Coming back from a vacation is always an interesting time. You never know what surprises await you, because of course it can't be as easy as simply taking up the reins of responsibilities again. Not only is it the case that you have changed, in your time away, but also, inevitably, something will glitch and require attention before everything going smoothly again. It is simply a fact of life.
I got pretty lucky on this trip, to be honest. Setting aside the sadness of leaving my gentleman behind, I came back to a reasonably warm, un-broken-into house, a car that was dirty but unharmed and still runs well, and a job that has plenty of work for me to do. Astonishingly, the financial aid department at college even managed to get everything correct, so for the first time in 4 years, I don't have to go in and fight with them. All-in-all, that's pretty amazing.
The flight on Wednesday was relatively uneventful. I got lucky and was able to upgrade my seat from the middle of the next-to-last row to the very front row (of economy seating, anyway) for a minimal fee, so I was able to literally stretch my legs completely out in front of me and take a nap. The seat next to me was unoccupied, so the guy sitting by the window and I had extra arm space, too. Both the mace and the taser (which was my christmas gift from my gentleman!) made it through checked luggage unharmed, and my bag weighed exactly the limit allowed by the airline.
When I landed in CO, I was the last person to get a seat on the next shuttle heading my direction, and only had to wait 15 minutes for it to take off (caused by two prima donnas who couldn't figure out what east and west were, and wanted the driver to drive out to the highway, down to the next exit, turn around, and come back to get them on the other side of the airport. Thankfully, he said no). I was the first person dropped off, and managed to strike up a conversation with another passenger in the van so we weren't all sitting there in awkward silence.
Upon arriving home, I discovered that I had one egg and enough orange juice to make breakfast the next day, so I didn't have to immediately go out shopping again. Sadly, I also found out that you can't freeze an opened block of cheddar and expect it to thaw well... but it was a good effort. One thing I did find particularly odd was that my house looked foreign to me. That smell that you get when walking into someone else's house (yet you never smell in your own house, because you're used to it) smelled very odd- hopefully in part to it having been closed up for three weeks, and not just because my house smells weird. Everything looked off, as well- my house is very minimalist and done in light colors, where my gentleman's is rather dark and packed with stuff. After the initial shock wore off, however, it once again feels like the place I live.
The real fun happened on Friday, when I went back to work. I found out that, in my absence, the office had hired temps for the upcoming tax season, and I'd been shuffled off to the back side of the front desk. This means that a) customers can see me when they enter (though I'm still not required to interact with them, thank goodness!), b) I can literally hear every single person in the office, and c) I have about two square feet of desk space, which is not laid out for someone who uses a mouse left-handedly. While annoying, I realize that the people who actually prepare taxes need the space, and I can make do with what I have. I suspect my iPod will get lots of use, however, as I will go mad if I have to listen to that many people holding that many different conversations for four months. Thankfully, my boss is okay with that.
As I was talking to the HR lady, however, she made a comment about, "I bet that extra in the mail was nice to come back to, eh?" Having put my mail on hold til Thursday, and having then received about 3 pieces of mail, none of which were exciting, I had no idea what she was talking about. She caught my blank look and said, "You know, the bonus check? Did you get it? Because it went out in December!" Well well well, an unexpected but entirely welcome surprise! Upon returning home, I called the post office, and it seems they'd held my mail, but then something glitched and they hadn't sent it out to be redelivered. They asked if Saturday would be okay for delivery or if I needed it sooner. Well, money's nice, but I told them no rush, I'd be fine with waiting.
Despite the weather dropping precipitously (and then precipitating), the welcome back to CO has been pretty calm. School starts today- my last semester!- and I'm pretty excited about life in general. Life isn't perfect, but hey, it could be so much worse, eh? Cheers!
I got pretty lucky on this trip, to be honest. Setting aside the sadness of leaving my gentleman behind, I came back to a reasonably warm, un-broken-into house, a car that was dirty but unharmed and still runs well, and a job that has plenty of work for me to do. Astonishingly, the financial aid department at college even managed to get everything correct, so for the first time in 4 years, I don't have to go in and fight with them. All-in-all, that's pretty amazing.
The flight on Wednesday was relatively uneventful. I got lucky and was able to upgrade my seat from the middle of the next-to-last row to the very front row (of economy seating, anyway) for a minimal fee, so I was able to literally stretch my legs completely out in front of me and take a nap. The seat next to me was unoccupied, so the guy sitting by the window and I had extra arm space, too. Both the mace and the taser (which was my christmas gift from my gentleman!) made it through checked luggage unharmed, and my bag weighed exactly the limit allowed by the airline.
When I landed in CO, I was the last person to get a seat on the next shuttle heading my direction, and only had to wait 15 minutes for it to take off (caused by two prima donnas who couldn't figure out what east and west were, and wanted the driver to drive out to the highway, down to the next exit, turn around, and come back to get them on the other side of the airport. Thankfully, he said no). I was the first person dropped off, and managed to strike up a conversation with another passenger in the van so we weren't all sitting there in awkward silence.
 |
| Awkward... |
Upon arriving home, I discovered that I had one egg and enough orange juice to make breakfast the next day, so I didn't have to immediately go out shopping again. Sadly, I also found out that you can't freeze an opened block of cheddar and expect it to thaw well... but it was a good effort. One thing I did find particularly odd was that my house looked foreign to me. That smell that you get when walking into someone else's house (yet you never smell in your own house, because you're used to it) smelled very odd- hopefully in part to it having been closed up for three weeks, and not just because my house smells weird. Everything looked off, as well- my house is very minimalist and done in light colors, where my gentleman's is rather dark and packed with stuff. After the initial shock wore off, however, it once again feels like the place I live.
The real fun happened on Friday, when I went back to work. I found out that, in my absence, the office had hired temps for the upcoming tax season, and I'd been shuffled off to the back side of the front desk. This means that a) customers can see me when they enter (though I'm still not required to interact with them, thank goodness!), b) I can literally hear every single person in the office, and c) I have about two square feet of desk space, which is not laid out for someone who uses a mouse left-handedly. While annoying, I realize that the people who actually prepare taxes need the space, and I can make do with what I have. I suspect my iPod will get lots of use, however, as I will go mad if I have to listen to that many people holding that many different conversations for four months. Thankfully, my boss is okay with that.
As I was talking to the HR lady, however, she made a comment about, "I bet that extra in the mail was nice to come back to, eh?" Having put my mail on hold til Thursday, and having then received about 3 pieces of mail, none of which were exciting, I had no idea what she was talking about. She caught my blank look and said, "You know, the bonus check? Did you get it? Because it went out in December!" Well well well, an unexpected but entirely welcome surprise! Upon returning home, I called the post office, and it seems they'd held my mail, but then something glitched and they hadn't sent it out to be redelivered. They asked if Saturday would be okay for delivery or if I needed it sooner. Well, money's nice, but I told them no rush, I'd be fine with waiting.
Despite the weather dropping precipitously (and then precipitating), the welcome back to CO has been pretty calm. School starts today- my last semester!- and I'm pretty excited about life in general. Life isn't perfect, but hey, it could be so much worse, eh? Cheers!
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