Life outside the cult :)

I had a great weekend with K in Louisiana. We didn't do anything special. We pretty much laid around, slept in and spent a lot of time just the two of us. It was great.

We did spend some time with friends as well, and we went to the gym both Saturday and Sunday. We met three friends -- a husband and wife, and a friend whose husband is on his way to Iraq -- and us three girls went outside because it was so nice outside. We walked around a trail outside, but we ran up the hills. The girls are just getting into working out, so I was in pretty good shape in comparison. It made me feel pretty good! If I had been doing that with K, we'd have been running the whole way. I'd have been ridiculously out of breath before K was so much as breathing heavier or breaking a sweat. It was good for my self-esteem to work out with them.

One of them, though, did say, "You're in better shape than you let on. Of course, if I were 40 pound lighter like you, I'd probably be able to run like that, too." I know she didn't mean anything by it, but that bothered me. For one thing, she's skinny! She thinks she needs to lose 15 pounds while her husband's gone, but I don't know where she'll lose it. I think she looks fine. She says she does a good job hiding it, but 15 pounds? She's gonna look like Nicole Richie! And I've been going to the gym regularly for over a year. I can't just pick up and run. I worked to get here -- thanks.

As for yesterday, there were a few other annoying things that happened later in the day, but not anything that hasn't happened at my job before. Things wound up getting better. I met up with a former co-worker, Sarah, and a future co-worker at my new job, Swift, (who I happen to know through Sarah) for dinner. We met at a Mexican restaurant and had margaritas (and dinner, obviously). We talked about work and co-workers. It was great. I'm really excited about starting my new job. The three of us met at about 6:15 and were there until a little after 10. We had a lot to talk about! It was great.

What's funny is Swift actually used to work at the place I'm leaving this week. She knows quite a few of my co-workers as a result and understands why I want to leave. What's funny is Swift and Sarah talked about how great things have been since they "got out." Another former co-worker who left last fall came in just before Christmas, and she looked great. Things are really changing at work, and it just seems like a good time to leave. Everyone who does is so relieved and relaxed and in love with life in other careers that they tell those of us who are still there about it. It's almost like it's some cult or something that everone's slowly leaving. It's kind of funny.

If it weren't for Swift and Sarah, I don't know that I'd be leaving my job. Actually, I'm pretty sure I'd just be suffering longer. Honestly, I had thought about leaving quite a while ago, but I didn't know where to start. It was talking to Sarah that gave me a push to start looking more actively, and she's the one who got me in touch with Swift. From there, everything fell into place.

We'll see how it all goes next week!