I've earned every bubble in my bath tonight

3:15pm

So here I am, back in an office, sitting at a desk that is not in my house.

Traffic. I’m not used to it anymore. It’s like relearning how to drive. Weird. I’d forgotten just how much it sucks. How it adds 20 minutes onto a normally 15 minute drive; how my sweaty legs stick to the leather seats during the summer; how every single radio station will be playing a slew of ads, all at the exact same time. Other things I’ve forgotten how to do in two short months: sit upright for more than an hour or two at a time. Make small talk. Small office talk. Wear clothes besides slouchy cotton t-shirts and shorts. Oh, and how could I forget, makeup. Ugh. [aside: yes, I love makeup; just not every day…]

So here I sit in an actual office, freezing my ass off while it’s 95 degrees right outside the window. I dressed for the warm commute and several-block walk after parking downtown, but I did not dress for –30 degrees below zero office temperatures. So I’m just sitting here in front of my laptop, which is what I do at home, yes; but it’s different here. Here I have to be quiet. I’m wearing shoes. I feel like I shouldn’t slouch. Or sit cross-legged in the chair. Someone else’s chair. Very odd. Can I get used to this again? Or am I just going to realize how much I like NOT going into an office everyday? I wish there was a way to have it all.

[Cont…]

It is now 10pm. I stayed at the office until 6:15, just like old times. And people, I. Am. Tired. I rushed through my errands to make it home in time for American Idol, but I did it. Today, I was mainly nervous about parking downtown. Now I’m all nervous about being there during lunchtime tomorrow – what will I do? I hate being “the new person.”

This is not to say that I am not grateful to have the opportunity to sit in a hip downtown office and write about HIGH END SKINCARE every day, ohhhhh noooo ... I'm not complaining about the work; just getting back into the routine of the daily grind.

Let's say it again, together now: high-end skincare. [cackles at good fortune]