Change

Twenty10 has been full of new adventures.


I have a new boyfriend, have begun a new job and live in a new timezone.


(Unfortunately, the first one of those three is not located in the same place as the second one and is not in the third one.)


In 2009, I was living in Austin, country dancing weekly and eating lots of queso. Lots and lots of queso. And it was good. I ran at Town Lake and planned happy hours at the Domain. People watching was at its best in both. I drove down Mopac and talked about traffic on I35. My ears were filled with live music constantly. I was dating...but not one person consistently. I had quit my job and wasn't working. And I was good at that. The not working thing. I was meant to be independently wealthy.


But then on the last day of 2009, I went on a date. It was no big deal. It wasn't going to turn into anything because I was moving...but it did, and now I have a boyfriend. It's more proof that God has a ridiculous sense of humor when it comes to the timing of these things. Then this job that I had accepted was actually going to begin. In Atlanta. Atlanta, Georgia. That's not anywhere near Texas and in a region of the country in which I've claimed that I'd never live. But now I do. There was a farewell party, we packed the POD and the adventure began.


I left one Thursday morning, stopping at Rudy's to buy some sauce and Whataburger for lunch, and started to drive north. The east. East took a long time. I stopped in Mississippi to see Bubba for the night - most know her as Sarah - an old friend from a camp staff almost a decade ago. (Are we really that old?!) I ended up in Atlanta. At rush hour. On I20. Turning north on to 75/85. This big city of almost 6-million people was to be my new home. And my job started about 45 minutes after I arrived.


I lived with one of the kindest women I've ever met for about a month before finding my own place. It was another set of change-of-address forms and finding another new grocery store. I discovered Chastain Park and the running trails and signed up to run a full marathon. I am adjusting to working at home and spending time alone. I'm planning weekends for visitors - the boyfriend, my parents and other relatives - but am still not sure what this city has to offer. And I'm taking advantage of living in this region of the country by meeting up with a friend in South Carolina in a few days.


Yup...a lot has changed. Some people freak out with all this change. Some people thrive off of it. I'd say that I'm somewhere in the middle, veering slightly more toward the thriving end. I love a new adventure and enjoy meeting new people...but I miss the old familiar and the comfortable. New challenges intrigue me and this new job seems almost too good to be true, but it'd be nice to go meet a friend at the Lake or take a spin around the dance floor at the Spoke. Nonetheless, I'm discovering great restaurants and already have a new community group. I'm going on longer runs and loving the hills...most days. And the change has been good. Very good.