Well my first week at work went really well. I am really liking the job, the shop, the people, the hours, everything. God has been so good to not only give me a job when I needed one, but give me a job I really enjoy that pays exactly what I was looking for!!!

My schedule is Thursday through Monday, 39.5 hours a week. So far I’ve exclusively been doing fitting; that is, putting the art into the frames with the mats, etc. Eventually they’ll train me to do sales as well, but right now the shop is behind and it’s the Christmas rush, so we’re just focusing on trying to catch up.

I’m really enjoying my coworkers: it’s really cool to be spending significant periods of time with people around again. I’ve gotten used to spending a lot of time by myself, and I actually enjoy it, but it’s good to spend time with people, too. The ones I’ve spent the most time with are:

Karina: she’s from the Dominican Republic and is in charge of inspecting all pieces before they are given back to the customers. She’s been very nice to me, we’ve had a couple good chats about books, jobs, college, etc.

David: he’s from Australia, and reminds me of Phil Joel because of his accent (half the time I’d swear it’s an NZ accent) and because he has long curly hair. We get along well; he likes to tease me about everything from the fact that I think LOTR is the best film of all time to that I’m reading Gone With the Wind (“has he said ‘I don’t give a damn’ yet??”) to the music that I like to the fact that I mumble and talk to myself a lot.

Justin: he’s a musician, mostly bass guitar. He likes to talk about his band, lots of interesting stories, and talk about music in general. We have discussed the sad fact that classically trained musicians are not taught to improvise, whereas jazz musicians are. I wish were better at improv-ing.

Jeremy: my immediate supervisor. Originally from Denver. Very good framer, he makes it look easy. He’s been walking me slowly through how they do different tasks at the shop. We haven’t talked much, but he’s pretty cool.

Deb: works up front in sales. She’s a grad student at FIT studying art management. She’s very friendly and we like to talk at the lunch table.

G: works in the back cutting mats and glass for all orders. Works occasionally as a DJ, loves music and likes to play it loudly while he works. Very friendly.

They are good people and I’m really looking forward to getting to know them better. The only problem I’ve had at work so far has been figuring out when I can get off for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Had a conversation with the boss on Monday about it and have revised my tickets and hopefully will get approval tomorrow. Prayer would be appreciated on that one.

On Saturday night I went to the Follow Me Down cast party, which was at the sound designer Greg’s gorgeous apartment. Seriously gorgeous apartment. I arrived an hour late, but there were still only 2 people there, Greg and Patrick, the playwright. We chatted and Greg mixed us drinks from his incredibly well-stocked bar. He made me a whiskey-based cocktail whose name I can’t remember, but it was delicious. Apparently it’s one of the oldest mixed drinks in the US, enjoyed since before the Civil War, and very popular in the ‘20s. Wish I could remember the name. When more people arrived, most of whom had colds, he made us all Hot Toddy’s, the best ones I’ve ever had. They were seriously delicious. I left the party around midnight so that I could get up for work the next day.

We made a disturbing discovering on Sunday: we have mice in the apartment!!! Only seen in the kitchen as of yet, but they are gross. We’ve found them in the sink, and running on and around the stove. I bought traps and they’ve been sitting out for 3 days loaded with delicious peanut butter, but we have yet to catch any more of the little creeps. Hopefully they will die soon. It’s really gross to think of them scampering everywhere.

Stephanie, the girl who I’m subletting from who’s on tour, is in town this week and she spent a couple nights at the apartment to visit Ashley. So I got to meet her, she’s very nice, and the three of us made a big pot of chili and cornbread Monday night and ate together. It was fun.

So I started an experiment when I was home, based on a New York Times article about long hair. It recommended that the best thing for your hair was not to wash it with shampoo and conditioner, but just to rinse it under hot water and massage your scalp, and allow the natural oils of your hair to keep it soft and glossy. The idea makes intuitive sense to me: it seems reasonable that our hair should be able to keep itself presentable naturally; I mean, what did people do before shampoo and conditioner existed? The article talked about how shampoo strips the natural oils from our hair, and so we have to put in conditioner to restore oils, but these dirty our hair so we need shampoo again: a self-perpetuating vicious cycle. So I’ve spent the last 3 weeks without washing my hair once. I rinse it every couple days, massaging my scalp a few times (which is the most amazing feeling in the world—try it!!). The first 2 weeks it was pretty oiling and felt kinda gross, because it was rebalancing. But now it’s quite nice: my hair is smooth and glossy and clean, without the use of products. And it seems to be less frizzy, even when I brush it. The only thing I miss is the smell of the products; still trying to figure out something to do about that. Not that my hair smells bad; it smells fine, but I miss the lovely scents of shampoos. Any suggestions? In Gone With the Wind, Scarlett rinses her hair with cologne water. I know there’s such a thing as rosewater, too. Maybe I’ll experiment. Not sure where I would get such things, though.

So this week has been focused almost exclusively on getting used to the new job. It’s good to have a regular job again with a regular paycheck. I’m not used to the 40-hours-a-week thing anymore, but I will get used to it again. Same with being on my feet all day. I will adjust. And when I do, I want to start reintroducing good things into my life.

Starting with more design work. I don’t have another show lined up, but I need to spend time again developing myself as a designer, which is the whole point of taking this time off before grad school. I need to draw, to draft, to read, to go see shows, and to do a couple paper projects of shows with full drafting and models that show what I can do. I need to go to museums and galleries and immerse myself in art and culture and everything else that contributes to good design.

I also want to start spending time with/making friends. Making coffee dates or happy hour dates with small group girls and others. Doing things with friends. I’ve started to feel the need again for spending time with people who really know me. Nobody up here really knows me very well; that needs to change. I know it’s a long process, but I do want close friends again.

I also want to start fun social activities that broaden me. I want to get involved in dance classes, after I have a little bit of cash saved up from the new job. Or a yoga class. Or a judo class. Or all three. I want to run again or get a gym membership somewhere that will get me back into regular exercise.

I’ve really enjoyed cooking here. Tuesdays have become my grocery and cooking days. Last week it was poppy seed chicken, French onion soup, and apple pie. This week it’s Thai red curry chicken with rice (a delicious recipe of Eileen’s) and pumpkin bread. And bruschetta from my fresh basil and tomatoes and Italian bread. I’ve been faithfully experimenting with inexpensive red wines (Remus, I finally finished that French one—it wasn’t too bad). I bought more flour and sugar yesterday so I can continue baking every week. I love cooking, just like I love drinking tea or coffee, watching movies, and reading.

I’ve become very good at living on my own and enjoying solo activities, but now I need to include more social activities. And really try to develop friendships and build a community of people here. I know that takes time; it took 3 years at school, but I need to do it. For starters, I’m going to see the play Uncle Tom’s Cabin with my friend Stephanie on Saturday. We’re catching dinner beforehand and will hopefully have a wonderful time. I’m really excited.