Today is a Snow Day.

My first reaction was “what will I do with myself?” But a snow day offers a favorite choice….

So by 10 I was out getting groceries. Also several large bottles of water, spare batteries, extra eggs and bread in case we get the kind of weather Baltimore is getting – by 1pm Baltimore has declared a state of emergency due to the snow.

By 11:30 I was getting hungry – didn’t bother with breakfast this morning – craving the cheese in my grocery bags! Here and there would be teasing flakes, but no real snow yet. My sister just messaged me around 1 – “it’s snowing!” but I’ve looked outside and see none – so I’m guessing she got duped same as me.

By noon I made it home – made a quick lunch – cheese, apple, toast. By 1:30, the chili is simmering, eggs are boiling. Next up is soup and a baked oatmeal dish – one of my favorite breakfast dishes, but I haven’t made it since I left Pittsburgh. One baking can cover almost a week of breakfasts, but I may share some of this with coworkers.

Oh, speaking of coworkers – the holiday party(ies) went great! UPS conspired to ruin my life, but my sister came through – happened to have something just like what I’d ordered for my boss! She loved it – and my other coworkers loved their gifts, too – I gave one this big plush dog, which spent the rest of the brunch cuddled in her lap – and everyone loved the food I made! The evening gathering was more laid back – fried chicken and beer (for me mashed potatoes and water, lol). A younger crowd – I’m told that I passed inspection and they liked me, which is good both because they are about my age and because they are a great network…. and they all love the place I work, so they have lots of ideas.

Back to today…. I also got a big jar of apple juice, figuring that when the boys come tomorrow night they might like spiced juice…. and my sister is picking up a DVD, but I also have several books to read and I’m kind of excited by the prospect of reading without the interruption to switch trains. It seems like it’s been a long while since I just had several hours straight to read.

Oh, and speaking of food and reading… I spent several hours on Friday reading about the proper foods, drinks, and dishes/cutlery, and the arrangement of each, in Federalist America. And then about the popular alcoholic beverages. And a bit on the history of pubs. Did you know that pubs used to serve as the mail distribution centers before the Postal system was implemented?

I’ve noticed a pattern. I haven’t quite figured it out yet – but I’ve become aware that it exists.

There’s always one night each week where my perception of time changes. Maybe it’s the weekend effect, except that this week it has happened on Thursday – which is 4 days before my weekend (although it is the end of the week as far as school groups are concerned). Whatever the reason, suddenly, that night, despite still having a great deal to get done – I feel relaxed, and as though there is plenty of time to the evening.

I rather like it. I still feel efficient, but not hectic.

Another pattern I’ve noticed: The last two or three weeks, I almost always start craving ice cream after dinner. Preferably with something hot to complement it. Despite buying ice cream for the freezer yesterday, I’m trying to appease the sweet tooth with tea tonight…

I’ve adjusted well enough to my new work schedule that I’ve started adding volunteer sessions again. Spending some time helping hospitalized children make holiday cards tomorrow, and doing some Habitat giftwrapping/coat checking over the next two weeks. In January I have weekends off, so I’m also scheduling more socializing activities… hopefully make some friends.

On a tangent, I had some cookies with my tea this morning. Sent me right back to childhood, when I’d dip pound cake into my tea. I can still taste it…

It’s only been a week – less, really – but I’ve adjusted to the commute well.

The alarm goes off at 6A.M. I head out the door by 6:50, but I’ve been managing to make a good breakfast anyhow – french toast is quick, or egg salad…. something really filling. The bus stop is maybe a quarter mile away. I take the Jitney; it looks like a small, re-purposed school bus. Some of the seats have proper coverings and others have designed fabric sheets fitted around them. The bus drivers are nice – they’ll wait for you to catch up if they see you running to the stop! The windows have signs for local businesses in Spanish and English, and the music blasting from the driver’s seat is often a mix of the two as well.

The bus drops me off at the George Washington Bridge (GWB to locals – I’ve had to begin translating myself for my friends back in MD!). As long as I’m there by 7:45A.M., I’m in good shape; usually I’m there by 7:20. Hop on the subway – the GWB station is nicely quiet generally, not so empty you feel unnerved, not so full you feel crushed. Hop on the A train to Port Authority and switch to the E, which is generally a crush until 5th Ave – then suddenly there’s a mass exit and you slowly begin to breathe deeply again. (but since I’m running early, and so many trains are running during rush hour, I can often skip the crowded train for the empty one right after it!)

When you get off the E train in Jamaica, everything slows down. The people walk, talk, move more slowly than in Manhattan. It took me by surprise the first time, but now I expect it.

