Cabin fever is setting in!

I want to be grounded. When I say that, it doesn't mean I want to settle, I just want to not feel as if everything is constantly up in the air. Does that make sense?

In other news, this Snowpocalyse 2010 is reeking havoc on my work schedule. I haven't been at Hopkins since Thursday. What the what?

This once was a whole tree.

This picture was from this past weekend. The blizzard which is currently ravaging my area is causing insane amounts of cabin fever and general problems everywhere. We lost power briefly this morning and the gusting wind is seeping through the window behind me. So now my back is freezing. Fail. Luckily, Jason said he would come over tomorrow to help dig my car out. What a good boyfriend. :)

Work related challenges

Now that I have been working full time for over a week, a new set of issues and challenges have arisen as a result:

The Commute -- I must say, I really do miss my ten minute drive to my part time jobs, haha. To get to work, I need to travel about an hour from the "suburbs" of Virginia into the heart of DC. This involves catching a bus (which makes stops along my neighborhood), hoping on the yellow line, transferring to the red line, and then walking about 0.5 miles to my office. The first few days of my commute were a little shaky, but I have definitely gotten it down to a science now-- I'm usually out the door by 7:30 a.m. and back home by 6:05 p.m. My bus actually gets in at the Pentagon, so I get to see men in uniform and well-dressed Pentagon employees all the time. :) It definitely makes my morning.

Jason also gave me an idea this weekend that perhaps I can turn into a long term project involving my commute. I might start working on it this week, so we'll see. Maybe it will actually turn into something worthwhile.

Breakfast and Lunch -- Every day last week I have gone to Cosi for either breakfast or lunch and that is something which shouldn't happen. I am on a budget and recklessly getting food is not a part of it! I mean, my commute alone is around $6 round-trip, so I can't afford to be spending another $5-8 on Cosi. So tomorrow I am making a trip over to the local Trader Joe's to pick up bagels, cream cheese, and other things to make wraps, pasta dishes, etc. Saving money is a must right now and this has to be the way I do it.

This is the start of something good.

After a hectic week of packing and moving, I am now in DC and will start my job tomorrow. I'll try to blog more about it soon! :)

Too much holiday cheer!

Sadly, it seems that my work has been overtaken by tacky Christmas decorations, festive holiday jingles and crazy soccer moms. It isn't even Thanksgiving and I am already in the bah-humbug spirit. Where did my joy go? Oh, that's right, out the door with the middle aged women who just gave me an attitude because I only trying to help her.

Anyway to combat this ever present feeling of ennui, I went bargain shopping (at my place of work, haha) and ended up getting a nice pair of flats and a cashmere cardigan for like $15. Considering the cardigan alone was originally $80, I think I made out pretty well. And I am abslutely obsessed with cashmere right now. To the point that it may be unhealthy...

Hello, beautiful.

These are shockingly comfortable.

I have started Christmas shopping for others, too. (Not just for myself, haha.) Already it seems I've crossed off my mother, two brothers, aunt and cousin off my list. But I am having a hard time deciding what to get my boyfriend... I want to get him something funny (because he's the type of guy that would give me a gag gift), but at the same time, I want to give him something I know he will really like and use. Dilemma!

So, what or who are you shopping for this season?

Distractions

I know it has been a while, but it seems like my two jobs have taken over my life. I haven't had a day off since last Saturday (and that's because I requested off) and it doesn't look like I will have one until Thursday. This would be better if I had a salary and benefits. Ugh.

Anyway, I am waiting for a call back from a temp agency in DC. They called me earlier this week to discuss my ideal job and availability. The woman I spoke with said she was going to forward my resume to a recruitment counselor and they would call me soon to hopefully schedule me for an interview. All I want for Christmas is a real job.

Beyond that, not much has been going on. I went to PA last weekend to visit Jason and it was a lot of fun. Now I'm just trying to figure out when I can see him next. Otherwise, life has been pretty dull...