A post while winding down before bed

I'm up way past my bedtime. I'm waiting for my allergy pills to kick in. My herbal tea - a combo of Celestial Seasonings' Tangerine Orange Zinger and Country Peach Passion - is steeping. I'm listening to the new Junior Boys album, So This Is Goodbye, on my iPod. I reckon I can put off going to bed just long enough to post about some recent events in my life.

I started my new job on the 16th. I am loving it, as I was sure I would. I felt outside of my comfort zone at first, as I am receiving very little direction compared to my previous position. However, I am adapting to my new routine and learning quickly. I'm also using my previous experience on the borrowing side of interlibrary loan to streamline the lending process, much to the delight of my new boss. It helps that the student workers in my department are amazing - the oldtimers are very knowledgeable and dependable and even the new arrivals are eager to help. They are really helping me get through this transition period.

I greeted my 29th birthday last week with a mixture of disbelief and trepidation. I know it sounds silly complaining about my youth slipping through my fingers when I'm still in my 20's, but my anxiety stems from the gradual realization that I can't use my age as an excuse for irresponsibility anymore. I still have areas that need a lot of work, money and housekeeping being the most pressing issues. Despite any lingering problems, however, I feel good about what I accomplished while I was 28. I completed my bachelor's degree. I landed a job that requires a B.A. and that will boost my career prospects. I met Michael. I adopted Sugarfoot. While I didn't cross everything off my list, I still achieved some major goals and laid the groundwork for the coming year.

Since Michael's move was scheduled for this weekend, we celebrated my birthday last weekend. He took me out to dinner and got me Season 8 of The Simpsons on DVD. More than anything else, though, I was glad to celebrate my birthday with the man I love.

I bought my new computer on Thursday and immediately got to work on customizing it for my needs. I spent several hours that night uninstalling all the free trial software and assorted crap that weighed the computer down and slowed its startup. Then I started downloading, installing and tranferring licenses for software that I had on the previous computer. Finally I had to back-up all of my music on the hard drive in case iTunes decided to disallow use of my iPod on the new computer. I lost a few tracks in the process but I was able to replace all but three - all from Wasps' Nests by The 6ths - on iTunes or Emusic. Hoodlums may still have the used copy I sold them last year. If not, I can buy it cheap from an Amazon Marketplace seller.

Michael and I spent most of the weekend working on his move. He hired movers to do all the moving but we unpacked. To be fair, Michael did most of the unpacking, but he didn't ask me to do much. I was mostly an extra set of hands for unpacking large things and a catsitter. We were both surprised that it went as smoothly as it did. Nonetheless, it was very exhausting for both of us and incredibly stressful for Michael. He handled it well, though, and avoided taking it out on me. Not that he's the type to do that, but some of my experiences helping boyfriends move haven't been very pleasant. Michael's graceful handling of the move further reinforced his superiority over others I have dated.

That's all for now. Goodnight.