The long way home

Jen's probably the only one who cares, but I'll try to update my blog for the rest of the masses who might care about what's going on in my life.

I've been in Central Arkansas since Friday, and I got the brilliant idea to go home north by northwest this morning rather than my normal west then north route, which showcased the beautiful fall foliage but made my trip 4.5 hours from Little Rock to Siloam. It was a gorgeous drive, but by the time I got back to my beloved NWA, I napped through the entire Cowboys game. Turns out that wasn't such a tragedy.

To catch you up, I was a moron who gave myself a mere 24 hours to recover from anesthesia and being sliced open with a large knife, so I presided over a day-long meeting on Wednesday and marched into the very large home office of the world's largest retailer on Thursday to pretend that I'm a big girl with marketing prowess. Luckily both meetings went well and were very productive, but I was in pain for the whole two days that I pretended to be invincible. Sometimes the Superwoman cape feels a bit snug.

On Friday I stopped in Russellville to say hello to Alisa and Shauna before meeting my friend Erin for coffee in Conway to discuss politics, violence on college campuses and the need for responsible choices. Oh, and world peace. When you're getting ready for a pageant interview you have to work that in, right? Joe and I had dinner at Kobe on Friday evening (he brought me some gorgeous pink roses because he's amazing).

Yesterday I spent six hours talking to people from all over the state who want to be teachers. Okay, I talked to two. So it was a very long day, saved by the fact that two pals from the Center of Learning were there to catch me up on my former coworkers and eat lunch with me so I didn't look like such a loser. Then, last night, I went to dinner with my good friends Dave and Brent at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Sonny Williams.

Now I'm home, punch drunk from the long nap and needing to do laundry. But at least inquiring minds no longer need to wonder what's new with me. Not much.

Balancing act

Life, like an ecosystem, is a delicate balance. Too much of any one thing throws the whole thing off. It's a series of give and take, this and that, and trying to keep all your balls in the air. While riding a unicycle. On roller skates. In the rain.

{Disclaimer: I made a "C" in each of my two science classes in college, so I'm not quite sure about the ecosystem analogy. But I'm sure Jen can correct me if I'm wrong. Or Lon can get out his "Science for dummies" book he reads to prepare to teach Biology.}

Perhaps this is the reason I have a love/hate relationship with traveling for work. I love that we have offices near friends and family. I hate that many of my trips are so tightly scheduled that I feel like the Pope. It would be much easier if I had a personal assistant who could call everyone and make them grateful for 15 minutes of Lori time.

In a few moments I'm leaving for Little Rock. My plan is to have dinner tonight with Lon, Jen, Huey, Dewie and Louie; coffee after that with Joe; a lunch meeting tomorrow for work; dinner tomorrow night with Brent and Dave after a work meeting at 5 p.m.; lunch on Tuesday with Alisa, Shauna and Amy; a Tuesday afternoon visit with Ashley and the twins; stop by the Fort Smith office to check on things; dinner with my grandmother; and Chance's baseball game at 7:30. After that I'll come back home in time to unpack and fall into bed, exhausted. Oh, and somewhere in that time I need to figure out how to get some work done.

Anyone else want a piece of me?

P.S. Dad, lest you feel left out, remember that I'll be seeing you for hours next weekend. Aren't you lucky?

{ last dance }

While I really haven't been in Conway long enough to form major attachments, it's still a little sad to be leaving. This week I've started experiencing all the "lasts" associated with a major life change. Last Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday of work. Last council meeting (and last time to take minutes... yeah!). Last boring and pointless spreadsheet (at least at this job). Turning off utilities, turning on utilities. Packing, packing, packing.

My boss has an all-day meeting in Little Rock on Friday, so tomorrow's our last day together. And while I won't miss most of the mindless drivel I've done for 10 months, I will miss her, because she's been completely awesome. I've learned a lot about managing with respect, grace and ethics from her.

Tomorrow my pal Estella is coming to spend the night, and we're meeting Joe at Mike's Place for dinner. Friday night I'm going to Little Rock to have dinner with Brent and Dave. And Sunday Joe's taking me to Michelangelo's for our farewell dinner/packing party reward.

You'd think as much as I change jobs and cities, I'd be used to this by now, but it's always hard to say goodbye, even if you know it's the right thing to do.

When I gave my notice at the rental place here, they informed me that, since I was breaking my lease, I'd forfeit my deposit. No problem. But then they told me that I was responsible for rent for the final two months if the place didn't re-rent during that time. They haven't shown it at all, so I've been freaking out. But when I called today, they've already rented it sight-unseen. Woo-hoo! No paying rent in two places!

And I got my new job contract in the mail today, which made me VERY happy.

Oh, and Dad reported today that Cecil is finally acclimating to her new digs. Evidently she's still acting like a diva (which is not surprising at all), but she is letting them touch her now. But only when it's her idea.