I'm back!

Greetings! I've now been gently (if unintentionally) chastised by a handful of people who said "Hey, how come you haven't posted anything to your blog lately?" I have to be honest: I wasn't entirely convinced that anyone would actually pay attention! I'll do better from now on, I promise. Getting settled has managed to consume me, it seems, and my first week of work was mentally exhausting! I'd forgotten how hard it is to have *everything* be new. Even though I'm in familiar surroundings with my clothes in the closet and my pillows on my bed and my car in the driveway, it is still very strange to be here and not in Orlando.

Since I last posted, I've driven (with Tanya and Tracy) from Orlando to Chicago by way of Washington, DC and Cleveland and started my new job! I'll post highlights of the roadtrip before too long, but last week on the train I did manage to get started on my lists of what I will and won't miss about Orlando. I'm going to make each of them a separate post - feel free to remind me of things I will or won't miss!

I also have to share with you what's great about living in Chicago so far:

• My parents!
  Dad has coffee ready when I get up and Mom makes dinner when I get home. I may have to invent a word to convey how awesome they are! :)
  
• Taking the train to work.
  I can read, work, sleep, or just sit and watch the scenery go by and still get where I'm going. And on Fridays, the big thing is to stop at the bar in the train station and grab a beer to go...try doing that on I-4! (Actually, don't...please!)
  
• The weather, if you can believe it!
  Everyone's talking about how they can't believe it's still this nice, but I'll take it as long as I can get it!
  

Last night I went downtown to watch the Illinois football game at an Illinois-friendly bar with Betsy and Ken. We had a choice of bars, which was fantastic in and of itself; the one we landed at was next to a Penn State bar (our opponent for the evening) and it was pretty funny to hear the cheers come from their side when they did something good and vice versa. It was also just great to hang out with them and catch up (and I'm not just saying that because they're among those who happen to read my blog)! As we sat there next to the open windows, a random all-issue protest marched by; one sign read "Gay Pride Supports Immigrant Rights." Only in Chicago!

The job is going well so far. I finally got to do some actual work late this week (instead of just meet & greets and shadows); it was great to feel useful! I have a lot still to learn, but since it's a small organization it's not as overwhelming as I'd thought it might be. My office is still pretty bare because I haven't done much excavating of my boxes to find that stuff, but I'll start bringing a few things each day so that it will feel more like home. (Starting with my sticky note collection - oh, how I've missed them!) Sadly, they don't seem to turn their offices into personal museums the way we do at Disney, so I might have to tone down my collection a bit. Drop me a line if you'd like my work contact information!

Stay tuned for the lists...