Busy.
June 30 is the end of my company's fiscal year. The whole company is straining to cram in just one more deal before that deadline, so that means it's the busiest week of the year for the Legal Department. It's a lot of, "Hurry up and wait!" activity - feast or famine. I had no immediate work yesterday morning, and caught up on rainy day projects until about 2:00 -- then I was here until 6:30 wrapping stuff up to start afresh today. I've been consistently busy today from 8:00 to 1:30, and now I have time for a blog break.
I wonder if I'll be able to meet my husband and friends tonight for exciting plans of going to Lowe's to buy a propane grill for our back deck -- like, a real grill! A grown-up grill, outdoors, and everything! While at Lowe's, I also plan to pick up two more fire extinguishers for the house so that we have one on each floor (inclusive of our finished basement). We have one in the kitchen on the ground floor, but this was something on the To Do list anyhow. The major fires in Colorado that get the attention on the national news are each about an hour-and-a-half from our house (in different directions). We're not personally affected by these great blazes at all. This summer's fire season is only beginning, however. Yesterday was the first of a few predicted days of lightning storms. It's been so dry here the past several months that a lightning strike in an area with even scant (dry) ground cover will start new fires quickly. Three flamed up yesterday; two were immediately extinguished which impressed the hell out of me since I'm sure all local fire-fighting resources are already stretched thin. The third has been burning about 24 hours now, and it caused a precautionary evacuation of part of Boulder, which is only about 12 miles from us. It's contained, and I think nearly out now, though. The whole sky was filled with smoke last night at sunset, and although we could still smell light smoke this morning, there's now no sight of it from here. A coworker who lives only 2 blocks from the edge of the evacuated zone told me that this morning even with her binoculars she could no longer see the flames. This is good news. So, needless to say, yes the summer wildfires here are heavily on everyone's minds, and I think now would be a good time to pick up those extra fire extinguishers for the house! Now we'll just see if my workload cooperates today.
School is kicking my ass this summer! A normal term is 15 weeks long, and I've been taking one class, in person, and they require very little work outside of class. I bumped that up to two classes for the 10-week term. UGH. I spend every lunch hour readying and studying, and have homework of some type every night. I'm holding As in both classes - even Math! - but you can either look at that such that I've earned those As with lots of time and hard work, or I am "paying" for those grades with the same! I'm enjoying both classes - yes, totally including Math, actually! I also remain gung-ho on my 5-year professional development plan which includes 2 classes each in Fall and Spring semesters, too, to finish my Paralegal Certificate by the end of next summer. Then I can slow down a little if I choose while I work on what comes next. I'm feeling very good about my professional developing including both my formal education, and practical experience at work. I continue to learn new things all the time from the attorney who started work here last October, and I feel like I'm expanding my skill set into good things...
...which, truthfully, is just a placeholder until we have a baby -- or get our hands on one, either way. No, I don't think I'll stop being a person with other dreams and hopes once I become a mother. I recognize, however, that raising children has a way of, oh, CHANGING EVERY THING IN YOUR LIFE, for one -- and besides -- I have to work for a living. (Let's not waste time with a philosophical argument about my use of "have to" here, but just assume that I mean that my choices for lifestyle and the current structure of my lifestyle place this in a self-imposed state of choice of "have to" and move on from there.) I enjoy self-improvement. This whole "professional development" plan for me is really a hobby, truthfully. The time will pass either way, may as well make the best of it. If I didn't now have a decided genuine career path and plan, if I didn't achieve the professional and educational goals I have set for myself -- oh well. I don't think that says much about Who I AmTM one way or another. Now, if I never get the chance to be a mother -- that's literally life-changing, and identity-changing in my estimation. That's something else.
So - yeah. Doing everything we can on that front (nudge nudge, wink wink). June-July are always especially emotionally turbulent times for me each year on that front since these months represent the last chance to conceive and hatch a baby before I turn another year older the following April, and I feel the odds go up even further against our best chances. Just noting that for the record.
Ian and I made a very casual pledge recently. "Hey, I said. Let's pledge to pursue parenting no matter what. If we can't make a baby naturally, let's save up our money and go adopt one."
