_12. At the end of our conversation on Wednesday, she suggested that since I'd missed out on signing up for Yuletide, I just might consider looking at the prompts available for the ron_draco_fest 2013. I said I would, and now, two days later, I've claimed a prompt and started writing on it. I'm quietly thrilled. Don't really know how the story will meander, but I have my ideas and I'm going to see where R/D will take me in this new story, unrelated to any 'verses I've created in the past. In looking at my own website, it appears that the last one-shot R/D I wrote was done in July of 2011. So not as long ago as I'd imagined. Still, yay. ::welcomes Muse with open arms::

In other news, this week has been particularly wonderful in that I've had several conversations with friends that have me feeling far less isolated than I did a few days ago. I'm realizing that that will be key once Evan and I are living together and I'm alone all day working, with no pets for company. I do have my follow-up about my trial period for work with my former team lead; my leads changed in the midst of this scrutiny, and all I can do is see how this plays out.

But I feel marvelous. Happy Friday, all. ♥

So happy. Today is a tremendously marvelous day. I've spoken with my mom, my sister, am enjoying coffee and a totally indulgent cinnamon roll thingie with cream cheese, finishing up one of my non-Etsy-shop reclaimed sweaters to send to said sister's daughter, and perhaps the best thing (aside from enjoying this gorgeous, windy day and knitting or writing or reading or doing whatever the hell I want)… when Evan comes to pick me up at the end of his workday, I'll go to his place for five days! FIVE DAYS. IN A ROW. This may not seem like a big deal, but it's a tremendous opportunity for us to have a trial run of living together while we're both working, in the kind of scenario we'd experience: him going off to BHFT, me staying there to work from home. Him coming home and me still being on the clock until 6:00, then a leisurely evening with dinner, chatting, digital entertainment, and bed. Repeat! I don't think I'll ever take for granted the joy of ending and starting my days literally at Evan's side. Do I oftentimes regret that we don't get to enjoy our 20s and 30s together? Yes. That said, we needed to learn what we did from our prior relationships and working through our own individual self-actualizing in order to be as at peace with ourselves as we are now.

::hand fluttering to express ineffable joy::

I'm back at Airbnb effective immediately (though I don't have my laptop; I'll retrieve it tomorrow when I'm back at our Portland office) and very grateful. I have learned a tremendous amount about my own strength during this, as well as the amazing support and love that is granted so fully to me. Thank you all for your kind words during what was a pretty challenging several days!

The short (and long!) of my one-day visit with emansil_12 was that the day was sublime. We talked, walked, shopped, ate lunch with evannichols, hung out at my house, visited my wee library branch, went back to her lodging, talked more… and then it was time for me to go to an appointment. It joyed my heart so much to have the whole day with her, and for her to meet Evan in person, and to meet my housemates and see my room and environs. We will need to do this far more often than once every four years!! She is now off to Lubricus with snottygrrl and winnett, and I hope they all have a wonderful time at the con.

My work schedule is a bit wonky due to the fabulousness of friends visiting and that I'm traveling with evannichols this weekend! I just realized I've not really posted about that, but I'll be going with him to Spicer's Meadow in northern California for a couple of days for an annual Nichols family get-together. This means that I'll be meeting his parents and an older brother and others for the first time in person. :D While that is a big deal, what's an even bigger deal to me psychologically is traveling with him, and flying, even. I've not traveled or flown with anyone (exception of the Staunton choir tour) since, oh, 2004. I'm used to keeping my anxieties and fears to myself, and making not great decisions because I could, and I was alone and no-one was keeping tabs on me. So this will be all different. And precisely because Evan is so optimistic and level-headed, I haven't been wracked by my usual freak-out about flying. I am going to treat myself either to a bagel or doughnut that morning we fly, however. It's healthier than my prior choice would have been.

So… I'll be AFK pretty much until mid-week next week. But after that I'll have pictures, of the trip and with my dear emansil_12.

Yesterday was my last day at CompView. I gifted myself with two days off in order to have some down time before transitioning to full-time work next week. As a super-special gift to me, evannichols also took Friday off, and I'll be taking him to a belated birthday breakfast at Slappy Cakes. He also generously gave me a decorated envelope that said "Kristi's Massage Fund" so that I can get a much-needed full-body massage during my time off. Portland is full of places to go, and since he knew I'd have a much better idea of where I'd like to go than he would, he gave me the self-created gift certificate Tuesday evening as a part of my sleepover. I had a stroke of genius thought Wednesday morning, which was to contact another massage therapist friend (I did get to know a few during my time living with Julia, who ran in acupuncture and massage therapy circles due to her career) and I was able to schedule an appointment with a lovely woman named Karla. I'll simply go to her apartment this morning where she has her own treatment table and get my very sore body worked on.

I've managed to sustain some mystery injuries, including my right shoulder (no idea) and hips (probably from a combination of the jogging and lots of inner- and outer-thigh work), the omnipresent knots and tension in my upper back, and being generally sleep-deprived and continually sleeping on a mattress with only 3 slats. Anyway, this morning I treated myself to a hot soak in the tub with epsom salts, something my massage therapist friend Joseph has recommended for literally years. They had the salts at the dollar store, which at last prompted me to do this. I'll plan to have another soak post-massage on Friday in the upstairs bathroom at evannichols's house when his sister and her family are out for the day. Self-care. What a concept! I'm not sure what to do about my innards, though; I'm still suffering from a loud stomach, often unhappy bowels, but thankfully no actual pain. Today I think I'll stick to jello, yogurt, a banana and oatmeal. Maybe I'll lighten up on the celery, too; I thought it was innocuous, but perhaps not. And maybe switch to tea for a few days, rather than my beloved coffee.

Soon I'll put on casual clothes and walk up to the closest grocery store to do my recycling and mark that off my list. Shouldn't be too many other people there around 6:50 a.m.!!

These posts probably wouldn't be so long if I posted a bit more often. Hmmmm.
( To do and body issues )

( self care! )

I'm feeling much better this morning than I did yesterday evening. My enthusiasm and joy and gratitude hasn't diminished or anything, but I was running myself ragged unnecessarily. Sleep is important. If I'm going to get up at 5:30 each morning, I really have to go to bed before 11:30. I was going through my affirmations when I feel sound asleep! I did have another really interesting and long dream this morning to do with a prior boyfriend and now long-time friend from college. My alma mater has been showing up a lot in my dream life. I wonder what it signifies! Maybe it's my subconscious being a bit miffed that I've opted not to go to my 20th reunion, especially now that I've found out it's a choir reunion as well. Not sure.

While I'm basking in all kinds of amazing positivity (which yes, has been a long time coming!!), there are a couple of friends on my flist going through very challenging times. You are held in light and in my thoughts.