Since We Last Talked – Part Two

Oh hi. I do, in fact, still exist, in case you were wondering. It’s been a while, and I have a lot of thoughts about that, because I have a lot of thoughts about everything, but I also want to update you on what’s been happening over here. So, I’m going to jump right into that. If you have things going on in your life, I’d love it if you shared in the comments. As I’ll explain, I haven’t been doing much blog reading to go along with my lack of blog writing. I will respond to you by the end of the week. Promise. Here goes.

Since we last talked…

… I gained a whole new level of respect for people who work full-time and blog on the side. Might as well get the big one out of the way first. I always thought blogging and college were hard to coordinate because, honestly, college work is never done. You turn one thing in, and you have three more things due. There’s always more reading, always another test. You have to decide to turn school off in order to blog.

Working is different. As an intern, and given the understandably security-conscious nature of the firm I work for, I can’t take work home. If I leave at 5, that’s when work ends.

But it’s not that straightforward. I leave home around 7:25 most mornings, get to work a little before 8:00, and work for the next (at least) eight hours. My manager’s boss approved overtime for me for the foreseeable future, since the team is super busy, so I probably won’t continue to stick to 40 hours a week. Traffic has been really awful in the whole 5:00 hour for the last few days, so I don’t get home until well after 6:00.

Then, there’s dinner and family catch-up and getting ready for the next day and bed. Alternatively, I don’t head home right after work if the other interns are getting together and then I get home later, catch up with my family, and go to bed. If I open my computer, it probably happens for the first time around 7:30. My weekends have been full of family events and the like. I don’t have a fully free one until the first weekend in July. 

I could blog. Absolutely, I could. But it would mean sacrificing sleep and the potential for a work-social life, and not putting in extra time at work. So, the blog slips right now. If you wanna talk or catch up in the meantime, email and Instagram are the best ways to get ahold of me. I love hearing from you and so appreciate the people who have reached out!

… I’ve met a lot of people I like.

The people I work with are really cool. That’s all.

… I went to goat yoga. I fully intend to write all about it sometime.

But it was cute and fun and the goats were adorable.

… I’ve seen some stunning sunsets.

Last Thursday, I went to a Clippers game with a bunch of interns after work and while about half of us did leave at the top of the 7th, I made sure to catch the sunset.

Last Friday after work, we headed up to my grandparents’ house and caught up by the pool. 

… I ran a race. I ran the Shawshank Hustle with my dad on Saturday. My mom walked it. I thought I was also going to have to walk it for the couple days before because I was having some weird pain in my lower leg after I tripped in the parking lot on Tuesday, but I was jumping around on Saturday morning and it wasn’t perfect but I thought it’d be fine.

… I placed third for my age group. Honestly, it was not a good race for me. It was so hot I stopped for a few seconds because I thought I was going to throw up (didn’t). I was way slower than second place, and this place is a result of the demographic in Mansfield, OH (not people age 20-24). Still, I got a beer mug out of it.

… I realized that it was not okay to run the race. When I weighed the pros and cons of running, I thought that either my lower leg would start to hurt as badly as it had on Wednesday (which was tolerable) or it would be totally fine. I didn’t consider that it might get worse.

We hung around for a little over an hour for the award ceremony (hi, I was getting that beer mug, even though I hate beer), and I was super hot, but fine. It ached a little, but I could walk on it. But then we got in the car. By the time we got back to my grandparents’ house and I got out of the car, I was like, “Nope.”

I was then largely miserable about my leg for the rest of the afternoon, but I enjoyed hanging out with my family. We left Mansfield relatively early and as soon as we got home, my mom and I headed to the ER. We thought they might be able to do an MRI there that they couldn’t at an Urgent Care. 

We were wrong. The X-rays show nothing and there’s no blood clot. It doesn’t hurt when you push directly on a bone, but I cannot walk on it. So, I got some crutches. And, yes, I’m still quite sad about it. A thing about Ehlers-Danlos and fibromyalgia is that you never know what pain to push through and what pain is bad until it’s too late.

… I’ve started swimming. Well, I swam one day. I’m pretty much stuck with that, maybe some cycling, and upper body weights. I’m not dealing with not being able to walk well, since I’ve been able to do that with all my other injuries. At least I usually heal pretty quickly?

… We ate a really, really good dinner. We celebrate Father’s Day at M. It was deeeelicious. I got scallops with glazed beets, pickled beets, asparagus, forest mushrooms, and marsala sauce.

Gah. So good. My parents both got butter-poached filet mignon, which was also divine. 

… I’ve been getting used to not sharing everything. I can tell you lots about me and my thoughts, and I’m inclined to. However, I am not supposed to share details about work with other people, and that’s weird for someone who likes to write day in the life posts and Instagram story everything. 

I thought I would use my commutes to listen to all the podcasts I love, but I actually usually just listen to music and plan or process my day. I’m so behind on podcasts.

… I’m getting used to being in flux. I really don’t know what tomorrow is like until it happens, and somehow this crazy Type-A is starting to accept it. A little. But I’d really like to be able to walk tomorrow.

Your turn:

Tell me what’s going on in your life. I love you and thanks for reading my rambles.