It's officially winter. Here in NJ, we south-New-Englanders are under what's being coined the "Polar Vortex". What does that mean, you may ask?. To me, it means that the temperature is COLD, frost has started form on the inside of my car, and I have to warm up my car for ten minutes before I can go anywhere because my transmission won't shift from gear to gear while it's practically frozen. (#manualtransmissionproblems, am I right?)
I guess it's time for me to do an obligatory "Goodbye 2013 -- Hello 2014" post. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of good to say about the beginning of 2013. I worked at the bank where I had one or two good people to talk to and that was it. My customers were wonderful people who I miss dearly, but otherwise it was just a job. I left there in July and started at a new company in a completely different direction in the business world. The world of payroll is so complex, an almost living/breathing thing that evolves everyday. It sure is not the job I thought I was signing on for when I accepted my position. The only thing that I can think to say is "I should have asked for more money." This job is payroll, accounting, tax law, babysitting, therapy sessions, and teaching all rolled into one small title of "Payroll Specialist". I should have definitely asked for more money.
I miss writing. I miss expanding my errant thoughts and following my wild imagination to the end of the thought, to the end of the story. That is not to say that my imagination has not been working this whole year, oh no. My brain, my beautiful, puzzled, hardworking brain is always working, and always thinking, getting me into serious trouble.
Larissa and I moved into our very own apartment in the middle of December. We've been here every single night since the day we moved in and for the first two weeks or so, we've never had a problem. Those things that "they" say about apartment living, the thin walls, the nasty neighbors, the lack of privacy, those things haven't really rang true for me yet. My neighbor is a small, quiet, young Asian woman whose only vocalized worry was if we could hear her cursing out her computer (I swear to God). The main issue I have are the doors.
Whomever came up with the blue prints for the doors should be sent back to engineer school, first of all, but what's worse is that the doors have no safeguard for slamming. Anytime that anyone in this building closes a door, the whole building shakes. This wouldn't be a problem, though, if my brain were 'normal' and had regular thought processes. It doesn't, for the record. So every morning I wake up now and think that someone has broken into my house and is stealing items from my living room.
That's not the most fun way to wake up in the morning.
Honestly, the worst part is the anxiety of thinking that someone is in your house. I hear footsteps (from the neighbors who stomp-stomp-stomp like elephants up and down the hallway) and the silence of the sleepy apartment adds to the creepiness and gets my adrenaline flowing. Of course, then I get up and run to the bathroom (because the speed at which I move will obviously deter anyone from coming after me) and slam the door, adding possibly to the anxiety of someone else in the building.
Then I share with Larissa what I'm thinking and she wonders what its like in my head.
