Tag Archives: anniversary

2 Years In (or Still Grateful For My Job)

Posted on December 8, 2022 | Comments Off on 2 Years In (or Still Grateful For My Job)

Yesterday was my 2-year anniversary at my job. Just like everything else in life lately, it seems like it hasn’t been that long but at the same time, it seems like I’ve been at this job for longer. And it’s been a pretty crazy journey so far.

Before the pandemic, I had been saying for a while that I should look for a new job. I was doing ok with the work that I had at the time, but I also knew that I wasn’t making enough and I was going to continue to have financial issues if I didn’t make a change. But I also know I wasn’t motivated because I was comfortable in the situation I was in. But then the pandemic hit and my hours started to decrease until I was officially out of work in August 2020. I had already applied for unemployment, so I knew that could hold me over for a while since unemployment was paying more than normal. But I also knew I couldn’t just wait and see and I had to be productive in finding something else.

I spent a few months applying for jobs every day, but everyone was doing that so I wasn’t getting any interviews. And I also didn’t want to find a job where I had to go into an office so that limited my search even more. But I kept applying and hoping for the best. I also would occasionally post on social media that I was looking for a job in case someone knew of something. And eventually, my friend responded saying there was an opening at the company he worked for. I interviewed with him and the person who would be my manager, and I really felt good about how things went. And a few days after that interview, I had my first day.

When I started at my job, I was hired to do customer service work part-time as well as another side project part-time. I actually didn’t know I had gotten the job on my first day. I was told to join in for the all-team call so I could meet everyone, and after that call, I got a call from the CEO offering me the job. I didn’t want to assume that I had gotten the job after my interview, but I felt really good about my chances. And I’m glad that I was right.

For a while, I worked those two part-time positions until I realized that I could only really devote time to the customer service one. And a few months after I started, I was offered my old job back. I made it work by doing the new job in the morning and the old job for the hours after. It worked out really well and I felt like I was really back to what I had before everything shut down.

After about 8 months at my new job, I was offered the opportunity to go full-time. I let them know about the other job, and they were ok with me essentially doing both for those few limited hours a week because my old job only needed my attention when we had customer calls. I was so grateful I was able to make that work, and I was doing full-time customer service at one job and then part-time customer service at the other.

I’ve been doing both jobs ever since, and it’s never been an issue for either job (and both jobs are very aware of what is happening). So my hours have been steady ever since I went full-time. But my job title and responsibilities have shifted a lot.

After doing customer service at my new job for a few months, I noticed things that either didn’t make sense or seem efficient to me. I’m very lucky that whenever I brought up an idea like that, they were heard and often acted upon. But by doing that, I think my job realized that I had some skill sets that weren’t being used while doing customer service. They had to hire additional customer service employees as our client base grew, and I started to transition more away from what I had been doing. And eventually, I stopped doing direct work with our clients and only focused on doing administrative work as well as helping to design work systems and procedures.

This is very different from a lot of day jobs I’ve had before. I have mainly done customer service work, and even though I’m still doing work that could be considered under the customer service umbrella, I’m really doing a lot more with my skills and abilities than I have been able to do before. It is still a day job, but it’s a job where I actually see my work making changes besides just answering customer questions. I have different projects that I work on and even though some of them can be challenging, it’s so much better than being bored. At my old job, I spent so many days just reading or watching videos online waiting for someone to call in. Now, I’m usually pretty busy most of the time doing a variety of things.

And yes, I’m making more money than I did before. This isn’t the most important thing, but it’s a big deal to not have to be stressed about money the same way I used to. I still have to budget and save, but I’m not feeling like my bank account is getting dangerously low anymore. I can pay my bills and not worry about how much is in my account. Not having that sort of stress on my mind anymore has been so great for my life.

In the past two years, I have been able to really grow into my job and find my place within this company. That’s something I’ve never been able to do before and now I understand why I felt so stuck in jobs before. I’m so lucky that I get to work with some awesome people and that everyone seems to enjoy their work and have fun. And I know that I was so lucky to get a job when so many others were in the same spot as me and there was a lot of competition for every single job opening. But I feel like this was the way it was meant to happen. I wasn’t supposed to find another job sooner because it wouldn’t have been this job. And I was the one meant for this job because I have been able to go from working in customer service to being a senior staff member helping to make the company better. Things fell into place the way they were supposed to. And all of this has been in just 2 years, so I can’t wait to see what will come next.

