Bringing You Up to Speed

Someone please explain to me why it is that rainy, dreary days always make time drag on minute by minute? Such happens to be the case this morning, during which I have already spilled sugar-free apple cider all over my desk at work, narrowly missing my clothing-- thank goodness for my catlike reflexes. Yes, I'm already digging on the fall beverages, and yet there are still some weeks left of summer. But more importantly: why am I such a klutz? Or maybe I should be asking how instead.

It's very apparent that for some time now, I have been struggling with coming back to the blogisphere. It's not that I have a lack of things to post about. It's not that I have a lack of desire to write. For me, blogging is cathartic, but like I've said before, it's a huge time-suck. I don't mean that negatively, but there are just not enough hours in the day-- especially as of late-- for me to sit down for an hour or so and type up a post, add photos (which have previously been edited... add time here), and edit. Okay, let's be real: I rarely edit.

This is not to say that I'm 100% coming back to blogging, but it's not to say that I'm 100% giving it up either. If time allows, I'll jot down my musings. If not, not to worry. So that's that. On to the good stuff!

To say that these past few months-- heck, 2014 in general!-- have been full of change would be an understatement. During this time, I have experienced the following (hopefully in order):

• I got a puppy! The one and only, most-adorable Kipp, aka Kippernicus. Yes, my dog's nickname is longer than his full name. And technically I got him right before Christmas 2013, but we will still count this as a 2014 change, because we have both grown together during these months.
• I got laid off from my pharmaceutical sales job. Such is the nature of the pharmaceutical industry-- hire for the immediate need, and remove for the immediate need (or lack thereof). Although this left me in a tough predicament, it opened doors for me, and it opened my eyes to what I really want from a career. My career transition has been a blessing in disguise, and I find myself much happier now than I ever was with pharma.
• I bought a new car! A 2014 Mazda CX-5 Touring to be exact. This sort of goes hand-in-hand with the layoff (no employing company = no company car), but I couldn't be happier with my choice. (Although, this weekend some jerk dinged my door in a tight parking lot and I didn't realize until the next morning--grr! Must get that fixed ASAP. Car = baby (and the most expensive thing I mostly own.))
• I started more actively dating. By this, I mean that I gave online dating an actual try--or more specifically Tinder-- and almost immediately met my now boyfriend! Before you go off judging those that use Tinder, let me say what I've said from the beginning of my experience with it: Tinder gets a bad wrap because of those that use it to hookup...and there are a lot of those type on there. But when you get down to it, you get out of this dating app what you put into it. Those that are looking only for "booty" are very transparent about it. I preferred Tinder because it allowed me to be more selective up front about what I was looking for and only get contacted by those that fit well with that. I went into my experience looking for a relationship, and it just so happens that I found one. I am not ashamed to admit that, nor will I ever be.
• In conjunction with the last bullet point, I found a new, wonderful, meaningful relationship with by far the best guy ever. No, I'm not biased in the least... My good friend Stacy used to tell me all. the. time. while listening to my dating woes, "You deserve someone who treats you like a princess. You deserve someone who treats you like a queen. Don't settle for that crap!" I knew what she meant, but I never really understood what she meant because I had never experienced that before. Now I have.
• I went to Costa Rica for 2 weeks... with said boyfriend. It was my first international experience (excluding Canada before the days of the passport requirement), and there are not enough words in the English language for me to express just how utterly, breathtakingly amazing it was. We drove between six different towns, including three days of backpacking in Corcovado National Park and four days of sand and sun (duh) in Santa Teresa. Heaven!
• I started a new job career two weeks after my return to Charlottesville. I now work for the UVa hospital as a Clinical Research Coordinator (Trainee) in the Department of Radiation Oncology. So very rewarding, to say the least, and I ABSOLUTELY love it.
• I've spent a substantial part of my summer taking weekend trips, enjoying the company of weekend visitors (both mine and my boyfriend's), and making every last minute count. In previous years, I don't think I made the most of the free time that I had, so by Monday morning, I would dread going back to work because all I had done over the weekend was errands and chores. Such is not the case this year, and I can contribute this new thought process to the new relationship.
• New year/career = new gym. Now that I work for UVa, I can take advantage of the gym(s) they have around Grounds at a discounted rate. You have to have a tie to the University in order to be able to use their facilities, so it's not that I couldn't as an alumnus, but it would have been a few hundred dollars more per year. And I was able to get a Plus One membership for the boyfriend too, so I finally have a workout partner again! The couple that trains together stays together?!
• I bought a road bike (and have been trying to get out on it more)! The boyfriend is a big road cycling enthusiast, and I'm always looking for a new adventure/challenge/fitness goal. I am now the proud owner of one of the Canondale Synapse Women's line of bikes. No races on the horizon for me anytime soon.
• Most recently, I vacationed out to Utah with the boyfriend, helping him take notes for his company at the Outdoor Retailer conference held in Salt Lake City. We extended the front end of the trip a few days and spent three of them hiking through Zion National Park. We must go back soon! Although we had those three days in the park, it wasn't nearly enough time to see/do all that we wanted. And the OR conference was such an experience-- I'm always glad when I can find little ways to help him with his (successful, constantly-growing) business.

And there you have it, folks-- that brings us to mid-August 2014, in a nutshell. Unfortunately, I'm not working from my MacBook, so no pictures this time. But hey, at least I got a post in (finally)??