No Apologies... *This* Time

So now I understand why bloggers are always apologizing for not posting more often. My life got busy, and it was suddenly more than a month since my last post.

No apologies this time, though. If I continue not posting when things get back to normal (if they ever do), maybe I'll have a few words of contrition. But not yet. For now, it's full steam ahead with the explanation of what's been up lately. And trust me, it's one crazy/busy list.

1. In early May, I gave notice at my job of 7.5 years. I expected to coast to the finish, taking time to visit with friends and colleagues before hitting the dusty trail. Fat chance. The departments I worked with decided to do all the big projects they were saving for the summer. And they wanted them done before I left.

It was more like a full out sprint to the finish, and I left multiple things undone. Sorry guys :(

2. In addition to the work at my old job, there were many requests for lunch or dinner or even just coffee toward the end. It was an odd thing for me, because I've never been the popular kid. But within days of giving my notice, I'd filled all my remaining lunches, and people were asking about dinner.

Not that I regret the social opportunities or acceptance. But it is still a burden, albeit a lot more enjoyable than being unpopular.

3. On May 19, I sold my house. I suspect that might merit more fanfare than I'm giving it, what with the state of the real estate market. But being realistic about the price, the house was under agreement in about 35 days.

The purpose was to get a shorter commute; and I had no idea how important it would be. Read on for more details...

4. On May 20, I started my new job, running "all things IT" for a charity in downtown Boston. My old job was just desktop and network computer support, and someone else had all those pesky management responsibilities. But the new job has staff supervision, dealing with vendors, budgets, strategic visioning, and all the stuff that goes with running the whole show.

I can't complain; it's exactly what I thought it would be. Much busier to be sure, but it pushes my knowledge and abilities in important new directions. Oh, and did I mention that it is much busier than the old job? Yeah, I thought I did.

4a. And oh, that relentless, hideous, brain-chewing, soul-destroying commute. Try two hours each way every day, half in bad traffic, half on crowded trains. That makes my out-of-the-house time about 12 to 13 hours a day, with precious little time to recover before I head off to sleepyland and get up just in time to start it all over again.

The new house will be much closer, so the commute will become a mere 50 minutes each way... all on the train -- semi-woo-hoo! But until then, there was no time to post here. And no, that's *not* an apology!

Also note: the job change would not have been possible without selling old house and buying one closer in. So it seems pretty serendipitous to have all those things happen at nearly the same time.

5. On May 21, I had my first speaking engagement in a long time. The last time I did that in front of a group was when I was in college and I spoke at a rally to save federal student aid. This time it was a group of volunteers and staff at a suicide-prevention hot-line where I put in a few years. It was just a couple of hours one evening, and it went very well. But there was a lot of personal preparation that went into it.

And believe it or not, even with everything else going on, *this* was what made me the most nervous. I knew I'd either excel or crash-and-burn at the job and sell-or-not-sell the house -- but this was actually important to me. I guess it being a place I cared about more than any job or house, I wanted to do well.

6. Hey Scott, it's your Birthday! That's right, the anniversary of my debut on Earth happened just this week, and there were plans to make, presents to look for, and... well, you probably don't feel sorry for me about this, so I'll just move on.

7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, & 15. And of course, there were various other competing priorities for my time. Helping my sister move; honoring my twin sisters' birthdays; planning a trip to Ohio; upgrading my wardrobe for the new job; keeping up with the yard work; trying (and failing) to get in some significant rides on the new bicycle; visiting friends' new kids (I got to one but haven't seen the other); serving as a delegate to a political convention; and doing several consulting jobs after work.

Man, I mean I was so busy... ahem, I WAS SO BUSY...
"How busy were you?"
I was so busy my hair was almost hippie length before I had a moment to get it cut ::rim shot::

So there you have it. Hope your last month was better paced than mine; but I also hope it was as productive.


C U sooner than last time -- I hope,

- Scott