Jamaica is a different experience for me. I stopped by the Post Office the other day… I’ve never seen anything like it, which I suppose tells you that I grew up in Suburbia. Where I live, in NJ, the post offices are open-counter. In Baltimore they weren’t open-counter, but you could just hand packages through open slots in the partition.

In Jamaica, you open a little door, and put your package into a large space. After you close your door, the Postal Worker unlocks the door on their side – which locks your side – and takes out the package. All the signs are warnings about the penalty for assaulting postal workers with a weapon.

But the truth is, Jamaica has a lot of potential. There’s a new performing arts center in a renovated church, and it’s said to be lovely. There are museums and parks. We’ll see how Jamaica develops over the next few years.

I usually reach my destination about 8:30. It’s an easy walk from the subway station along a busy main street.

I grab a snack about noon, and another snack when I leave at 2; lunch is whatever I buy at Port Authority before taking a bus home – lately a sweet cheese croissant and a smoothie with granola. Seriously high calorie and I’m going to work out a more cost-effective lunch plan. If the bus is full, I hold onto the lunch to eat after I get off at my stop; someone needs the seat more than I need to sit and eat. When I get home around 4 I guilt myself into working out – though lately, my body has come to expect it – work out the stiffness from standing all day.

On the one hand, I have lots of time once I get home to run errands. On the other hand, I don’t have time to do much else, and I’m usually pretty tired- though the workout helps me get my second wind!

I like the commute, certainly better than driving. I finally have time to read my magazines – Smithsonian or cooking magazines, usually – and I have my iPod – and you connect with so many people. Can’t say I don’t miss sleeping past 6A.M., but it’s worth it. More on that another time.

Oh, breakdown of the commute costs for those interested:

(NJ–>NY in morning / NY –>NJ in afternoon)

Public Transit:

Jitney: $2.50; Subway: $2.25 / Subway: $2.25; Bus: $3.40 (Total Cost Per Weekday: $10.40)

Driving:

Driving Tolls: GWB: $8; Triboro: $5.50 / Triboro: $5.50 (no GWB toll going back to NJ)  (Total Commute Costs Per Day: $19)

Having a day off means my alarm goes off at 8A.M. instead of 6A.M. I get to lie in bed for a few extra minutes, wishing I could sleep til 10. I stay in sweatpants and wear a flannel shirt that’s a hand-me-down from my father. I turn on the music and it stays on for hours as I move about the house.

I try a new pancake recipe, and breakfast goes onto my plate already nibbled. I do all the dishes after I eat, which I never have time for when I’m running to catch the bus.

The Rock Band overhead starts at 9:45A.M. By 10:15 I’ve decided that if you can’t beat em, join in, and head upstairs for the free concert. I really do have a lot to do, but….

…

It really was a quiet, slow day. I needed one. I have a lot that I need to get done, but sometimes taking some time to relax is important too. We watched an Arnold Schwarzenegger flick, which was a silly Bond imitation but redeemably funny. I finally got to catch up a bit with family and friends via Skype and cell phone. I love my job, but not having the time to be in regular communication with my friends and family makes me more aware of how few friends I’ve made locally. Hopefully I can rectify that soon.

My body is stuck in the rhythms of my workday, so I’ve been getting steadily tired since 3P.M. Leaves me completely uncertain what I did with my day. Hopefully I’ll get a good night’s sleep and feel more rested tomorrow. I really do have to get some things done tomorrow.

I have two days to sleep past 6am! I’ll be catching up with blog posts, I’ve had several in mind over the past few days. I’m really beat tonight, though, so this is going to be brief. I was thinking tonight about something I read recently… not sure where it was. Michael Pollan? Healthy Cooking? Both? But it was about the importance of presentation. How beautifully presented food makes the meal a better experience. And you know, I think that’s true. And it’s really not difficult to do quickly. Tonight’s dinner was simple – pasta and a quick saute of spinach, tomato, and olives with some basil and vegetarian beef flavoring, and a sprinkle of cheddar/parmesan on top – but doesn’t it look nice prepared like this? Not my best example, but that’s okay.

Dinner!

I love imagining hostessing someday when I have my own place. Pretty dishes and well-presented, delicious, food.

I’m going to be quite busy soon, with a 7-day schedule. It won’t start all at once, but I expect it could be in full gear within the next two weeks.

So I’m thinking long-range, which is a nice change. It’s a nice difference from both the “not-much-going-on-to-plan-for” and the “too-much-happening-to-plan-past-the-next-few-hours.” It’s nice to think about big-pot recipes I can make to take for lunch and cover a few meals, and being sure to get my holiday cards done early, and I’m even getting ahead on my articles for once.

