This week was a transitioning week for me with work and with social a bit.  I feel like my schedule this week didn’t allow for much to get done and yet most nights I arrived home late in the evening.  I didn’t fit in many workouts and I didn’t get very many hours in studying.  Hopefully this weekend allows for a little of both.

Part of the reasoning behind lack of studying was a few scheduled nights of girl time.  After one night at home on Monday I met Polly for dinner at Palomino’s before seeing the movie Lady Bird together.  I also spilled the beans to my dear girlfriend who was very happy for us and very excited.  The next night I grabbed dinner at the FareStart Community Dinner before heading to church for yoga and a meet and greet for the winter season of our women’s Practicing Presence group.  Pretty much the same girls with a few additions, which is a good thing, and I was glad that I made the effort to go to this first one, even if just to tell them the reason I won’t be making them all; the test.  We were led through 50 minutes of gentle yoga and stretching, which I realized were needed after having a few days of mostly office work with little exercise and very tight muscles.  An enjoyable session but one that didn’t really leave any time for chatting or getting to know one another.

Thursday night was a good night at FareStart, as it always is, with a fabulous meal and both of us getting to perform our favorite roll of food running.  And today we were greeted by sunny skies!  I’m back at the main office for the day for our monthly staff meeting, and moving forward I will be spending Fridays, and hopefully as many others as I can, in the main office and so happy to be here instead of up the hill.  I’m looking forward to settling in to watch the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.  I’m looking very much forward to the weekend, even if that means I have a lot of studying to do.  At least I don’t have to clean.  Bryan’s going on his first ski day tomorrow with Mark to White Pass and they have decided to spend the night there tonight so I’m thinking I might go see I, Tonya on my way home for work for a solo date.

My three days at the Seattle Municipal Tower were not the most fun.  The office is quiet and sterile and no one talks to our group from MJA.  There are a maximum of eight of us up there at any one time but that number fluctuates throughout the week.  It is super strange to me to work in a building where you have to take an elevator up to the 40th floor to then get off and get on another elevator to take you up to the 47th floor.  Our floor has spectacular views of the city, however, I really only get to see these when I walk around or are in meetings because in Seattle Public Utility’s contract “no consultant is to have a nicer desk than an SPU employee”.  Thus, we are in the middle with super tall partitions and certainly no windows.  There is no coffee here either so Bryan makes me an espresso to take with me to work, although there is a Starbucks on the first floor if I was really desperate (but I am cutting back on caffeine intake).  My main issue with it though is that there is no conversation or social aspect to this office like there is at First Ave.  Our group talks some but everyone is so quiet around us we stick mostly to business, versus the main office which can get very rowdy and loud on a regular basis.  Absolutely no one eats lunch together in the kitchen.  The work here is mildly interesting which is the one saving grace but I’ll be looking forward to getting back to 1st Ave full time.

Chelsea