2009: What a Rollercoaster!

Where exactly did 2009 go? I can't believe we're about to ring in the New Year! And oh my, doesn't 2010 sound so...out there? I mean, remember watching those movies back in the day (e.g. the Back to the Future series) when they'd talk about the year 2000 or 2010 as "the future" - flying cars, futuristic gadgets, whole meals in pill form?

Wow. 2010. Weird. (And I'm not just saying that because it's the year I turn 30!)

Anywho, I thought I would take a minute to reflect on the past year. I filled out this silly thing a few days ago and it asked me to describe 2009 in 1-2 words. My 2 words: Roller. Coaster. Let's take a look back, shall we?

January: I started the New Year off with high hopes for a new job back in my home state of WI. I braved the cold, icy weather and traveled out for an interview early in the month. By the end of the month... a job offer!! Hooray! I would finally escape the ever-tightening clutches of my evil boss...thank goodness! I also started this little blog! Such meager beginnings... it's come a long way...

February: Dissertation defense! Finally! The month was full of celebrations, packing, and goodbyes. I left my job a little earlier than planned...again, thank goodness.

March: With the help of family and friends, the truck and car were packed tightly and off I went to Wisconsin. In torrential rain. Then snow. Good times. I dove right in to my new job. It felt like I knew my new coworkers forever. As if things weren't crazy enough, I also decided I was going to buy a house.

April/May/June/July: These months felt like such a blur to me. I was essentially homeless. Yes, my good friends were kind enough to let me stay in their guest room for a long time (thank you!), and yes, my parents lived just an hour and a half away, but I didn't have my own place. My furniture was in storage. I had limited clothing options. I didn't have my dogs. I didn't feel settled. At. All. Plus I was seriously hunting for a house during this time. I made not one, not two, but three offers on houses before one finally stuck. Woohoo!

August/September: Renovations. Home improvements. Still didn't feel very settled, but I got to see my family a lot! My friends Nacole and Jason visited in August, which was so awesome. I missed them so much, so it was great to be able to hang out for a couple days. Work kicked into high gear and left me feeling exhausted a lot, but I still had time for projects! :-)

October: New carpet. I finally started unpacking for real and settling into my new home. Took a trip to Minneapolis/St. Paul for a conference (which wasn't great) and got to hang out with my brother, which was the best part anyway.

November: Lots of projects here and there, more nesting, and many many trips to thrift shops. I have an addiction. Spent an afternoon at my alma mater to give a little talk to a couple of classes. Also got to reconnect with some faculty members, which was a lot of fun. My mom, sister, and I had our first annual Black Friday Craft-a-Thon when we made book wreaths. And I had a couple of helper elves come visit and magically decorated the house with snowflakes while I was gone to work.

December: Snow. Snow. Snow. Lots of work on projects, a little Christmas shopping, and some baking too! Quality time with family, too much food, and a week-and-a-half off from work! Woohoo! I need to take more vacation, more often.

So that's it. My year in review. It's really no wonder time flew by. And why I was exhausted. It was a year full of stress, excitement, goodbyes, tears, newness, and surprises. I'm hoping 2010 is a little calmer...though I've got some big ideas for the New Year. Check back later to see my 2010 To-Do list!

T.G.I.F

I'm glad it's Friday. It seems like it's been quite a roller coaster of a week for me... and busy too. I've been pretty exhausted each night when I come home from work. Hopefully I can catch up on some rest this weekend...

Speaking of this weekend, I'm going house-hunting again. I was hoping to be done with all that, but I'm not. I'm still sad about losing my house, even though I know there are others out there and I'll find one and it'll be better, blah blah. Be that as it may, I'm still allowed to feel sad for a little while. I'm owning my feelings!

Other than that, I don't have much to say. Work is going well. We've been laughing a lot this week over some stupid little things, which has been fun and much-needed.

Well, I supposed that's really all I've got for today! Have a fantastic weekend!

Whew!

Remember last week when I was just ready to go? Ready to start seeing clients and helping people? Filled with enthusiasm and tired of reading employee manuals and completing paperwork?

Um... be careful what you wish for.

I'm really tired right now. I thought it was 4:00, but when I glanced at the clock, it was only 3:00! I thought, "My batteries in my new clock must be faulty." Nope. Every clock in this place said 3:00. Wow.

My schedule has filled quickly. I'm seeing the clients that our intern was seeing, so not only am I needing to establish rapport and do my own thing, I'm also trying to catch up quickly. And I'm beginning to see my own new clients, so I am starting to feel like I have information overload at this moment. I'm still feeling rusty, like I've lost my mojo! Urgh.

