You might remember me describing how, for 9 weeks this Fall, I'd be driving all over God's green earth...like a chicken with its head cut off...mad as a wet hen (Okay, not really the last one, but I was kind of enjoying getting carried away with the...colorful homespun language). To recap: the non-profit that hired me in October graciously allowed me to finish out the semester of interpreting, which was already in progress. Thus I spent Mondays and Wednesdays with the Chapel Hill team (of researchers in the early childhood development field), and traveled Tuesdays and Thursdays to provide ASL services in...let's just call it "Remotesville"--past Raleigh, in Wake County. (Fine, I'm sorry: "Fuquay-Varina"...which I just never get tired of saying, either....even if it does sound like I'm making it up. I'm not, by the way...)
As time passed, I found myself liking my new "office job" more and more--for one thing, I've gotten to learn new things, as well as put some skills I already possess to good use (Wait...I guess that's technically two things...but they're related...maybe Part A and Part B? Ack! Sometimes semantics can be a cruel...mistress...) Also, each day is different, which as anyone who knows me can attest, keeps me stimulated, and therefore satisfied.(Yeah, I don't do "bored" well...) "Here are some receipts, can you do an Expense Report for me?" Why, certainly. "Would you check my calendar and set up a meeting for us to discuss this new project I'll be needing your help with?" Of course! "Do you have time to copy-edit this blogpost that we want to put up this afternoon?" You betcha. "Could you create a spreadsheet with all of the conference attendees' contact information?" No problem.
You see what I mean? So far, I'm having a grand old time, and as a super-special-bonus, my co-workers seem pretty awesome (there are only 6 of us at the moment, with one more coming on board--moving down from the Maryland headquarters, as a matter of fact--in the next few weeks. We'll have an instant topic over which to bond...) And I've already mentioned how nerd-jazzed I was about having my own cozy little room, so I won't blather on about that any more...except to say that I now have pictures on my bookshelf...and framed posters hung on my walls. (Yes, I AM sometimes quite easily amused...)
Oh, and the commute? Takes 15 minutes because of stoplights, but it's 5 miles. Which brings me to my OTHER trek, which in contrast is 40 miles each way, comprising an hour in the car, on a combination of urban-highway-ish routes, Interstate 40, and verrry rural, winding roads. Also, due to the schedule of classes I was given, I change campuses in the middle of my day, adding another 30 minutes to my total behind-the-wheel time. So....yeeeeaaah...even if I totally adored the gig--which I reaaalllly don't, for reasons I'm not free to discuss here--it's a slog, and it was killin' me, I tell ya
But don't get me wrong--I'm very glad I gave it the old college try, as the saying goes. It would have undoubtedly bothered me to have a question mark lingering in my brain, about whether I was missing out on continuing my interpreting career here in NC. Now I have my answer, and I can close the book on one phase...and begin writing the next chapter with a clean slate. (Brushes hands together briskly, with a sense of...I don't know...contented finality, maybe?) So on Monday, I'll start settling into the new routine--spend a short period in the Subaru...make a cup of coffee ('cuz, yeah, we have a Keurig...yaaayyyy!) to savor while I catch up on emails...and then do whatever anyone needs me to take care of for them. Here's to the Next Adventure!
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