So, I will offer up a recap.

The new job has been going great--I really love it and the people are really nice and cool. Last week we had an employee meetup in which all the remote employees came out to the office and we had 3 days of festivities and meetings. Some of the highlights included getting lunch and dinner provided by them for the entire time, including open bar. There were also cool activities to choose from on one of the days--I chose to do standup paddling, which was cool. I decided to pick something I might not otherwise do. It was a bit outside my comfort zone, but I did it and I survived, and it was actually kind of fun. That said though, I'm not sure I feel the need to do it again.

A couple weeks ago we went to Vegas for Kristen's birthday. We kept it fairly low key (no wild late nights at the clubs or anything)--saw the Lion King, I won some money playing blackjack, and it was fun. Dave was disappointed we didn't go to the clubs because that was apparently the main thing he has ever wanted to do there. Which brings me to the topic of him.

For a few reasons, things just haven't really been working. Although we coexist well together, there have been some long-standing things that bothered us about each other. These are points that were brought up on multiple occasions, and some attempts were made at compromise, but in the end, I think they are too much of a part of who we are to fully be able to make it work. We decided we'd be better off as friends, and in a very non-dramatic way, ended the relationship. As timing would have it, Kristen needed a new roommate, and another friend needed a place to live, so I'm going to move in with her, and the other friend is moving in with Dave. I am sad to have to move, and it will be weird having an honest-to-goodness roommate again, but hopefully it will all work out. Making the transition easier is the fact that I met someone else. It's still early, so time will tell where it goes, but I do really like him.

Also, Memorial Day weekend brought my sister graduating from college with her Chemistry degree, and also the announcement that she and her husband are expecting their first baby at the end of this year. So now I get to start knitting all kinds of cute baby stuff--I just hope it's a girl so I can make cute bonnets and dresses! :)

So those are all the main events that have occurred in the last 4 weeks. Some good, some not so good, but that, I suppose, is life. Hopefully I will be better about updating again.

Although I kinda hoped that he would read some stories about his family, he read some stories from his new book of fables (of sorts) and a couple other stories that he's been working on. It was an enjoyable experience, and it's no wonder that he's popular enough to warrant being asked to come back every year and selling out each time. I'll have to remember to get his new stuff when it comes out.

As we were walking back, I suggested we stop in Old Navy, since I wanted a new pair of shorts. Well, it turned out that they actually had quite a selection of cute stuff, and best of all, everything was 30% off! So, I bought the shorts I wanted, in addition to a few other things. I'd feel a little guilty, but I did just get that new job, and I rarely buy clothes, so it's all good.

Regardless, it was a fun outing, and it's more fun to go shopping with someone else than by yourself.

Since we went to a somewhat earlier dinner, we decided to go get a drink afterward. We intended to go to the Hungry Cat, since they have some good cocktails, but they didn't have any space for us, so it was then that I remembered that a new martini bar opened up next to the Granada.

Marquee is the name of the new bar, and they do indeed have a bunch of fancy martinis on their menu--although you can of course order whatever you want. The martini I selected was quite tasty, and perhaps the best part of hanging out there--besides the atmosphere created by the lighting, couches, and other furnishings--is that they give you a glass full of jelly beans to enjoy. The jelly beans are Jelly Bellys, to be more exact--but lest you fret that you'll accidentally eat a gross flavor in the dark, it seems they already went through the trouble of picking out the ones that would go weird with drinks. They left in the fruity flavors and took out ones like popcorn, coconut, or anything that you'd worry about.

I think it's definitely some place I'd go hang out again--nice, not too crowded, etc. So, hopefully it will stick around awhile--the signage is minimal so it wasn't super obvious that it was there--I think we only found it because I knew it was next to the theater and it was the only place that had people in it.

Our team was sorta lucky in that we had to ref an earlier game, so the refs gained valuable knowledge as to where the balls seemed to be going. Basically, most balls were going out into right field, so the key was to group our outfield over there, and then whenever the ball was in the air, wait a bit to see where the wind would take it before running up to it.

The other team liked to complain a lot and claim that they didn't know some of the rules or something, but despite all that, they couldn't crush us. I think it helped that we played decently and had refs who knew what they were doing. All told, we ended in a tie, which is about as good as we could hope for given the conditions. Hopefully we'll do decently in the upcoming playoffs! I have yet to get very close to winning it all!

So far the job is pretty cool--everyone is very nice, and in addition to receiving a new Macbook Pro, I also got company swag such as tshirts, a sweatshirt, a mug, and a backpack! Pretty sweet. I'm looking forward to getting settled in--soon I will have to remember to bring in some stuff to decorate my cube.

At any rate, after work, it was time for boot camp, where we did the timed mile once again. My previous best was 9:22, and after running it in 9:49, I despaired being able to break the 9 minute mark. However, it turns out that this time I ran it in 8:55, so I did indeed improve. It's funny though, because I swear that each time I do it, I feel exactly the same, and thus expect to get the same time. I guess I still have no concept of how fast/slow I'm going, but as long as it's faster/better, I suppose it doesn't matter!

Anyway, it would seem that today was a good day on both work and boot camp fronts!

The game was pretty fun--although running was a bit slower, it's slower for both the kicker and the outfielders, so things wind up evening out. If you don't kick the ball directly to a person, the time it takes them to run to the ball in the sand gives you enough time to get to your base.