I’m even adjusting my sleep schedule ahead of time. I read recently that you sleep better if you stick to the same sleep schedule every day. I’m slowly easing that time forward so that when I have to start waking up around 6am it won’t be a huge shock. I’m enjoying the early mornings…. I’ve always been more of a daylight person. I love having lots of time – by noon I can have a fair bit accomplished and that makes me feel quite good. In fact, it gives me more time to relax and take my tasks at a comfortable pace.

And on the days I don’t need to be out that early, I’ll get to enjoy a leisurely breakfast (I’m obsessed with fritattas lately), catch up with my parents, have a little downtime before heading out.

For the record, I’m going to avoid caffeine like the plague if possible. Caffeine withdrawal does not equal good sleep or a very effective me.

I’m not illusioned about what this 7-day schedule is going to be like… I think the commuting will be the most frustrating part, because it feels like such a waste of time. I’ll be home early on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and I’ll have to be good about keeping up with the things that need to get done in the free time that I have.

It’ll be hard work, but it’s going to be worth it. In February my schedule will change again (Mondays and Tuesdays will be up for grabs), and we’ll see what happens then, what opportunities arise.

It’s a funny thing. In movies and books, it often seems like “New Chapter” begins and everything in the past is in the past. Sometimes I try to think “Okay, New Chapter!” but the truth is, life is one continuous thread. So we’ll see what happens over the next few months. I’m looking forward to it.

2Pm - Either soccer refreshed my supply of patience, or I’m resigned to this week.

I’m taking my laptop into the shop in about two hours… I had a similar issue with an iPod once, so I’m pretty sure they are going to send the laptop into the factory. Nothing I can do about it, so I’m just backing up everything I can and working on holiday cards in the meantime. I’ll find a library or such place with internet access so I can keep working until I get it back, not much else I can do. Didn’t even freak when a disc jammed in the laptop an hour ago, just found directions to fix it.

Even when my laptop is having issues, I’m willing to enter a flame war with my friend in favor of Macs vs. PCs. Lol.

In any case, as I told a friend…. this, too, shall pass.

4:30PM - Soo…. today was a big waste of time. I spent the whole day backing up files – didn’t even work on next week’s article other than to convert it to a Word file in case I had to give up my Mac- and all Apple would tell me is that they didn’t see the problem(s) happening.
But I got a lot done on my Chanukah cards, and I’m not overly upset. I figure I’ll work hard tonight…. and if I have to, post a backup article. Have an interview for a p/t temp position tomorrow morning, and a phone interview for a f/t position near D.C. next week. So all in all, I’m not upset with today.

5:45PM – My secret weapon for writing in the house: Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name”. It blasts out the Rock Band upstairs but is so familiar that I can tune it out and focus (Anne Marie claims this is “very New Jersey.” Is hearing your 13-year old nephew crooning ‘One Way Or Another’ upstairs also very New Jersey?). I did mention that I had to work tonight, but apparently that wasn’t deemed relevant… and I don’t feel like making an issue out of it. So, hello Bon Jovi!

9PM - I’ve never been so grateful for homework. Music works for blocking out noise while I’m writing, but reading through what I’ve written is more difficult with the background music. At about 7:15 I reminded my sister that the boys probably had homework… they are supposed to start homework at 7. Rock Band went off and it was suddenly easy to concentrate….

I went to Starbucks today to work from there… just to get out of the house and hopefully pull out of this funk that waiting has put me in. I had reasonable goals for my work output today, and I even took my craft supplies in case I needed a break or even finished early. Since traffic becomes impossible from 3-7, there was a chance of being stranded for a few hours, so I was prepared.

I’m aware that I’m not as productive when I work from Starbucks, but I figured it’d be alright.

What I failed to factor in is that I’ve barely consumed caffeine in the last month. I failed to consider the fact that the last time I DID have caffeine, I was up til 4am. I went ahead and ordered a chai latte.

Starbucks is always a bit distracting. People, ringing cell phones, movement, cold. But on a heavy caffeine dose, my focus is shattered. It’s the equivalent of injecting me with a gene for ADD.

It didn’t improve my funk, except for a brief period of time when I was rather amusing in conversation with my friends online (if I do say so myself). I’m more afraid of the sugar crash than anything else now.

But I came home and worked out – did the full 42 minutes of DWTS on the elliptical, because Starbucks = massive empty calories – and that did leave me a bit better off. I did manage to write a fairly solid first page today, so although I didn’t achieve half of what I’d hoped, I wasn’t entirely unproductive. Soccer is tonight, a late evening game, so I’m hoping the caffeine carries me through – but since I finished drinking the caffeine by 11AM, I’m praying the effects wear off before bedtime.

