old habits die hard

A few weeks ago, I got a new job.

Before: Solving problems and dealing with dozens of people (at times some were very angry) on the evening shift, carrying a phone that wouldn't stop ringing and rocking scrubs and gym shoes in a tiny office elbow-to-elbow with about six other people.

Now: Up at the crack of dawn to stare at my closet for at least 15 minutes trying to figure out what combination of *professional* gear from those dungeon days I can squeeze into and still be comfortable for a whole regular-person-shift sitting in a cubicle (all by myself!) and studying all day. Thank you, brother and inlaws, for those gift cards to professional-gear stores. They are coming in mighty handy.

Without going into the boring details, I still work for the same organization, but I'm on a massive project that requires pretty intensive certification for which we travel to the sunny hills of Wisconsin in the winter (the cheese really is as good as they say). And when we're back at home base, we just try to stuff as much of that data into our brains and collectively hope it doesn't leak out.

Talk about culture shock. I'm tempted to lock myself to my chair every morning because not being able to walk around and being by myself and quiet is driving me bananas. But I enjoy the new gig so far. It's challenging and interesting and I feel like if we get this right, a whole lot of people will benefit. Plus it relieves that itch I've had for years to go back to school, without having to actually choose what I'm going to study.

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Those of you who knew me in school know exactly why this is the day I found my way back to this blog: At this moment, what I desperately should to be doing is study. So of course, this is what I'm doing instead. Some things just never change.

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Here are some of the things I will likely blog about in the upcoming weeks as I further procrastinate:

• Angel07 got married! Her husband is awesome, and they look so happy. She said she felt like a movie star, and by golly, she sure looked like one.
• Ri and C are having a baby! I have known Ri since fifth grade, and we've been through so much together that I really do feel like I'm getting a niece. I cannot wait to meet this kid, but I have to wait till April.
• I haven't covered everything I wanted to post about our wedding, but I'll post-date those to December 2011 because I'm pretty sure people are tired of reading about it. But as I am unable to retain the information I highlighted just two hours ago, I'd better document the details before our anniversary because I'll likely forget that they ever happened.