The team I was on was the one that wound up winning. It was a fun game, and it led to everyone thinking that perhaps we will put together a summer league (finally) and try to play it on the beach. How cool is that? How many kickball teams in the nation can play on the beach?! The other alternative is to play on a different field than usual, but I like the novelty of playing on sand--plus all that running in sand is better exercise!

After the game, we all headed to the Neighborhood to hang out, where we ran into a bunch of other friends/kickballers who happened to be there as well. All in all, a nice way to spend a weekend.

To commemorate my last day, my boss took the company out to lunch at the Boathouse, which turned out to be a pretty nice day (the other days this week were pretty cold and overcast and all that). We enjoyed a nice lunch by the beach and we even all got dessert. After that I returned home and did a few tying of loose project ends.

Thus begins my countdown to the new job. Eek.

We knew going in that it would be tough--the team has lost this season, but it was most likely a fluke. Last night they had pretty much all of their players in attendance, and it was indeed going to be a good matchup.

They scored a ton of runs the first inning, and although our turn to kick wasn't nearly as impressive, we did manage to catch up a bit. I think the final score was something like 15-7 or something, which is a high-scoring game. Win or lose though, it's always fun to play against this team, and time will tell whether we will be matched up in the playoffs.

Regardless, they put on a good show. I didn't know all the songs off the album they performed, but I had heard a few. Dave, on the other hand, knew all of them. I was a little annoyed by a girl who sat behind me who would NOT stop talking to her boyfriend or the random girls sitting next to her--like, it was SERIOUSLY non-stop talking. But, eventually the music sorta drowned her out (or maybe her boyfriend made her stop so that he could hear the songs), and we had pretty decent seats, so we were able to see Thom Yorke and Flea doing all kinds of crazy dances across the stage.

I love that the Bowl is right in town and only a mile and within walking distance of where we live. Since it was a nice night out, we decided to walk to and from the venue--so we got some exercise and got to avoid the hassle of finding somewhere to park. We did miss some of the opening act as a result, but I have no idea who they were anyway!

Hopefully this is the start to a great summer season of concerts!

We played pretty well, but we had the disadvantage of having the late game and having the outfield be just out of the reach of the lights. The end result was that it was a bit hard for some of our outfielders to see the ball when it came at them, leading to more misses than normal.

Regardless, we tried to make the best of it, and I think the score reflects that we did a good job of holding the team back. At the end of this though, we are now in a 4 way tie for 6th place. Ugh, hopefully the rest of the games will be slightly better. Losing isn't very fun.

I will be working for a company that is growing, located in the heart of downtown, is close enough to walk/bike, has really cool people, and of course wants to pay me a decent salary + benefits to do what it is that I like to do. Although I have loved working from home and it will definitely be an adjustment, it was probably time to get back into an office job. When I saw the ad for this job posted, I knew it was something I couldn't let slip by without applying. I will definitely miss my current company, but the hours were sometimes too erratic, and I really do want the chance to be able to use my skills on a more steady basis, and in an environment where more people will be able to see what I've done.

So, I'm actually pretty excited. The interview process was quite long, with a 3 1/2 hour interview with 5 different people the first time, and a 3 hour interview with 4 people (including the CEO) the second time. But, obviously I did pretty well! After each meeting, they all said how much they liked me, so that was a good sign. The interviews actually went much faster than I thought they might (everyone was so nice and easy to talk to that the time went by pretty quick). Plus, there are several kickballers in the company (including the guy who I will be working with directly, although he plays on Tuesdays).

It'll definitely be a bit of a transition, but I still have a little bit of time working from home left. I start in 2 weeks. Eek!

Dave and I woke up and decided to walk and get some breakfast. We wound up eating at Tupelo Junction, which has super delicious French Toast that I always get (it's way better than regular French Toast). After breakfast, we casually browsed Borders and Barnes & Noble, and did a little shopping until it was time to go see How to Train Your Dragon. This movie has had a ridiculously high rating, so we decided we had to go check it out. It was indeed quite cute.

After that, we walked back home and then got ready to go celebrate a friend's birthday. She decided to have the gathering at a sushi place, in part because a lot of people like to partake in saki bombing. I refrained from this aspect, as it's not really my thing. After the dinner, we all wound up at Tonic, which is somewhere I haven't been in ages.

Overall it was a pretty busy day.

We wound up leaving at one point and joining a bunch of people from other teams at O'Malleys. By the time we left, the back patio of the Neighborhood where it was held was getting pretty empty (probably because all the free food and drinks were gone!) It's somewhat sad that our team doesn't seem to be as spirited this season, but at least we know people on a bunch of other teams so we still have enough people to hang out with.

Still, we scored 2 runs in the first inning and wound up winning 4-0. Thank goodness we played well overall, because I did probably the most retarded thing ever. I was on first base and for some reason wasn't paying attention and walked off my base when the next runner ran to it, because I assumed I was out because there would now be two people on one base. But, the ball had been caught in the air, which meant that the runner was just finishing running it out even though he wasn't going to actually get to stay on base. So, I would've been fine if I had just stayed put (or paid attention). I guess that's what happens when you don't always get on base very often--you get easily confused or distracted. At least it didn't wind up mattering!