Since I've Been Gone

Here's some advice. Don't let your friends talk you into drinking "a lot" (I use this term loosely) before flying on an airplane. Or, more to the point, don't have beer and brownies for breakfast, beer and pancakes for brunch, beer and bacon for lunch, and then Burger King for lupper (my family's word for the early evening time between lunch and supper). It doesn't make for happy travels.

But that was the situation last Saturday as I celebrated St. Patrick's Day in Boston. Bill's friend Diana had a breakfast/day-long celebration of the Irish, and so we went over before I left that afternoon. It was pretty fun, until we left for the airport. I got the hiccups. And the hiccups hurt, especially when you have them for a full hour straight. That's why I had some Burger King, the only food available near my departure gate. The fries and water helped them go away... until right before take off. Oh, the poor girl sitting next me... I hiccuped for quite some time as I said goodbye to the city below me, and my efforts to get rid of them were so fervent that I ended up sick to my stomach.

That discomfort may have been my final memory of Boston, but all in all, my memories are happy ones. It was a fun trip. Sure, it would've been better had there not been a massive snowstorm all day on Friday, but what can you do? Thanks to public transportation, we were still able to get out and about. We went to a play at the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard (so good!), walked around Harvard in the snow, went to the Museum of Science, and even ate Ethiopian food. Here are some more photos:

And now I've been back almost a week. I was interviewed and officially hired as the Arts Industry Manager at the Nebraska Arts Council, starting Monday. I think I'm excited about it. Yesterday I spent part of the day sending out emails to people I work with in various capacities announcing that I'm leaving Nebraskans for the Arts. And I got such kind, supportive responses from everyone. In fact, my current board president sent me flowers to congratulate me. Tulips. They're so beautiful and spring-like!

But it's so funny how God works. First off, my interview for this job was almost four years to the date of when I interviewed for my internship there. I remember, because it was spring break. All of the roommates went to New Orleans, and I went to Nebraska. I guess that choice paid off in more ways than I ever would have imagined. But it's also funny because, a year ago at this time, I was following a potential job lead back in Iowa, desperate to move back home. Obviously, that lead never panned out, and here I am, still, committed to this landscape for some time to come. Now that I'm starting this new job, I'll have to be here quite awhile longer to make it worth it.

As anxious as that thought makes me, I know it has to be God's will. Like I wrote a few posts ago, I can't pray for change on January 1, have this drop in my lap, and not pursue it. I'm going to have benefits now, and a more livable salary. And though there's A LOT that I will miss about my current work, there's also a lot that I won't.

So Monday I will start to move into Elaine's old office. It's obviously not a huge move, but it's also one I never would have imagined. I always figured that when I'd leave my cubicle, I'd be leaving the whole office. It just comes to show that you never quite know what's around that proverbial corner.