2017 update

This has already been a wild year, and not just in the wider world. I recently started a new job in collection development and cataloging at a public library in our area - I had been planning to start looking for work in the next few months, with the intention to go back by summer or fall, when Malcolm starts kindergarten. But this job came up in a networking group I still belong to, from my former working days, and it looked so good I couldn't pass up the chance at it. I got it, and started work the first week of February. So far, everyone in the household is adjusting well, and I am enjoying the job. It is sort of surreal to be working again, since it has been so long; on the one hand, it feels completely normal to be at a job all day again, and on the other, I can hardly believe that less than a month ago, I was a full time stay-at-home mom. Since I am not full time for now, I do still have one full day at home with Malcolm during the week, and come home early one other day a week. Also, they are pretty flexible about my schedule, which is great. It is a pretty good situation, all in all. 

The job has meant a change in my running routines, of course - no more long leisurely daytime runs on weekdays while Malcolm is at school. Now I am trying to get runs in at 5:30 am, in the dark, before Malcolm wakes up and needs to get ready for school. I have to squeeze my shower in between my MIL's and Benjamin's, since they are both getting ready for work too. The change in status is less painful than it might have been, however, because for the last month or so, I have been running less anyway, thanks to a tennis injury. During a tournament in January, I pinched a nerve in my hip or lower back, didn't rest it properly, ran 14 miles after less than a week of "down time," and then could barely walk, sit, or lie down. My foot felt odd and stiff and weak for a week or two, especially when trying to run. So much for the aggressive training plan I had been following for the Little Rock Half Marathon next month! After several weeks of low, gentle mileage, I started adding distance again and trying to speed up a bit. Now, with less than two weeks before the race, I am feeling pretty good, but I am barely following a plan anymore, and I doubt I will get the big PR I was hoping for. Oh well. At least I think I should be able to run the whole thing - for a little while, I didn't think I would. 

I actually don't mind getting up early to run in the dark, since I feel much better all day when I do. After the race, I plan to add some gym time to my routine, to strengthen some muscles in areas that have been neglected (probably leading to the injury in the first place). And it is spring tennis season, so there is tennis to look forward to. Let's just hope that the remainder of this year is a little slower and less exciting than the first two months! 

Shoulda played hooky

The weather this month (all four days so far) has been gorgeous - perfect temperatures, light breezes, sunshine. On Saturday, I spent most of the day outside - first through 4 hours of tennis, and then at a picnic/potluck in the afternoon. Sunday, I was inside more, but I still managed to get in some time in the yard. What I haven't managed to do is go for a hike. This is almost the perfect time of year to head out to the woods in Arkansas. The various and many fall hunting seasons have started, but aren't yet in full swing, so there is less danger of being mistaken for a deer as you hike than there is in November; the weather is not too hot or too cold or too wet. The trees are starting to turn, so there are pretty things to look at.

Alas, we probably won't be hitting the woods until the end of the month, thanks to a tennis tournament and various travel commitments. I was so very tempted to kidnap Benjamin and head out to the woods today. Would have been a lot nicer than the test grading he has to do and the sitting at a desk staring at a computer that I have to do. I wish I wasn't so responsible!

Episode 282, in which our heroine starts a new job

Yup, I started my new job today. I am now a reference librarian for the Arkansas State Library. Woo! Of course, being the first day, I didn't actually do anything resembling my job, since it was all paperwork, tours, introductions, and so forth. In lieu of anything interesting about the job, here are a couple of pictures. The top is the state capitol building in the early morning light. It is quite pretty, inside and out (that was one of the tours). It is supposed to be modeled on the capitol in Washington D.C. - but it mostly reminds me of the Texas capitol building (probably because I have never been to D.C.) only smaller. As they say, everything is bigger in Texas.


This is the outside of part of my office building. My desk is straight ahead, and a bit to the left, behind the tree branch. Yes, for those of you who work at the HRC, I have WINDOWS! This is a big deal to an archivist - we usually end up in basements or other windowless rooms - it is for the good of the materials, of course, but still windows are awfully nice...

Anyway, I am sure I will be telling y'all more about the job as I get settled in and actually start doing work. And I will post more pictures of the capitol as I take them - of some of the statues and so forth. I am not sure how much baking I will be doing now, or reading, or racquetball...at least not during the week. The commute is (so far) the only real bad thing about the job - it is around an hour from door to desk/desk to door. The long distance is the main culprit, since the traffic isn't anything to write about, compared to Seattle or Austin (my two main standards of comparison). Sigh. I guess I will be getting a lot of books on tape.