Hello, all! In the last post I finally caught you up from the cliffhanger I left back in September when I was very close to giving up on Dallas. As fate would have it, Dallas hasn’t given up on me.
I described a bit about being quite busy at the tail end of last year. It felt like everything was coming together so quickly and I was completely unprepared for it. Just before this new direction took off I was already getting comfortable with the idea of moving back to Houston and reconciling with myself that perhaps I needed another long stint of travel to clear my head and reinvest in the blog, YouTube channel and art projects. I think I wouldn’t have minded a roadtrip around the states, but I am so grateful finally to be working in nonprofit. This is what I’ve wanted since before I left the oil and gas industry.
After I agreed to the job offer, I had about a month to find an apartment. Pigeons aside, this place is ok. I enjoy my balcony when they aren’t there shitting on it and I’ve been experimenting with potted gardening. This place is also much quieter than the last. It’s like I traded in neighbors in their twenties with no sense of consideration for working professionals who understand 10pm curfews and cheap building construction. Moving to a third floor unit with no elevator –no elevator– was exhausting, so I hope things continue being ok here.
Luckily I was able to get a bit moved in before I started the new gig because – that was a lot in the beginning. A lot of information, a lot of rebuilding broken processes, and a lot of mental capacity used up every day that left me welcoming lazy evenings on the couch with Netflix. Soon came the holidays, family time, the winter air and my attention was far turned away from updating the blog. Ringing in the new year also brought upon the first day of my winter semester.
Of college.
Surprise! Yours truly has reentered the educational system for an unfinished degree. You may be further surprised to hear that I was so pumped about the idea of working for a school (before I had the worst job interview ever) that I decided I needed the degree if this was the direction my career was headed. I have to commend myself for getting so motivated to follow through and condemn the universe for being a jerk to me on reaching that point.
I dipped my toes straight away into an accelerated 8-week summer course and a regular 10.5-week course, which was beyond tricky to balance with a full time job. Unfortunately, the pace of chapter readings and homework assignments was too much for me to handle both classes so I dropped the longer course (because all of 4 days into the school semester, it was too late to drop the accelerated class for a full refund). I noted not to take another accelerated class and powered through the summer.
Faced with the potential transition back to Houston, I relinquished studies for the fall semester thinking I didn’t have the focus nor the money for classes. Once the new apartment and job were settled, I signed up for 2 (regular length) classes for winter, which is a perfectly manageable load for anyone who doesn’t work full time, have to cook for herself, desire a social life, or upkeep a home.
You may have realized that 10.5 weeks for a class is rather short. That’s because it is. It’s a bittersweet experience enrolled at a quarter-semester university. The classes are over before you know it, but you’re working twice as hard next to the 2-semester institutions.
Winter was brutal.
I managed to get an A and A- in my classes, but trust when I tell you I had little time for ANYTHING else. Natural Reader Text became my best friend, allowing me to listen to chapter readings while I cooked and cleaned. Although, the only real cleaning done was laundry and dishes.
Socializing was but maybe once out a week, but only after spending a few hours on something for school first. School and the new job were my whole gd life for those 10.5 weeks. It was ok at first, but my mental health eventually took a toll. I felt like I was getting pulled apart limb by limb, giving away myself to every possible thing – except myself. What me time I had was dedicated to an hour of mindless watching something on YouTube or Netflix, and sleep.
It was too cold to exercise.
One overwhelming positive out of that torture was that I thoroughly enjoyed my course on sustainability. Self-sustainability is a hot interest of mine because it’s something with which I struggle. But this course opened up a whole new world of community engagement, efforts and how sustainable practices help people, economics and the earth. I learned a lot from the reading prompts and my independent research, and walked away from the class feeling empowered and enlightened. That’s the kind of experience I desire from learning.
For the spring semester I’ve gone easier and enrolled in only 1 class which is a couple days shy of ending. I plan to take only 1 over the summer as well. Taking 2-3 classes per semester would enable me to graduate in 2 years, however, I am not about that miserable workaholic life.
The world is constantly changing. I do not know how my life will look or what goals will have changed a year from now, so I may as well take it a little easier and have the time to enjoy other important parts of my life.
Family, in fact, has suddenly become one of those more important elements.
My sister announced to the family last December that her and hubby are expecting a little bundle in June (this month?!) and we are all beyond the moon excited for them! The new addition will be the first unity baby, permanently joining two families into one.
Not living nearby has stirred up some emotional moments, but I can’t wait to be an auntie. I will need the free time from a relaxed school semester to get back into knitting cutesy things and spending more weekends in the Houston area.
My last trip down to H-town was in early May when I wrapped up the nursery mural my brother-in-law and sister asked me to paint. I think it’s the largest painting I’ve ever done – and possibly the most difficult! I chose oil as the medium because I favor it over acrylic, but I think the biggest hurdle was not having a clean canvas to work on.
To all the other creatives out there commissioned by family to paint bedroom murals: request your loved ones sand down the existing paint and texture to make the wall canvas easier to work. Though there is a caveat; if you’re painting mountains, then consider leaving a little texture for some sick looking mountain veins.