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Default ThumbnailSome Good Job News And Some Not Good Job News (or Still Grateful To Have Multiple Jobs) Default Thumbnail3 Months At My New Job (or Having Another Job Review) Default ThumbnailAnother Job Through A Friend (or Excited To Do Job Training) Default ThumbnailFully Using My Work Time (or Having A Job Where I Feel Productive) Default ThumbnailBack To Back Job Changes (or Unexpected Good News) Default ThumbnailGetting Ready For Some Job Changes (or Switching My Job Responsibilities)

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1 Year Of Being A Homeowner (or It’s Been A Crazy First Year)

Posted on November 3, 2022 | Comments Off on 1 Year Of Being A Homeowner (or It’s Been A Crazy First Year)

Exactly one year ago, we closed on the sale of my condo. In some ways, it feels like it was just the other day and in other ways, it feels like it’s been longer than a year. I think the fact that I looked at so many condos makes the timeline a bit muddy in my mind. But I know that only looking for a month last year is a lot quicker than most people experience. And I know several people who didn’t get the first or second place they put an offer in on. So to only have to put an offer in on one place was very lucky and I’m still so grateful that this is my home.

Even though I have been a homeowner for a year now, I consider this to be my home for only about 6 months since I didn’t move in here until April this year. I wasn’t expecting to have to stay in my rental as long as I did, but the renovation took longer due to multiple reasons and I knew I didn’t want to live through a renovation when I could be living in a different location. It did make things a bit more expensive for me since I was paying for rent during that overlap plus I had bills at both homes, but it was worth it to me to have peace in my home and not construction noise all day.

Looking back at the photos of the condo from the listing, it doesn’t feel like the same place to me anymore. I was really able to make this my home and fit my style and aesthetic. It’s not finished yet and I still have things I need to get, but it’s much more like my home than my rental or what the condo looked like before the renovation.

Originally, the plan wasn’t to do a huge renovation, but as we got started it made more sense to do everything at once instead of doing some before I moved in and some after I was living here. And we made a few significant changes such as making the passthrough between the kitchen and living room much bigger so it felt like the two rooms were open to each other. That idea was something my parents heard when they were interviewing contractors, and I think that change made such a difference in how the space feels. We also had to get new kitchen cabinets when the original plan was to just refinish the ones that were in there because the original ones were damaged and wouldn’t be able to support me putting dishes in them without risking having them fall off the walls. So obviously that had to be fixed. I don’t think we necessarily went overboard with the renovation, but we did do a lot as we discovered things that needed to be done. And at least now anything else I want to do (which is only my closet and my bathroom) are things that can wait for a few years since the changes are about the appearance and not the function.

I haven’t had to change too much in my life since moving because I’m only a few blocks away from my rental. My life still has the same routines and I still go to the same places I went to before, like the same grocery stores. But I think the quality of my life has improved a lot. Having almost 3 times the space has been a huge and positive change. I didn’t realize how nice it would be to have my office area separate from my living room. I have a kitchen that is really functional and that has appliances that work and don’t make it harder to cook. And I’m very fortunate that my costs haven’t changed too much compared to what I was paying before. Some of my bills are a bit higher, but others are lower. And paying property taxes was a bit of a shock with how much they are, but when you split up the cost over a year, between those and my HOA fees, it’s about the same as I was paying in rent.

But I think the best thing that has happened to me in the past year of being a homeowner is just feeling more settled in my home and really feeling like I have a place that is mine. My rental felt more like my place than any other place I had lived before, but I had no idea how much more I could feel like my place is my home until I moved into the condo. Part of it has to do with the renovation and changes we made to how things look. But there’s just something different knowing that this is my home and my piece of LA. I’m not dependent on a landlord to maintain a space and I don’t have to worry about the rents increasing and pricing me out or having a landlord that wants to tear down the building to modernize things and needing to rush to find a new home (which is what is going to happen to my neighbors at my old place as soon as the landlord can kick people out). I have felt like LA has been my home pretty much as soon as I moved here. Even living in the dorms in college, LA felt like home.

