Weird times

 It sure is weird only working part time now.

On Monday, my boss from the Church History Department from years ago invited me to lunch. He's pretty big at BYU now, and he returned as a mission president in July, so he has plenty of professional and personal connections. Therefore, I was flattered that he would reach out to little old me. He periodically also asks me for editing help. It's nice to have someone appreciate my skills. (I do think I'm better at editing than I am at anything else.)

My parents have had COVID this week, but since I had it in August, I haven't been too worried about contracting it. When I got home on Tuesday, I felt unusually tired, so I worried I might have it again. I opted to stay home from my swimming lessons. But then I took a COVID test, which came out negative. I was going to go late to my lessons, but it was snowing heavily, so I decided it wasn't worth it. I feel like I missed swimming for nothing, but I am glad I didn't have to drive home in the snow. (It wasn't snowing when I would have originally left.)

My transition from intern to contractor has been a headache. I went into the office Wednesday and was locked out of my account, so I took some time off to make a Target run, in part because I wanted some better jeans. (I like the look of slim-fit jeans, but they are hard to take off over my incredibly huge calf muscles.) When I went back into the office, the issue still wasn't resolved, and I would ask people about it, and they kept telling me to go ask someone else. I was running in circles until eventually they told me to go home for the day.

When I got home on Wednesday, I decided to go on a hike in the snow in the dark. It's nice to have something different to do, and I'm glad I have more time now.

Thursday I didn't go into the office. I couldn't, since I was locked out of my account. And then I got an email that my new position hadn't officially been approved. But they got it sorted out, so I was able to go to work on Friday.

They have given me a task that is fun, if a little challenging, one that might potentially be a great boost to my career. So I just have to be patient. It's still frustrating, though, that I'm in my mid-thirties and still don't have a regular job.

Also, a few weeks ago I interviewed for another job, which I didn't get. No surprise there, I didn't feel qualified. But then they reached out to me specially to encourage me to apply to a new posting. It's a job that would be a great fit for me. It's part-time as well, so I could potentially do two part-time jobs at the same time, even though that might be hard. So I'm hopeful for my future, even if the present is a little weird.

Two years ago, I ran on every street in North Salt Lake. Effective January 1, 2023, unincorporated Davis County is now part of NSL. So yesterday I went and ran on all of those streets. It's nice to be able to do something different on a run, but running in random neighborhoods during this bleak time of year is just not the same as my usual temple run, and it's certainly not even close to as good as a trail run.

Well, we're halfway through January, the worst month of the year. February's not much better. But literally every other month is wonderful, so again, patience is key.