Viva La Revolución

I just don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight. This is only the second presidential election in which I've been elligible to vote and... I can't. It's gutwrenching leaving such an important decision up to everyone but yourself, and it's a long story why I dont' get to vote in this election.

I can hardly contain my excitement for this election. The last election still felt like not a ton would change. New guy, new taxes, everything kind of washing out the same. I had no idea what would happen over the last 4 years that would inspire so many more Americans to feel like they have to vote. But I feel their pain. It took 2.5 months to find a job. I spend $200 a month in gas to get to work and back. I know a lot of guys I went to school with and went to parties with who are shooting guns to defend their lives, our lives, on the other side of the world. You can really feel how much it matters.

The wild part of it all... today, at 9:44 the election results on the east side of the country look so similar to the union/confederacy lines of the civil war. Observe:

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Is this not completely insane?? It's not perfect... but its wild. We are resting on the verge of a major american historical event. To think, that some 200 years from now, this will be a question on a menial quiz. Middle schoolers will scratch their heads before answering, yet so fresh today is the thought of our first black american president.

This is it. The world is changing. Everything is going to be different. Change is hard, but it's a good thing.

I can't wait to see what the next 4 years bring. The end to the war? It's been going on so long. A booming economy? I'll not take it for granted again. Racial bickering? How nice to lay that by the side of the road and move forward.

Imagine...

First Day

So... here's where I work ^^^^^

I don't have a desk yet, but that's okay. One person is leaving, just not until the 24th. My first big payday.

I learned today that not everyone is familiar with the expression "old hat", it is possible to resist tempting 'desk candy' even though everyone you work with has some, and you don't need a license to operate a golf cart.

I know this last tidbit because I'll be driving potential residents around in one. Holy Cow. Have these people seen me on the road? And this place has speed bumps! But the alternative is trapsing people around the 52+ building property in my cute heels. Eff that. I'll learn.

There's a ton of stuff I have to know... but they aren't ALLOWING me to take future leasees' phone calls until I've gone to sleep-away camp... er... training in either Jacksonville or Orlando. This is awesome. Pressure automatically off.

Thanks to ABC's practices, I think i may also have already revolutionized their systems with the google spreadsheet which has a live-edit feature. I will, however, have to teach most of them how to use it.

My need to impress? CHECK.

Peace.

Starting the Big New Job-Eve

Here I sit, with a mere 45 minutes until I'll be forcing myself to sleep. Tomorrow holds the potential for a wildly motivating or an incredibly overwhelming experience. I will have my first 'first day of work' in more than three years. I can't imagine what it must be like to change careers after a tenure of 10 or 20 loyal years with one company. My attention span naturally falls much shorter than most in regards to employment. Luckily, after the two months it took to find this job (my longest job hunt ever by a month and a half) starting the search over isn't high on my list.

Adding to my jitters, I have a little issue with impressing people. I have to do it. It is one of the very things that drives me to make great leaps that if I had looked at my today-self with my 8-years-ago-self I would never have believed it. (Of course, at that time, I was going to be a teacher and I was going to live in Columbus forever. I had no interest in owning a business and wished desperately that I had some sort of vague hint of natural talent related to art. Silly me. On an even wilder note, I was constantly put-off that Kyle Gordon barely noticed me.)

Today is the end of finding things to occupy my day. Here begins the rush to the office in the morning, hot-boxing cigarettes on my break, and wedging errands into my evenings between dinner and slumber. It will be hard to relinquish dashing to the beach with the latest beauty mag to see what my eyeshadow says about me at a moment's notice. The pile of books from the library will probably need to be renewed 2 or 3 times before I can get through them all. I have spent all my time becoming an expert on free/cheap ways to feel like I'm contributing to society in some way. At least if I finish the crossword all by myself, I will be exercising my mind. I'll need this to be able to carry on a conversation, if only with the checker at the grocery store as we have few friends yet.

My greatest use of thought is the familiar internal battle. One side with "what if they expect so much from me they think they've made a mistake? What if they make me drive golf carts of people to show apartments and someone falls out? What if they think me juvenile for bringing father bobblehead, my beloved desk-mascot?" Luckily the other side is well-wishing. My mother, "You'll do fine. You're pretty and smart and can do anything you want to do. You just worry about getting enough sleep." My best friend, "Good luck! Tell me all about it!" My only female friend in Palm Harbor, "That's such a great job! You'll do great. Leasing agent is a perfect job for you." I just wish the happy thoughts jumped up on their own. It never happens that way, does it? No one ever wakes up suddenly surprised by how fantastic a dream was. It's the nightmares that are the most impactful. Damn.

After I've mulled over how to handle the job, the exciting part comes about. I wonder who my new office-friends will be. I wonder what sort of shortcuts I'll find that will allow a swing by Starbucks (after a paycheck, of course). I wonder what great things will come of Kyle's computer repair business while I'm away. I think I'll hit the hay 10 minutes early to allow my mind to play with these thoughts. I'll let you know how it all goes.