But even though I have felt like LA has been my home for over 20 years, I have spent the past year owning a part of LA and really being able to build a home and not just moving into a space to try to make it feel like mine. And I can’t wait to continue my life in LA in this home and see what the next year and beyond have in store for me!

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Thinking Back On 21 Years In LA (or Feeling A Bit Sentimental)

Posted on August 23, 2022 | Comments Off on Thinking Back On 21 Years In LA (or Feeling A Bit Sentimental)

I just celebrated my LA anniversary. I’ve lived in LA for 21 years now. I know that isn’t a milestone year, but I still think it’s crazy how many years I’ve lived here when in my mind it does feel like I lived in the Bay Area longer. I know that isn’t true, but maybe it’s because my LA life has been a bit split up between being in college, different apartments, and different phases of my life.

Even though I’ve lived here for so long, I haven’t lived in that many places. When I moved to LA, I lived in my freshman dorm at LMU. The summer between my freshman and sophomore year, I sublet an apartment that I shared with 3 roommates. I was also in a dorm for my sophomore year, and during winter break that year I lived with my great aunt and uncle because I had things I needed to do in LA and the dorms were closed for the break. After my sophomore year, I moved into my first apartment and was only there for a year. Then I moved to my next apartment with a roommate and was there for my last semester of college (I graduated a semester early). After 6 years and a bunch of roommates, I moved into the house that I just moved out of. And now I’m in my condo.

I look at the time I was in the dorms and my first apartment as a totally different part of my life. Even my second apartment was a bit less like I was living in LA at times and more like an extension of college. Even though I was only in college for about 6 months in that apartment and then had 5 1/2 years after college, it still felt connected to being a student. My last place really felt like the first grown-up place I lived in. And of course, being in my condo now is a new and exciting phase of life. I did feel settled in LA while living in my last place, but being in a place that I own is an entirely different level.

And as I’ve said this so many times, I had no idea that this is what my life would be like when I was younger. Even just a year ago, I had no idea what my living situation would be like or what type of place I would be moving into. As much as I try to plan for the future, I have had so many curveballs and surprises so I can’t always plan what things will be like. But I have been lucky and most of those curveballs and surprises have been positive or have led to positive things. I didn’t feel like having my landlord sell my place would be necessarily positive, but it was one of the best things for me. So when things seem to be not looking so great, I do try to be patient and hope for the best since things do tend to turn out ok.

I still can’t believe that when I moved to LA, I had just turned 18 and while I had hoped I would stay in LA as an adult I was just happy to be there for college. Now, I’m only a year away from being 40 and I have built such a crazy and cool life here. I can’t imagine what things will be like for me in another 21 years. I also know that I have no idea what things will be like in just another year. So much can change so quickly. But as my history of the last 21 years has shown, it can change in some incredible ways that will help me continue to live the best life that I can in the city that I truly love living in.

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A Full Decade Of Blogging (or I Do Love Milestone Anniversaries)

Posted on July 15, 2022 | Comments Off on A Full Decade Of Blogging (or I Do Love Milestone Anniversaries)

I know it’s a day early, but I’ve been blogging for 10 years! It’s crazy to think that it’s been a decade since I put my first post out on here. Since I typically write the day before the post goes up, that means that 10 years ago today I was writing that very first post.

I know I’ve said this so often, especially on blog anniversaries, but I still can’t believe I’ve been able to keep this up for so long. I know I wanted to keep this up as long as I could, but I never knew what amount of time that would be. Obviously, I’m glad that I’ve been able to write for 10 years now, but I know if I was able to keep it up for a few months and then stopped, I would have been proud of myself for the work that I was able to do.