11:30PM Update: Soccer was AWESOME and although I was crashing before the game, the cold air woke me up – that and all the cheering (I asked my nephew tonight if they can really hear us – we’ve often wondered from the sidelines. He replied “Yes!”) So I came home from soccer more awake and up than I’ve felt in days…. and have been having energy highs and crashes since then. Going to attempt to go to sleep now and praying I’m not up til 4AM!

Things are kind of amazing lately.

My projects are taking off and I have several good friends whom I’m in touch with nearly every day. I’m creating a community out of my friends, introducing them to one another, making beneficial connections. My leads are hopefully finally leading to professional opportunities. My projects put me in touch with a lot of wonderful people and open the chances to do a lot of fun things. Best of all is the positive response I’m getting – I mean, I love the process, but I can’t deny I’m hooked on seeing my project’s visitor stats rise and hearing people praise the work I’m doing. Better, I love seeing my work actually helping people.

For the first three weeks, it felt a bit like a treadmill. Like I was trying to keep up, constantly. Every week I’d promise myself to be a day ahead on the process. Which should have made me feel guilty about taking the weekend completely off.

But I didn’t, except for a few twinges on Sunday.

This weekend was supposed to be pretty crazy. Friday was a research field trip, then the weekend had a scheduled 3-5 mile hike, apple picking, a soccer game, and a trip to the crafts fair. Much of this included hour-long drives.

I was disappointed that the soccer game was canceled, but the rest? I didn’t miss it. Instead I made applesauce and read in the sunlight from the kitchen window. I started making crafty holiday cards (which are coming out wonderfully!). I spent hours talking to a friend. I joined in a Rock Band concert with my nephew and sister. I got a whole bag of free books to send to some of my soldiers.

It was all exactly what I needed.

I’m not really used to two-day weekends. In Israel, we don’t have them. And in museums, you don’t have them either. So by Sunday I admit I was a little antsy. But I enjoyed having the openness to focus the energy on whatever most appealed to me.

I’d say it worked. I was SO productive today! Probably also helped to work outside for most of the morning.

Years ago, when I lived in this same town as a child, a young married couple moved into the house next door.

They had a dog and cats – and I think they had a baby, but oddly enough I can’t remember for certain. Maybe because at that time, in this community, it was assumed that a young married couple buying their first house probably had a baby – so my brain has skipped over that detail.

I didn’t spend much time around them. They moved in just before we left the state.

But I do remember that they threw a housewarming party and invited all the neighbors. It made a very strong impression on me – the idea of opening your doors, welcoming everyone in, and making yourself part of your new community. I was only about ten years old, but I’ve always remembered that – and thought that I’d like to do that. I’d like to become the house where all the neighborhood kids drop by after school to say hi and have a cookie or pet the dog; I’d like to draw people into my home and make my kitchen and living room an extension of the community.

So I suppose it’s ironic that I haven’t met any of my sister’s neighbors. At first it was because of the temporary nature of the situation, but that rule doesn’t really hold anymore – I’ve decided to live and never wait until “later” for no good reason. I can’t live my life on hold, so I’m not. Besides, friends can stay in touch well beyond state lines, if I were to move far away.

So to be honest, it’s two things that have held me back. One is that it seems awkward to introduce myself and make friends with the neighbors if my sister isn’t going to feel similarly and open her home. Two is that… well, it still seems risky to me to trust strangers, even the ones living next door. I’m still figuring out how to best navigate that issue, since I refuse to spend the rest of my life in isolation from my surrounding community!

Anyways, I did finally meet some neighbors last night. They invited me and my sister to a meal this weekend. My sister asked to schedule it for a week when the boys will be with us, but it’s still progress.

It’s funny, actually. I know it’s been long in the making – months, really – but it feels like in the space of a week my life has suddenly become full of people. I don’t think an hour goes by without some form of contact with someone – my girlfriends, my sister, my friend from Habitat…. it’s almost overwhelming ocassionally. With people comes noise and mood and drama. But even when I need quiet moments, I’m grateful. I didn’t make many good friends in Pittsburgh, so it’s been a pretty lonely year since I left Baltimore. I’m not lonely anymore. I’ve learned that in the right places, I can make friends pretty easily. And I’ve learned that if I don’t inhibit myself – don’t put off ideas just because they are silly or random – then there’s a lot of joy to be had in the world.

So even though I feel sad when I think about moving – leaving behind soccer nights and some much-loved places and people – I know I’ll be able to do this again. Make friends, make a home, make a life.