Another week has passed. Since I started my job the pace of my life has picked up quite a bit. It used to be that time was passing slowly and I was able to fully experience each day of living in the city. But now it’s going faster and days are starting to run together a little. I’m starting to drink more coffee again. Some days I feel like I just wake up, go to work, come home, and go to sleep. And then get up to do it again. Working on making that not be the case. I want my job to be part of my life, but not to define my life. I’m trying to get up 2 hours before I have to leave in the mornings, because that gives me time to shower, eat, have devotions, and drink a cup of tea before leaving for the day. Makes me a much happier and more alive person.

The job is going really well. The bosses kindly granted my time off requests for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I’ll be home for a week for each holiday. I’ve spent most of my time fitting frames: putting the mats, art, glass, and frames together and securing them into the frames in a dust-free manner. It’s more complicated than it sounds—I have to push myself to make sure that each piece is perfect and I don’t let anything mediocre get by me. On Monday I started learning sales, so soon I’ll be splitting time between fitting in the back and coming out to the showroom to help clients with orders. The sales process is much more complicated than it was at Michaels; we have a much bigger selection, but mostly it's because the shop runs entirely on a paper system; no computers involved. So the order tickets are written out by hand and have to be very detailed and accurate. It’s a lot to remember and I’m sure I’ll be bugging the other sales people with questions for a while to come, but I’m excited to be branching out from fitting. The shop got really busy right after I started training, and I ended up doing my first sale much sooner than I had anticipated, but it went well and jumping in with both feet cemented things faster than just standing around watching would have done. I’m working extra hours this week to make up for some of the time I’m taking off; so I’m just getting today off and am working Wednesday. It will be good.

On Saturday evening after work I met my friend Stephanie on the Lower East Side to go see Uncle Tom’s Cabin at the Metropolitan, directed by Alex. We went to a fantastic Indian place for dinner, each getting their special which included a complimentary glass of wine, appetizers, soup, entrée, dessert, and coffee. My main dish was a lamb curry, very tasty. The show was fun, it was great to see Alex and the theatre again! It was the first preview, the first time the actors had performed in front of an audience, and it ran 3 hours. When it was only supposed to run 2. It dragged in some parts, the timing will get ironed out over the course of the previews, but overall it was a great show, inventively staged. The script is a typical 19th century piece, with lots of random moments and vignettes and characters that don’t feel like they contribute to the plot, and a wild ending where everything is resolved at once. It was cool to see.

I had a lovely day off today. I slept in until 10am, then cleaned the bathroom, which sorely needed it. After it was sufficiently clean I took a lovely long bath, accompanied by my new bar of soap from Lush (it smells divinely and is a dark turquoise color) and a sandalwood scented ‘bath bomb’; basically bubble bath for the new millennium. :-P For lunch I made pasta. I bought this amazing Italian expensive Tagliatelle yesterday at the Garden of Eden (a gourmet grocery near work) and cooked it today and mixed it with the delicious fresh pesto I made last week from my basil. It was phenomenal; some of the best pasta I’ve ever had.


This afternoon I went downtown to do some shopping, and took a lovely walk through Greenwich Village and Chelsea. Such great neighborhoods; I really love it down there. I bought a coffee travel mug so that I can start making coffee to take to work instead of buying it, bought the new Josh Groban CD Illuminations that came out yesterday (I am listening to it now and quite enjoying it!), and picked up some food at Trader Joe’s. I’m not doing real shopping this week, I just bought enough to get me through Saturday. Hopefully I’ll have eaten most anything that could rot while I’m away by that time.

When I got home I made banana muffins with walnuts while I listened to the CD. And now I’m sipping a glass of wine and writing to you wonderful people. I cannot wait to come home on Saturday and enjoy the holiday and the food and the family. Very excited about it.

This week I’ve been reading two books: The Autobiography of George Muller and Three Cups of Tea. The Tea book is the true story of an American who is building schools throughout Pakistan. Quite an incredible book so far; fascinating and inspiring. The Muller book is a loan from Mommy and is the story of a German pastor who ran a bunch of schools and orphanages in England in the 1800s based entirely on donations and trust in God. Also very inspiring; it really drives home the fact that God is eager and willing to provide for His people physically when they trust Him. Every page that recounts how God sent the money for things that were needed exactly when it was needed reminds me of all the amazing provision that God has made for me since I moved up here. Same story: He has provided incredibly every single thing I have needed, exactly when I have needed it, and often much more than I need. I feel I have come to know and trust Him so much more since being up here. Having to rely on Him so entirely and directly has taught me so much about how much He loves me and has a perfect plan for me. Yesterday I read a psalm that perfectly describes my situation:

“Lord, you have assigned my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.” Psalm 16:5-11