Updates, answers, and the like

Hello 2013! Excuse my absence from this little blog, I've been quite busy wallowing in the winter weather and sleeping 10 hours every night. Spring has reluctantly arrived and there are a few sunny days most weeks now which has given me extra energy to pour into this space.

Matt is still working for a local company as a quality assurance engineer and he rides the bus to downtown Seattle 5 days week. I was working part time at a local domestic violence agency, but as of April 2nd I will be a full time staff member of the part of the agency that runs a shelter for abused women and children.

I'm absurdly excited (and only a teensy bit anxious) about transitioning to full time. In my mind, this is my first "adult" job because I will be eligible for benefits, accrue vacation time, have sick pay, etc. It only took 23 months after graduating from college and 19 months after moving to Seattle to get here, but they say life is a journey.

I also applied for graduate school in January and finally heard back about admissions early this morning. I didn't get accepted. And while that distresses me a little, I'm also relieved. I had just accepted a full time job and I was unsure of how I would juggle both commitments. In addition, the path to become a licensed social worker isn't exactly a short one. It requires 2 or 3 years in school and 2 to 5 years to get all the supervised hours and then you've got to take a competency test before you're officially licensed.

The idea of starting a graduate program became this huge commitment hovering over me that I wasn't sure I wanted to make, but who says "no" to something they've already said "yes" to so many times? Not being accepted was a reprieve in many ways, but I was also majorly disappointed. Several times I have asked myself, "What the heck? Why didn't they want me? I am AMAZING." But more often than not I have said to myself, "Thank goodness, now we can move back home whenever we want."

I wouldn't mind committing to the PNW for another year or two, but the idea of being here for 2+ more years is stressing me out. I've had numerous anxiety attacks about being stuck here for the duration of graduate school, or being unable to get back to Texas if I became pregnant, or being trapped here by job opportunities we couldn't pass up. Now I feel like there is one less obstacle blocking our path to getting to where I see us in 5 years: surrounded by our support network of family and friends.

Wednesday Should Always Be a Day Off

I found a clipping I took from a local newspaper last summer and thought I would share it below. I like the idea of a midweek break! It sounds refreshing. I am fan of 30 hour work weeks, 3 day weekends, and idleness in general. It's imporant to me.

 

"Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done."

- From the article The 'Busy' Trap by Tim Krieder

 

 

Wednesday Should Always Be a Day Off

By William C. Wadsack

Originally printed July 2012 in the Herald Democrat, Sherman, Texas

Weekends are so relaxing that Mondays can be very difficult to face. I always find it hard to get up and get moving at a specific time on Mondays - especially after spending the previous two days relaxing and sleeping as late as I want. I know this is a problem to which people all over the world can relate.

My other issue with Monday is it's so far from the next weekend that it saps my will to make it through the week. Tuesdays are easier to face because it's at least one day closer to the weekend, which seemingly makes it more tolerable. Because of that I've been advocating for three-day weekends as a rule for years. However, last week's July 4th holiday gave me a new idea, because it was right in the middle of the week.

I propose that, as a society of civilized individuals, we adopt as common practice that Wednesday is a day off every week. Businesses that are closed on Saturdays and Sundays would also close on that day. Instead of a weekend, we could call it a midweek.

So then, when someone says to me, "Mondays are tough," I can reply, "Yeah, but only two days to the midweek."

We could all have an extra day off to recuperate and recharge for the end of the week. It may take some getting used to, but after the adjustment I believe we'd all be much happier.

The only problem I can foresee with the plan is that it may hinder some people's ability to make a living. I think the best way around this would be for employers to simply increase everyone's pay so the extra day off doesn't hurt anyone financially. If employers aren't willing to do that, for whatever unfathomable reason, then as a society we should agree to lower the price of goods and services.

That may hurt our nation's economic standing with the rest of the world, but we'd be worldwide trendsetters and I think it would be worth it. After we prove the value of the plan, we can then export the idea around the world. Once all the other countries adopt this revolutionary idea, we'll all be back at the same economic levels at which we started.

If neither of these economic solutions catch on, I'll have to go back to the drawing board as soon as I get back from my midweek.

Fall Colors & Orange Spice Paint

We've painted! Matt was pretty reluctant to make any permanent changes to our apartment since we've only signed a one year lease but I was persistent in my demands to paint. Eventually, we compromised: if I did all the work including painting the wall back when we move, I could paint the wall whatever color I wanted. So I chose Orange Spice paint by Better Homes and Gardens!

Let me tell you, an accent wall has made our space feel so homey. I adore the warmth and brightness this color adds to our living room, especially with how gloomy the Pacific Northwest has been this fall.

What we're into this week:

• Matt is playing Borderlands 2 and Torchlight II. He just finished reading The King Killer Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss and began reading the Mistborn Trilogy by Brian Sanderson earlier this week. He's plowing through books with his 2 hours of commuting time Monday through Friday.

• I'm reading The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris and watching the HBO TV show based on the novels called True Blood (I'm just starting on season 4 of 5). The books are fast paced and funny, but I'm not as big of a fan of the TV series.

• Here are a few quotes that have been on my mind recently:

• I only do this until I get dizzy & then I lay down on my back & watch the clouds, she said. It sounds simple but you won't believe how many people forget the second part. - Proper Steps, StoryPeople.com

• Things to know about the future 1. It doesn't have to look any particular way, but around here, if it doesn't, a lot of people will never speak to you again. - Future Things #1, StoryPeople.com

• Anyone can slay a dragon, he told me, but try waking up every morning & loving the world all over again. That's what takes a real hero. - Real Hero, StoryPeople.com