10 years of posts means that I have written about a lot of things and a lot has changed in my life. I have written about so much that I’ve learned about and how I have figured things out that work and don’t work for myself. When I started this blog, I was in a very different situation. I was not in a regular fitness routine. My day job situation wasn’t as stable as it is now. I lived in the same place for almost the entire time that I’ve been blogging, but I have written about condo hunting over the years, even before we really got serious about it. And now, I live in a much better place than I was in before.

I’ve written about a lot of fun things and adventures that I have gone on in 10 years. I love finding fun (and sometimes random) things to do around LA. One thing I love about living here is that there are always things you can go out and do. I don’t always go out and do them and I’m working on that, but whenever I want to find something to do and I feel motivated, I know I will find something to do. And it will usually make a fun post on here. I haven’t been able to travel as much as I would have liked, but I do love getting to write about a place I haven’t been to before or a place I haven’t been to in a long time.

And I’ve written about some tough stuff over the past decade. I don’t think anyone would expect that they could go 10 years without some sadness. I think I’ve been lucky because I haven’t had to deal with too much hardship over the last decade. There have been hard things I have gone through and that I have watched others go through. But for the most part, the people in my life have been able to stay safe and healthy.

Because the pandemic has been going on for about 2 1/2 years, I guess 25% of my blog has occurred during a pandemic. I wrote about some of my struggles with isolation and my fears around getting sick, but I have been lucky and I have been ok so far. And now, I have this record forever of going through a historic time and what I was doing and thinking. I don’t know if I would remember as much if I had to just rely on my memory and not my past posts.

And I have used this blog as a record when I can’t remember when something happened or a specific point about an event. So when I want to look up something, I can search my past posts. It is a bit weird sometimes to think about it, but it’s also really cool. And I have tried to be as open and honest about the good and the bad so I have an accurate record of my life as I have been writing.

10 years of blogging and just over 2600 posts is a lot. But it’s also amazing. And I am so grateful that there are people who read this blog. I love knowing that others enjoy these posts and I’m not just writing into a void. I have gotten support from people who have read my posts and that is always incredible. And again, having a record of what I have gone through in the past 10 years can also provide help and advice if someone looks up an old post.

I’ve said this over and over again, but I have no intention of stopping my blogging. I’m sure at some point, I will stop or cut back on how many posts I do a week. But I don’t have a plan for that just yet. 10 years ago, there was no way for me to know that my life would be the way it is. And there is no way for me to predict where I’ll be 10 years from now. But I’m excited to see what happens and I will be sharing about it on here just like I always do!

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Another Hip Surgery Anniversary (or Making It To Sweet 16)

Posted on July 8, 2022 | Comments Off on Another Hip Surgery Anniversary (or Making It To Sweet 16)

Yesterday marked 16 years since I had my hip surgery. I didn’t exactly forget about it this time, but I didn’t remember it in time to be able to post about it on here on the actual day. I was in my workout yesterday morning and was thinking about some upcoming events our coach was sharing with us. I was thinking about what day of the week some of those things would be on, and then I realized that day was the 7th and my hip surgery anniversary.

I know that 16 years isn’t exactly a milestone marker, but I think I’m always still in a bit of shock about how well I have done since having that surgery. I was always prepared to have one of the next ones that I would need pretty soon after the first one. My doctors thought I would need at least one more within the next few years. But somehow, I haven’t had to have any other procedures yet. This doesn’t mean I’m out of pain, but I’m not anywhere close to the amount of pain I was in before I had surgery. It’s been a while so I don’t remember exactly how bad the pain was, but I do remember how many painkillers I was on and how much I struggled to walk. And I do remember how little the pain after surgery felt compared to what I was in before.

The pain that I deal with now is a combination of issues with my hips. On the side that was operated on, I am bone on bone. The next surgery I need on that side will be a total hip replacement because there is nothing else they can do to get me out of pain completely. The pain I feel is when my bones hit and when things get out of place. I can’t really describe what that pain is like, but it’s not a sharp pain. It’s a weird dull pain that just feels wrong. But when things get out of place, I do have some tricks to help make that better. On the side that wasn’t operated on yet, the pain I feel is due to the damage that is still there. To remove the damage would make that side be bone on bone, so my doctors said that maybe the next step would just be a hip replacement instead of the surgery I had on the other side. Nothing was really decided or planned since we had no clue how long it would be until I needed the surgeries. And when it came time for them, then we could come up with a plan.