I know. It all takes time. And I'm still adjusting to all new colleagues, a new town, and trying to figure out my living situation, so I know it's a lot. Don't get me wrong, I'm still very happy here. I love the energy on a college campus and the awesome conversations I've had with my new colleagues. I love that people have been very welcoming.

But at this very moment, I'm suddenly tired. I actually spent a couple minutes daydreaming about snuggling in my bed with my puppies and taking a snooze. The weather is perfect for that ... it's rainy and cold here today... is it just me, or doesn't a nap sound good?

Ready? Set... GO!

Starting a new job is always such a mixed bag. You need to balance learning so many new things, which is exhausting itself, with trying not to get bored learning procedure, completing HR paperwork, and getting all those necessary things set up (i.e., the phone, email, etc.).

I still love my job... but I'm ready to get going! Since the students are still on spring break, things are pretty quiet overall. Yesterday I was a part of an interview for a residence hall director, which was pretty cool- especially since I was on the other side of the process this time. Next week I will be on my own (without K-Dog, the boss) at another interview! Oh, and I will be on-call this weekend and at least part of next week. I will start a psych eval on Friday, so tonight I'm brushing up on a few tests I haven't administered for a long time, and tomorrow I will spend some time trying to learn a couple of new tests. Fun stuff. I've got clients on my schedule for next week- the intern is leaving and will be transferring her clients to me- so I am excited to get back to doing therapy again. Although I was told today that I need to start answering my phone and introducing myself to people as "Dr." That still feels so weird to say.

Maybe things are moving along faster than I thought...

In other news, I haven't done much house-hunting, except read a few ads in the paper and look online at a few houses. I need to get myself to a bank, but I probably won't be able to do that this week. I am getting a bunch of good information from my new co-workers about some possible areas to check. I'll keep you posted on all that.

Color Me Happy

I. Love. My. Job!

Today was my first day and even though I have a couple of blisters from the walking tour we were on all morning (I think I saw every meeting room on campus), I am tired and happy. It didn't feel like a first day at all. I know I've said this before, but I have felt so welcomed, wanted, and appreciated ever since I first contacted them about the position! I bumped into a couple of people that I met in January during my interview and they recognized me and warmly greeted me. I feel like I've been able to jump right in and joke around with people and I've already been asked what I think about assessment materials and scheduling packages and upcoming procedural changes. I hope and pray I've found my place.

Oh, and they bought a beautiful cushy leather chair for my office... it smells like new leather and I love it. I need another good chair which I'll actually get to help pick out. Yay! And I saw the mock-up for my new business cards... they forgot the "PhD" after my name! But as soon as she printed the mock-up she realized her error and said that would be corrected before the cards were ordered.

I've got a pile of paperwork (yes, more new employee paperwork) to fill out and a DVD to watch about the college, so I'd better get to it!

Ramblings

Happy Presidents' Day! I'm glad today was a holiday, because I needed another day to take things a little slower. I did a little packing, some cleaning and laundry, took a much-needed nap, and read a little for fun. Oh I did some work stuff too...I have more of that to do tonight.

This week is going to be very hectic:

• Tonight I'm having dinner with one of my former supervisors. I'm excited to see her.
• Tomorrow night I'm going to talk to a group of grad students from my program about my "fascinating job" - the professor that invited us to speak to her students literally used those words. So, when should I tell them that I just quit my "fascinating job" for something much, much better?
• Wednesday we'll travel to an office site to do a brief presentation (I bet it will take longer to get there than it will to actually present) and I have last minute preparation to do in the evening.
• Thursday morning, we travel to a different office site for another training (different topic) and then I head over to campus for my defense! I'm going to have coffee with Canadian friend Steve and then get together for a little celebration with some other people! Hooray!
• Friday will hopefully be a typical day...
  
  Last night I sent my defense PowerPoint to Lee and he wrote me early this morning saying, "Looks GOOD!" so I guess I can basically cross that off my To Do List. I also started reading through my whole dissertation, but didn't get very far. Instead, I started filling out a mound of paperwork for the graduate school and for my new job. I didn't get through all of it, primarily because I can't complete the new job stuff until I know where I'll be living, my new employee ID number, etc.
  
  Speaking of a place to live... I sent in a rental application for one of the places my family checked out this weekend. I still haven't heard anything back. The suspense continues....
  
  Oh, and in case anyone was wondering... I start my new job in 4 weeks!