To the east si- Actually it’s mostly south. So really, I’m moving down. Because north is up and south is down.
Unless you’re in Australia. Then everything is flipped, turned upside down. But I’d like to take a minute, so just sit right there. I’ll tell you all about how I because a Department Assistant in the Cardiac Cath Lab at Sanford Medical Center…
*The other day I made some goals for myself. I plotted out a flexible outline of when I wanted them accomplished. I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. The word resolution sounds so final and concrete. And yet they crumble so quickly. So last year I set goals and gave myself a rough estimate of when I wanted them finished. I need the wiggle room. I don’t do well with deadlines. (more on that later)
But finish them I did! Well, all except getting a tattoo by my 25th birthday. But I put that off for good reason.
I needed the money I would have spent on the tattoo for my birthday/Christmas/anniversary gift for Dustin. What did I get him that could cost so much that I could justifiably count it as three gifts in one? Another Xbox One? No. (though he did want one and eventually went on to purchase one for himself) Super fancy cologne? No. (I’m not even sure he’d want that, let alone use it) A big fat gift certificate to NewEgg or ThinkGeek? No. (but those are good ideas)
I got him a freaking sword. And not just any sword.
Anduril, Flame of the West.
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| a genuine, licensed replica of a prop from the movie adaptation of the books. |
Blow his mind, did I? Yes. Yes I did. Totally worth it. But I’m getting way off track.
All the other goals were accomplished. Granted I only made about seven-ish goals. But they were big ones:
- Purchase my own car. All on my own. No co-signers on the loan. No other name on the title. Mine. Paid for with my own money.
- Move out of parent house once and for all. Postal address changed. All financial and government institutions notified. Childhood bedroom being turned into an office for Father. No going back.
- Move in with Dustin. Successfully learn to cohabitate.
- Go on a real vacation. One week. No real plans. Just he and I enjoying life.
- Get a new job.
And that last one brings me back around to my original point. I have a new job. I am no longer working as a CNA at a nursing home.
I mixed feelings about this. I loved my job. I loved my people. I loved going to a place where everybody knows my name. And they were always glad I came.
But it was time to go. The commute was the biggest factor. 35-40 minutes there, 35-40 minutes back. (inclement weather permitting) The pay was another. And the hours were getting pretty rough. I feel awful for leaving them when they were already so short staffed. But sometimes you have to do what’s best for you. I was getting burned out; finding it more and more difficult to be patient with my residents, which was always something I had prided myself on. But when you’re overworked and underpaid, it’s hard to stay positive. When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month or even your year - it’s time to move on.
So I said goodbye to some of my favorite people and started new. I had a lot of “new” to kick off 2016. New car. New job. New living arrangement in a new town. It’s nerve-racking. There have been some bumps to be sure. (dropped out of college for the third time - more on that later) But I’m taking the good. I’m taking the bad. And there I have the facts of life.
*Originally written in January of 2016
And just for funsies: a picture of me, Dustin and our fat cat Emmy. She’s slowly learning to tolerate me. It helps that I am constantly bribing her with treats.
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| it doesn't help that i keep putting her in little outfits |