The only plan that was really discussed with me was that the end result would likely be total hip replacements on both sides and that in an ideal world I would not have a hip replacement done before I turned 40. Replacements don’t last forever so the longer you can wait until you get one, the better it is and the fewer future surgeries you might need. And even though I can’t believe my age at times, I’m only about a year away from that milestone birthday. So there is a good chance that I will make it to 40 before having a replacement.

I remember when I had the first surgery 16 years ago that turning 40 seemed like a lifetime away. While I always hoped I would not need surgery before then, I also worried that things would be so bad that I wouldn’t be able to wait that long either. I’m seriously so grateful that while I have dealt with pain, it has never gotten so bad that I considered that I would need a hip replacement. I thought maybe my other side would need that first surgery, but when I had my last exam and x-rays on my hips, the doctors could see some damage but it was not that much worse than what it was like before. And that does make sense since the pain I’ve been feeling over the years has been pretty stable and hasn’t gotten much worse over the years. I have good days and bad days, but they are still pretty similar to what they have been like for a long time.

Next year’s hip surgery anniversary will be right before I turn 40. And as long as things continue the way they have been going, I should still be fine without having to have another surgery before then. And I don’t plan on getting surgery after I turn 40 unless I really need it. My goal has always been to go as long as I could before the next one because that will help me have the best results long term. But it will be nice to know in a year that I have made it to that big goal my surgeon set for me so many years ago.

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5 Year Anniversary Of Being A Medical Miracle (or Somehow This Feels Like The Last Big Milestone)

Posted on April 20, 2022 | Comments Off on 5 Year Anniversary Of Being A Medical Miracle (or Somehow This Feels Like The Last Big Milestone)

5 years ago today, I was supposed to have my liver surgery. Because I seem to be a medical miracle and my tumors shrank, the surgery was pushed off. I think originally we thought that we would see what size they would stabilize at and then plan for the surgery. Obviously, the smaller the tumors are, the easier the surgery would be. And because of how my tumors are stuck in my liver, the smaller the tumors would be when I had surgery, the more of my liver I could keep. I know livers are weird and can regenerate, but it’s always better to not have to regenerate as much. Originally, I think we were thinking that I would lose 20-30% of my liver in the surgery. But if the tumors shrank and I only had to lose 10%, that would be a much easier recovery for me.

Even with how much the tumors shrank within the first 6 months, I never expected that the surgery would be completely put off. But every time I went in for my MRIs, the tumors seemed to get smaller and smaller. And at one of my last in-person appointments with my liver surgeon, we discussed that my situation was now where they wouldn’t recommend surgery for me. The tumors were small enough that they were no longer as life-threatening (although there are still things that could happen that would be more dangerous for me than for others because of them). And the placement of the tumors would actually be harder to remove than when they were at the biggest size. It would be more of an issue to remove them than to leave them there. So the plan was that I would do one more MRI and as long as they didn’t grow I wouldn’t have to worry about them anymore.

My last MRI got pushed off by a year because of the pandemic. But it worked out just fine because at my last appointment my surgeon said I could do the next MRI in 1 year or 2, so I was still following the recommendations he gave to me. And as I wrote in my post after the MRI, the tumors were the same size they were 2 years prior. Of the 3 tumors I had originally, only 1 could be seen and it was 10% of the original size. I didn’t even have an in-person follow-up with my surgeon after the results. He let me know the tumors were stable and that I no longer needed to be monitored.

My last MRI was 5 years to the day from my first MRI, and that made the 5-year mark feel extra special. And since today marks 5 years since I didn’t need surgery, it somehow feels like the end too. I won’t have future MRIs to check on things (unless things take a drastic turn) so I won’t be celebrating the tumors shrinking or being stable. And I know I can continue to celebrate each year that passes after I didn’t have to have surgery, but there’s something about knowing I had the last MRI that makes this non-surgery anniversary feel like it’s the last one too. Then again, I still celebrate how many years have passed since my hip surgery, so there’s a good chance I’ll continue to celebrate this too.

