I don't think I've ever really blogged about *me* before. As fun as it is to read and write about knitting, I know I love reading blog posts where the blogger actually lets me know a little bit more about themselves.
Recently, I moved to Philadelphia with my boyfriend. It was a huge surprise, for both myself and everyone I know, but it was a good one. Matt took his job about a year and a half ago and I remember feeling devastated when he did, because of the 100% travel job description and I thought he would be gone all the frickin' time. But he wasn't and we dodged that bullet for almost a year. I even threw him a surprise going-away party when he first got the job (fail on my part), but when his departure actually did come, it leveled me a bit. During that limbo period between his job acceptance and start date, Matt had asked if I would go with him when he was sent away. I told him I might, but only if it was somewhere I wanted to go and only if I knew I could leave if things didn't work for me.
Last year before he was sent away we went through a lot of rocky patches. I think in that year we had more major blowouts than any other year we had been together (we've been together five years and a bit), so I felt a little silly even considering packing up and leaving with him. And it may seem like I left out of nowhere, but it really had been planned for a year in advance. And had he been sent anywhere other than Philadelphia, a city I had already been to and loved, I'm not sure if I would have gone. Because I've always felt like an East Coast girl at heart...I've just been stuck in the midwest for the first 23 years of my life.
And the past few months have been wonderful. The adjustment to city living with virtually none of my belongings (P.S. I'm a bit of a packrat) has been crazy and a bit stressful at times, but it had been pretty darn awesome so far. Which is a good thing, because Matt's 3-4 month jaunt has turned into a 2+ year project or two.
I miss my friends most of all. I miss having that circle I can connect with because even though I have been here for almost 5 months, I still haven't made any friends outside of work. True, I haven't really put myself out there much, but it's just been a little difficult. I miss having my knitting circle and my crazy days off where I would have back-to-back hangout sessions with 3-5 different friend groups in a given day, but at the same time this experience has taught me to be more independent as a person. And to truly value the time I have to myself.
This has been (probably) the best adventure of my life thus far. Since I've come here, I've moved out of my house and have found a job that I really love. Let's face it: I was pretty much miserable at home. And even though I am sad some days, I would still say that I am a much happier person overall. And I feel much more hopeful about my life than I had before.
Woo. That took a bit longer than I thought it would.
Not to say that things have been perfect since I came to Philadelphia, because I have actually kind of neglected a lot of the goals I set out with when I landed. I haven't published a design in months, which is one of the things I was going to focus on when I got here. I have several in the works and knitting season is almost over. I guess I need to get my shit together. I also vowed to workout and care more about myself, which has been extremely difficult since I've been working more than I was when I was back home. I've been fitting in cardio two-three days a week, but it hasn't been a priority for me. And I've been eating healthier, but Philadelphia has the reputation for being a beer swiller's city and I've kind of tried more beers than I care to admit.
My personal goals for the year include taking better care of myself (and not letting Matt talk me into eating Pizza Rolls for dinner), progressing in my running pace/time, reading at least one-two novels per month and really making the most of how close I am to so many great cities on the East coast. Ideally I would love to travel internationally this year, but I don't know how realistic that may be. Instead I will focus on long weekend trips to NYC (more Broadway shows!), DC and finally seeing Boston, the city I've always reckoned I would love.
And, on the knitting front, I have spent much of this weekend staying at home and nesting. Philly finally saw some snow and it was nice to trek across the park, carefully, through the snow and ice. I started knitting some Fletcher mittens (finally) because my hands are hating me this year. I can't believe I don't have any mittens. I also resumed work on my socks and even though I'm about two weeks behind, the peek I snuck of the last bit of toe will carry me through to the end...I'm fairly certain at least.
Oh, and I love me some Drag Queens.
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