Thursday Thirteen: The Happy News Edition.

1. Last month. I hadn't mentioned this yet, but I have 5 clients, and 3 of them I got myself. The counseling center isn't working out. Again. It's like an abusive relationship, me and this place, and I'm done. I'm tired of fighting my colleagues for a room. I'm tired of not being paid.I'm tired of Evil Bill, the office manager, who doesn't trust degreed professionals with a wifi password, forcing all 9 of them to share a single old workstation.  I didn't take a vow of poverty when I went into behavioral health. I started putting in some serious effort into job hunting right before Thanksgiving.
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2. Saturday night we had a bling party. I highly recommend this. The rule is, everyone shows up wearing stuff they got for the year: hats, finisher's medals, everything.

One of our guys was wearing a Boston medal.
 Dude. Duuuuuude. I rubbed it, but I didn't get any faster. The most unusual bling was the paperweight that DP's beloved brought back from a run in Scotland.

We were left with a lot of food. Not, like, entrees, but homemade cookies, cake, crackers, cheese, et cetera. We're going to finish it off, because you know, it would, like, go to waste otherwise. You know.

3. Saturday, part 2. I ran 11 miles Saturday, the first decent run I've had since rolling my ankle three weeks ago. I'm not saying it was fast. I think the hilly, mixed-surface run was an average of 14-1/2 minute miles. Next week, I'll do a 14-mile long run. I'm switching my hikes to Saturdays, and my long run to Sundays, for December.  But I did it.  I was stiff the rest of the day, but felt good the next morning. 

4. Sunday. I really do think my swim time Sunday is partially due to the strength training I've been doing. I wouldn't have expected to do that well after not swimming since early September. Meanwhile, we've discovered that the local Y is less than HALF of the cost of our old gym, and is newly rennovated.  One of the branches is right next door to where I take my evening classes, meaning that if I get out of class early enough, I can go for a swim before heading home. 

5. Lately.

I've always bad for people who were out of work and having trouble getting a job, but it was always an abstract feeling from the perspective of not having ever had problems finding a job. After 2+ months of searching, I do not believe that everything happens for a reason, but I do believe that this is something good to be had from every bad thing, even if that means only that I can commiserate with someone who is going through the same thing as a behavioral health specialist.
Still.
 I don't want to get too good at knowing what unemployment feels like.
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6. So, Tuesday. Last Tuesday night, a fellow social work student who is super nice and reminds me just a bit of Moby, told me there was an opening at a psychiatric treatment facility for kids. The position is for their intake assessment person.  He gave me the name of the clinical director. I called. We played phone tag for a couple days, then set up an interview. I spent the weekend chewing on the skin on the sides of my thumbs.

Tuesday of this week I left 2 hours early and drove through slushy snow to the Interview.
and
I
got
the
job. 

6. Holiday weirdness. Cranberry Bean Pizza. Beans. Cranberries. On a Pizza. Um, yeah: You can have my slice.
instead, why not make some homemade Irish Cream? here's a recipe:

• 1 cup coconut milk beverage (or you can use cream)
  
• Regular can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 2/3 cups Irish whiskey
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 1 tsp. cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract

Put the thinner beverages in a blender, and add the sweetened condensed milk slowly while blending.  Add the powdered stuff last.  Let sit overnight, stir, and serve.  

7. Wednesday. I am permanently a fan of weight training.  I love how it makes me feel.  I love how easy it is to do mundane things, like carrying a basket full of cans around the grocery store (I don't use carts.  They make me feel trapped.  I'm complicated that way.)
Wednesday, I studied, ran 3-1/2 miles, did my strength workout, drove across town (to my new job site) and filled out information for my background check, got fingerprinted and peed in a cup, drove back across town to pick up my new bifocals →,
studied some more, and took my last final for the semester, which was for my Law class, once again surprised to discover how well studying works.

8. This year.  I seem to have finally shaken that "old" feeling that's been dogging me since the youngest kid moved out. It wasn't that I was happy with my new life, I am. Both my parents died pretty young, though, and I just couldn't shake this feeling that time was running out.  
Having a brand new job, though, the kind I've always wanted, is pretty rejuvenating.  I feel like my life is just beginning. 

9. Today. I'm both worried and jazzed about getting back to work.

• Jazzed: income. Yeah . IN. COME. COME. IN. Come in, income.
  
  
• Worried: when on earth will I have time to train? Seems to me I tried this full time stuff last year, and I was working out in my office, but I'm guessing these new people might actually have stuff for me to do. When do people who work full time train? How do they fit it in?

10. Also. I accepted the job Tuesday without knowing what the salary is or when I would start or if I'd even have an office.  It's an adventure.  While I'm a bit dismayed at the pay, it pays more than unemployment. I knew I would start soon. I didn't care. Plus, they seem so happy to have me there.  It's a job I've always wanted, at a place where employees tend to stay a long time. Win-win

11. Today, P. 2.  I'm running again, finally, but the cold is hard on my asthma.  When it's below freezing I'm pretty breathless.  Today, yes, today, I'm going for a nice, long, 8 mile mixed surface run.  My exams are over, and I've got a job offer.  I'm goin' runnin'.


12.  Tomorrow.  I'm going to work out, and relax.  it will be my last day off for a while.  I'm going for a nice long run, and do my Power 90 workout. 

13. In general.  Ultrarunners are just weird.  Here's an exerpt:

"Barkley 100 Mile
The 100 mile race in Frozen Head State Park TN in late March or early April consists of 5 20-mile loops with 10,400 ft. of climb per loop. There is no aid, no course markings, and often no trail with long climbs of 50% grade or more. When there is trail, it is not maintained, with frequent deadfall, mud, and sawbriers. The cutoff is 60 hours with a historical finish rate of 1% and a course record of 55:42. To prove you completed each lap, you must find 9 to 11 books in the woods marked on your map and bring back a page from each book. No pacers are allowed. Runners must alternate directions on the last lap. Weather: fog, rain, wind, sleet, and snow are common."

I will not say I will never be that weird, lest I be struck with the never say never curse. 
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