And maybe this feels a bit like the end because I’m moving away from the place I was living the entire time I dealt with the tumor saga. I had a similar feeling when I moved away from the apartment I lived in during the time I had my hip surgery, but it wasn’t as strong. But my hip issues continue to this day versus the tumors which really don’t have to be something I think about all the time.

Whether or not I continue to celebrate this medical miracle anniversary, I love knowing that I’m 5 years past the date that I was supposed to have major surgery. And while for a few years after it was a little stressful not having the surgery and still being worried about the tumors, I’m still grateful I didn’t have to go through that and I have been told by my surgeon that I can move on and not think about this anymore.

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Default ThumbnailMedical Miracle Anniversary (or A Year Of My Liver Being A Badass) Default ThumbnailA Non-Surgery Anniversary (or Another Year Of Being A Medical Miracle) Default Thumbnail3 Years Of Being A Medical Miracle (or Just Enjoying Being Healthy) Default ThumbnailA Boring Tumor Check In (or Still A Miracle) Default ThumbnailAlmost Missing My Tumor Anniversary (or This Seems Like A Lifetime Ago) Default ThumbnailHip Surgery Anniversary (or This Feels Like A Milestone)

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10 Years Of A Union (or I’ve Been A Part Of A Lot This Past Decade)

Posted on March 31, 2022 | Comments Off on 10 Years Of A Union (or I’ve Been A Part Of A Lot This Past Decade)

Yesterday marked 10 years since SAG and AFTRA merged into one union. I remember the merger vote so clearly. I wasn’t a member of SAG or AFTRA when the vote was announced. I had been a member of AGVA, which is a sister union, and was planning on joining SAG soon. But when the vote was going to happen and it seemed very likely that it would pass, I joined AFTRA so I could be a part of the newly merged union. I did it that way because it was less expensive, but if I had to join SAG to do it, I would have done the same.

During the merger vote, even though I wasn’t able to vote, I was very lucky to be invited to different events that were discussing the merger and I learned a lot before I was a member. And I got to meet a lot of people who were in union service and so many of them were happy to discuss things I should know as a new member. It was really an amazing introduction to the union even before I joined.

When the merger passed, I was so happy because I knew that I was automatically a member of SAG-AFTRA, which was my goal. And even though I didn’t start my union service right away, I was making sure I was informed and learning from the moment I joined. And it was only a few years later that I was asked if I wanted to be a part of Unite For Strength and run as a delegate in the election. From that moment on, it seems like I have only gotten more and more involved in SAG-AFTRA and it’s been an amazing journey!

I know that I’m very lucky that I’ve been elected as a delegate 4 times now. Even though I haven’t been elected to the local board yet, I’m grateful I can run and I do get votes each time. And one day, hopefully, I will be elected. But even without being on the local board, I have been able to do quite a bit. I have been on different local and national committees. I’m a vice-chair of a national committee now. I have participated in a lot of different events through committees that I’m not necessarily in but are open to all members. And I have found ways to help other people to get involved as well.

The past 2 years have been tough for me since I have felt very disconnected from my acting career and the industry in general. But my union service has helped me feel involved and like I am still a part of something that I love so much. Things are continuing to return to how they used to be, but I know they are going slowly because we aren’t sure yet if things will have to shut down more again. But I think everyone is ready to get back to the old normal and I hope that I can get back to how I used to be involved before. But even if it takes time for that to happen, I know I’ll get back to doing that again one day. I’ve only started with my union service. Just like the union has only just started.

10 years down, and so many more to go!

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff

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2 Years Of Movie Club (or Another Pandemic-Related Anniversary)

Posted on March 18, 2022 | Comments Off on 2 Years Of Movie Club (or Another Pandemic-Related Anniversary)

As I said before, there are a few different dates that can be anniversaries for the start of the pandemic. For me, the last “normal” day is a big one. Also, the last date I worked out at Orangetheory before the studios shut down for over a year is something a remember a lot. But I also have a positive anniversary connected to the pandemic. Today marks exactly 2 years since the first movie I watched with online friends through Teleparty which was the start of what we now call Movie Club.