"Okay," Ian said.
Not exactly the most dramatic of life promises, but it was good to check in to make sure we're both on the same page here.
And... got wildly interrupted at work. But I think we're still on for the grill.
Later, alligators,
T$
I wonder if I'll be able to meet my husband and friends tonight for exciting plans of going to Lowe's to buy a propane grill for our back deck -- like, a real grill! A grown-up grill, outdoors, and everything! While at Lowe's, I also plan to pick up two more fire extinguishers for the house so that we have one on each floor (inclusive of our finished basement). We have one in the kitchen on the ground floor, but this was something on the To Do list anyhow. The major fires in Colorado that get the attention on the national news are each about an hour-and-a-half from our house (in different directions). We're not personally affected by these great blazes at all. This summer's fire season is only beginning, however. Yesterday was the first of a few predicted days of lightning storms. It's been so dry here the past several months that a lightning strike in an area with even scant (dry) ground cover will start new fires quickly. Three flamed up yesterday; two were immediately extinguished which impressed the hell out of me since I'm sure all local fire-fighting resources are already stretched thin. The third has been burning about 24 hours now, and it caused a precautionary evacuation of part of Boulder, which is only about 12 miles from us. It's contained, and I think nearly out now, though. The whole sky was filled with smoke last night at sunset, and although we could still smell light smoke this morning, there's now no sight of it from here. A coworker who lives only 2 blocks from the edge of the evacuated zone told me that this morning even with her binoculars she could no longer see the flames. This is good news. So, needless to say, yes the summer wildfires here are heavily on everyone's minds, and I think now would be a good time to pick up those extra fire extinguishers for the house! Now we'll just see if my workload cooperates today.
School is kicking my ass this summer! A normal term is 15 weeks long, and I've been taking one class, in person, and they require very little work outside of class. I bumped that up to two classes for the 10-week term. UGH. I spend every lunch hour readying and studying, and have homework of some type every night. I'm holding As in both classes - even Math! - but you can either look at that such that I've earned those As with lots of time and hard work, or I am "paying" for those grades with the same! I'm enjoying both classes - yes, totally including Math, actually! I also remain gung-ho on my 5-year professional development plan which includes 2 classes each in Fall and Spring semesters, too, to finish my Paralegal Certificate by the end of next summer. Then I can slow down a little if I choose while I work on what comes next. I'm feeling very good about my professional developing including both my formal education, and practical experience at work. I continue to learn new things all the time from the attorney who started work here last October, and I feel like I'm expanding my skill set into good things...
...which, truthfully, is just a placeholder until we have a baby -- or get our hands on one, either way. No, I don't think I'll stop being a person with other dreams and hopes once I become a mother. I recognize, however, that raising children has a way of, oh, CHANGING EVERY THING IN YOUR LIFE, for one -- and besides -- I have to work for a living. (Let's not waste time with a philosophical argument about my use of "have to" here, but just assume that I mean that my choices for lifestyle and the current structure of my lifestyle place this in a self-imposed state of choice of "have to" and move on from there.) I enjoy self-improvement. This whole "professional development" plan for me is really a hobby, truthfully. The time will pass either way, may as well make the best of it. If I didn't now have a decided genuine career path and plan, if I didn't achieve the professional and educational goals I have set for myself -- oh well. I don't think that says much about Who I AmTM one way or another. Now, if I never get the chance to be a mother -- that's literally life-changing, and identity-changing in my estimation. That's something else.
So - yeah. Doing everything we can on that front (nudge nudge, wink wink). June-July are always especially emotionally turbulent times for me each year on that front since these months represent the last chance to conceive and hatch a baby before I turn another year older the following April, and I feel the odds go up even further against our best chances. Just noting that for the record.
Ian and I made a very casual pledge recently. "Hey, I said. Let's pledge to pursue parenting no matter what. If we can't make a baby naturally, let's save up our money and go adopt one."
"Okay," Ian said.
Not exactly the most dramatic of life promises, but it was good to check in to make sure we're both on the same page here.
And... got wildly interrupted at work. But I think we're still on for the grill.
Later, alligators,
T$