Does this mean I have to start getting up early??

Well, these last couple of weeks have been interesting. First, we received all our cruise documents in the mail – and even though we’ve been planning this trip since last November, it hasn’t really felt “real” until now. Now that I can actually SEE all the paperwork and realize it’s only ONE month away, it’s really apparent how quickly this trip is going to sneak up on me. I should probably start packing now. Otherwise I’m apt to forget something important…

Second, Rick and I managed to shave 12 minutes off our four-mile neighborhood walk – of course, in order to do that, we had to run parts of it. We walked on the uphill parts, and jogged on the downhill parts. I’m used to walking/running three or four miles at a time, but I usually do my workouts on a treadmill, which helps to absorb shock. Running on a concrete sidewalk is quite different – and my shins paid for it the next day. After a quick Google search on “shin splints,” I was confident that what I had was merely some serious muscle soreness. Apparently shin splints occur when the tendons in the leg actually begin to separate from the bone. (Ouch!) But, after a couple days of rest and light walking, my legs seem to be feeling just about normal again – so I’m almost ready to go run out on the sidewalk again… maybe just not quite as far this time. :)

Third, I turned 24 years old on Monday (at least according to Eric… and yes, Eric, that DOES mean you’re 21… normally I would stick to my assertion that you’re older than I am, but since you backed off the first age you mentioned – which I believe was 50 – I’ll let it slide… :)). I had a great birthday, ate some chocolate cake, and tried not to think about how every birthday moves me closer and closer to 40…

But the MOST interesting thing occurred Wednesday evening, when I finally (after two months of waiting) heard from the place I interviewed for a job back in May. It’s actually the same place I USED to work years ago, before Rick and I moved to New Jersey in 2000. So I was already familiar with parts of the job, although over the years it has morphed from a part-time proofreading job into a full-time job, with more writing and editing responsibilities. And I was beginning to think that either a) they were planning to hire someone else and were never going to tell me, or b) they’d decided not to hire ANYONE and hoped that I would forget that I’d ever interviewed for the job. But just when I’d resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t know anything for ANOTHER two months, I got a call from the recruiter offering me the job! And since the call came at almost 7 o’clock at night (a rather strange time to extend a job offer, if you ask me), I can honestly say I was NOT expecting that…

So I am about to rejoin the daily grind of the working world… and while I am excited, I’m also quite nervous and apprehensive, because I haven’t worked full time in about ten years. I’m already worrying about how I’m going to balance my new job with all the other things I need to do on a regular basis. Of course, this DOES give me a great excuse for a shopping spree – I’m heading out to buy some work-appropriate attire this weekend. Fortunately, Rick and I BOTH have jobs now, so I should be able to afford it… (or at least I WILL be able to afford it when we actually have paychecks rolling in a couple times a month… :))

I’m starting on Monday, so needless to say, this should be another interesting week for me! Hopefully I’ll have good things to report soon… Hope everyone has a great weekend! :)