I love that I have a screenshot of the first post that I posted in the Facebook group announcing our first movie together. Things have changed quite a bit since that first movie. Now, we have a separate Facebook group just for Movie Club although everyone in it is still a member of the group it originated from. We do movies on Saturdays and a tv show on Wednesdays. And most of the women who are in Movie Club have become some of my closest friends even though I have never met any of them in real life.

I wish I had been able to meet them this past weekend when the others were able to get together, but I know there will be another opportunity to meet up with everyone. But to think that about 2 years ago I didn’t really know anyone that well and now we are always talking and texting is pretty incredible. Most of us knew each other a bit through the other Facebook group we were in, but we didn’t become close until we were meeting each week in Movie Club.

I think everyone has a lot of negative thoughts about what happened during the pandemic, but many also have a few bright spots of what the past 2 years brought. Some people had the opportunity to spend more time with their families. Some lost their jobs but ended up finding their dream job or even creating their dream job. I think almost everyone can say they were able to find things they valued in their life and tried to focus more on that and less on the things that didn’t matter. Everyone had to reevaluate a lot about their lives since 2020, and I’m glad that a lot of people got positive things out of that. And I was lucky enough to not only have that chance but also have all the wonderful things that Movie Club has brought into my life.

I have said many times that making friends as an adult is tough, but this was the perfect way to form friendships. I don’t know if we would have been able to do this if we created Movie Club during normal times when we weren’t all isolated from others. There was something special that came together and allowed us to find a way to come together. We have all talked about how lucky we are and how this might not be able to have been done if we had tried any other time. Everything had to be aligned for it to work out the way it did and I’m so grateful for that.

I have a feeling that Movie Club will continue to have our movie and tv nights for a while. We may eventually have them less frequently (we have been skipping a few Saturdays and might go from every week to every other week one day), but I think they will still be a regular part of my life for a long time. And even if the official group eventually ends, there is no doubt in my mind that I have made lifelong friends from Movie Club that will always be a part of my life.

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2 Years Into The Pandemic (or Still Seeing What Is The New Normal And What Has Returned To Normal)

Posted on March 15, 2022 | Comments Off on 2 Years Into The Pandemic (or Still Seeing What Is The New Normal And What Has Returned To Normal)

There are a few different dates that people consider when they think of the start of the pandemic. For me, I seem to always think of how March 13, 2020 was the last day that really felt normal. It was right before things shut down and before masks were required. I know that I was still worried about Covid and knew that it was starting to affect people in my area, but it still felt separate from my life until things started to change drastically.

And for the first few weeks of the pandemic, I was terrified. There were so many unknowns (there still are a lot of unknowns, but there’s more information about many things). I didn’t know what I really needed to worry about and what might have been an overreaction. Seeing people lined up outside of a grocery store and then finally getting inside and seeing how much was missing from the shelves was something that felt like it was out of a movie. I think I really was going between being numb and being panicked so much for the first few weeks. And it didn’t help that so much of my day-to-day routine was gone right away. I was lucky and didn’t lose my job right away, but it quickly went to having my hours cut by more than half and then down to 3 hours a week before I was out of work. I did do workouts at home so I could try to feel like I was in my routine, but it wasn’t the same as going to my workouts. And I didn’t see any of my friends because we didn’t know what we could do to keep each other safe.

Of course, at that time, we thought maybe this would be life for maybe a month or two. I don’t think anyone expected it to be the way it has turned out.

Last year, when we were marking 1 year since the start of the pandemic, things really were starting to feel hopeful. I had gotten my first vaccination and was about to get my second dose. Some of my friends were also getting their vaccinations and we were looking forward to seeing how quickly things might be returning back to what felt like normal. Most of us were expecting that we would be able to have a normal summer and I started to make plans.

