Our digital arts and humanities festival, CHAT, turned out to be quite the feat--toward the end, I was putting in 60-70 hour work weeks. The experience really was priceless: the skills developed, the experience gained... the lessons learned. But, I am VERY happy to be back to a normal 40-hour work week. Here are some grim life stats of what life looked like between January 1st and the end of CHAT (Feb. 20):
- I spent time with friends outside of work just TWO times. That's right. In 7 weeks, I saw friends socially twice. *shakes head in disbelief* (To be fair, I work with one of my closest friends, so it's not as if I was anti-social or isolated during this time!)
- I exercised... um. I think once. Maybe twice. Does walking 4 minutes to my car twice a day count?
- I listened to the Twilight and New Moon soundtracks, combined into one playlist, an estimated 8 hours a day. At least.
- I was pretty much eating three meals a day at work (M-F), which typically resulted in me buying 1-2 meals a day from local restaurants, the prepackaged food section in grocery stores, or Chick-Fil-A.
I think it's good to remember and recall those stats, so I never let it happen again. I don't know how much I could have changed, even knowing what I know now, but I have to believe I could survive a work experience like this with my "self" more intact at the end than it was this time.
It has been fantastic to get back into a normal routine. I'm reading again; keeping my apartment much, much cleaner; catching up with friends, slowly but surely; and making exercise and cooking meals a priority. I spent a fantastic week in Palm Beach with a good friend from college, and I got back in touch with my less responsible side. It's good to do that now and again. :)
Probably needless to say, but the half-marathon did not happen on Saturday, March 26. I did manage to run about 3 miles that day. Not too shabby considering it was the third time I've tried running since Thanksgiving break.
So, enough looking back. Moving forward, life is all about living it to the fullest now. Keeping up with friends, with exercise, with errands, tasks and chores at home. Using the knowledge I acquired during CHAT to be better at my job.
It's about grinning when cheesy songs like Keisha's "Tik Tok" play, even when I'm about to collapse during a run, and driving with the windows down and wind in my hair whenever the weather permits. Catching up with friends, and being a better friend. Increasing my commitment as an SPCA volunteer, and maybe picking up another volunteer gig that involves working with humans.
I couldn't resist buying a magnet from T.J. Maxx recently. It just spoke to me, and I'm making a conscious effort to keep it in mind as I continue to reclaim my life:
Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
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