Wonderemployment

In my dream world, I live in an immaculate, yet cozy home filled only with carefully curated items that I love and that have meaning and purpose. Everything unsightly would live inside a charming box or be hidden away in neatly organized cabinets. Clutter would not exist. Unfortunately, my reality does not look like this at all, despite reading many issues of Real Simple magazine and ogling Container Store catalogs. We just have way too much STUFF. I don't try to collect things, but somehow our apartment feels filled to the brim. We've made some headway over the years, but not enough for me to feel truly happy with our space. Part of the problem is that for a long time I thought we would move "soon", originally because I wanted to live in the city, and more recently, because of a dramatic rent increase. But alas, I've finally accepted that we will probably be here for a while and it's time to make this apartment a real home. During my wonderemployment, ...

It's official...my wonderemployment is coming to an end! I've accepted a full-time position at the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO, pronounced app-cho) and will be starting the first week of November. I got the offer last Wednesday so I've had some time to think it over, absorb the news, and celebrate in small ways. As all of you who have read my thoughts for the past nine months know, working part time has been both a joy and a burden for me. I have loved being able to do more of the things that I genuinely enjoy, though it's been hard feeling at a standstill, not contributing financially to our household the way I feel that I should. After many months of wondering what to do, I am finally taking the long-awaited next step. I am anxious about the change (because I am always anxious about any change), but generally feeling really hopeful about this new opportunity. I am excited to be challenged in new ways, to meet new people, to k...

I was tagged by two friends to do the Facebook gratitude/thanksgiving challenge, where for seven days, you list 3 things for which you are thankful (or something like that; I've seen a few iterations floating around). For reasons I don't want to go into, I have a general policy of not participating in any social media "challenges". But I do believe in practicing, expressing, and encouraging gratitude, and the science behind gratitude is quite compelling . Over the years I have tried to develop a habit of actively focusing of gratitude and appreciation, rather than judgment and negativity. It's a muscle that I feel pretty comfortable with, so I wanted to challenge myself in a different way. Yesterday I decided to do an hourly (or in some cases, half-hourly) gratitude check. I just took a few notes in my phone throughout the day, then elaborated on them later.  Here is my log: 7:00 am: Ugh, waking up. This is the hardest time for me to feel anything but grumpy....

I got an offer today. For a full-time job. A full-time job that pays decently and has benefits (perks even!). I'm a little dizzy from excitement. I am overwhelmed thinking about how things will change though... am I ready for the end of wonderemployment?!