But just like how we thought the pandemic would be over quickly, things a year in didn’t go the way we thought either. We had new variants that were more contagious and got people sick. Not everyone believed in the vaccinations and that caused people to get sick who could have prevented it if they did get vaccinated. And while some things were coming back, there was a lot that still wasn’t normal and people still were being very cautious. I was working on isolating myself less when I could be safe. I started to see friends again when we could be outdoors or in small groups of people who were all vaccinated. And I feel like a year ago, I thought that might be the beginning of the end.

Now that we are 2 years in, things are starting to normalize a bit more but I don’t know if that’s a good thing yet. Masks are not being required, but I still wear mine almost everywhere I go. Cases are down right now, but we can see trends happening in other places and that worries me. We are still in a time where some things are going back to the old way of normal and other things are still the new normal. And we don’t know how long the new normal will stay or if they will go back to the old normal one day.

I do want to stay hopeful and believe that it won’t be much longer before I can stop thinking about how I’m going to keep myself safe when I leave my home. I am taking chances with things that I wouldn’t have done a year ago, and I am trying to find the balance between staying safe and not living my life because of fear. It’s something that has been hard to balance since things started 2 years ago. But now I am able to put a bit more on living my life again and less on taking a lot of measures to stay safe.

I do believe that in a year, we will be recognizing the 3-year mark to the pandemic, but I hope that things will be safer in a year than they are now. Maybe whatever variant we have at that time will be not that contagious or will not get people that sick. But I think I’ve accepted that Covid is not going away and it will eventually be a regular part of life. We aren’t to a place where we can really think that way yet as too many people are still getting very sick and either having long-Covid with debilitating symptoms or dying, but I hope that we will be at that point sooner rather than later.

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12 Years At One Place (or My Last Anniversary At My Current Place)

Posted on February 15, 2022 | Comments Off on 12 Years At One Place (or My Last Anniversary At My Current Place)

Exactly 12 years ago today, I got the keys to my current place. I set up my lease so I would have 2 weeks to move from my last apartment to my current house. I remember how excited I was to move here. When I was searching for a new place, I really wanted to find an old bungalow that would be the perfect size for me to live alone. At my last apartment, I was in a 2 bedroom place and had a bunch of different roommates. But I was excited to live alone and wanted to find the perfect place to do that.

I felt so lucky when I found my current place. It was exactly what I was looking for. The rent was a good price for me and even though it was pretty small, it was going to just be for me and I knew I could make it look like it was much bigger.

And for the past 12 years, I have been pretty happy here. There have been times when it wasn’t perfect and sometimes I wished I had more space for things I wanted. But considering the goals I had for a place, this place fit exactly what I had really asked for. I love having my own space and no roommates, I love how my place has character and doesn’t feel like a generic apartment, and I love the neighborhood I’m in. And for a long time, the idea of leaving here for another place really made me sad.

But things have changed over the past few months. Obviously, I’m so excited to move into my condo when it’s done. We had a small setback that may delay my move by a week or two, but nothing too bad. But things are moving along and I should be moving pretty soon. And with my new landlord and the issues I’ve been having at my current place, I’m counting down the days until I start my move!

I do still have some sad feelings about leaving this place soon. It’s been my home for almost 1/3rd of my life! The only place I lived longer was the house I grew up in. I love a lot of the features such as not sharing any walls with any neighbors. I will have to get used to that when I move, but I will be gaining a lot compared to the things I will need to adjust to. I’m also sad knowing that it seems like my new landlord will be tearing down this place in the near future and turning it into something else. I don’t like thinking about that because this place has been so special and I would love for someone else to be able to live here for a long time and also know how amazing this place will be.

But I know that is out of my control and I understand why the new landlord would prefer to have 15 upgraded apartments compared to 8 tiny and outdated ones. So I’m just going to be grateful that I’ve been able to spend the last 12 years here and I will be moving to an amazing place that I’m really turning into my home. And even though I’m not moving right around my house anniversary, I do love that I did make it to my 12 year anniversary here. Something feels just right about that idea. Like how there are 12 grades in school before you graduate. I have 12 years of renting here before moving on.

And maybe I’ll be at my condo for 12 years or longer! You never know. I didn’t think I’d be at my place now for 12 years, but at the same time, I couldn’t imagine moving before now. So I guess I will just have to wait and see.

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