It Feels Like Saturday

Honey had the day off today which was well-deserved after a stressful couple of weeks at work. Consequently we got to catch up as a couple and bum around pretending the weekend already is here which was REALLY nice! After all it's been a rough week with doubts about my worth in the job market, my significant other m.i.a., and eye trouble. A few things that managed to keep me a float though has been getting back to the gym, dinner with friends, volunteering for Meals on Wheels, skyping with my folks in DK, and finally saving myself a temporary job as an analyst. Yeah, that's right! I begin on Monday, but please keep your fingers crossed that I land a permanent situation before the next three weeks are up when my temp job ends. 

I'm still paying the price for my absence at the gym these past two weeks due to my illness, and today was no exception. After 15 minutes on the stair-master and 15 minutes of lifting weights I felt groggy and slightly uncomfortable. Heck, I couldn't even pull my regular 3 sets of 15 reps with the 12lbs dumb-bells I'd gotten so used to since I returned from Brazil. Oh well, I just need to accept it will take time to regain my lost strength and endurance. In the mean time I can indulge in the gratifying experience it is to give as a volunteer.

For the second week in a row I met with Linda, the coordinator of the Meals on Wheels non-profit organization that among many other endeavors facilitates daily lunch to the city's seniors. Thursday there was a whopping 150 mouths to feed, which apparently is not unusual. However, thursdays do get a little more attention and are known for being potentially fuller of tension because this is also the day Meals on Wheels give out a loaf of bread to each senior. Since the bread-give away is on a first-come-first-serve basis, the seniors flock to sit and eat as quickly as possible in order to get in line for the bread as quickly as possible. It's both heat-wrenching and humbling to watch and serve these seniors their salad, noodles, and ice cream in paper bowls with accompanying plastic utensils and cups. They are sooo grateful, yet, so greedy in fear of missing out that it becomes intimidating when they look at you for food, and when they shove one another in the bread line. I take my hat off for Linda, who experiences this on a daily basis. I would burn out quickly in her shoes, but in my shoes I can afford to pitch in from time to time, so I've already signed up to volunteer on Thanksgiving. It may seem far away, but after all I do need the paying job, thus I need to be smart about how I spend my time and energy. Volunteering more than occasionally would wear my heart out quickly, and I need to keep it healthy and happy for the people in my life that mean so much to me.

It was very validating to reach the end of the week with a job offer. Even though it's temporary, I'm stoked to have received positive feedback on one of my many job applications. Now I can really appreciate and enjoy the weekend that turned into an extended one as Eric got half a day off yesterday, Thursday, and today. So far we've enjoyed sleeping in and "Wanted" featuring Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, and the cool up-and-coming actor from "The Last King of Scotland". I said he was "up-and-coming" which I guess warrants for the fact that I still don't easily remember his name. Anyhow, it was a mediocre story with super awesome matrix-like effects. Nice stunts, car chases, and fights. Perhaps I had a lot of aggression I needed catalyzed somehow, and "Wanted" did the trick. 

We wrapped up the day with sushi, and I still cannot believe it's only Friday evening. Yay! Weekend here we come with plans of going to the Legion of Honor exhibiting female impressionist art and more sleeping in ;-) For now sweet dreams!