Settling In…

Happy Saturday everyone! How has your weekend been so far? I hope you all have plans or are just relaxing!

My blogging has fallen to the wayside lately and honestly, it has been sort of nice. I’ve been struggling for awhile to find something to write about and to actually make it worth while to read. This post is a bit disorganized, but I wanted to post an update on the past two weeks:

I’ve been going through this huge transitional period over the past two weeks since moving to Maryland and truthfully, it has been much more difficult than I imagined. The first few days, while on the hectic side, were nice. Everything was new to me, I was excited about the move, and I was just ready for a new start. Those same feelings still apply, but I am finding it much more difficult to adjust now.

I’m living pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and while it is quiet, it is also a huge change from where I have lived the past 22 years of my life. I am used to being able to walk down the street if I need to go to the store and being able to see my neighbor’s house/ apartment from my window. Now it is the complete opposite. Don’t think I am complaining (because I am not), but it is a very different change in pace, and will take some getting used to. I will say that it is a pretty sight to see deer outside the window every evening.

The other big adjustment (other than traffic- holy moly! Welcome to the DC area!) is living with someone. I am currently living with my aunt, who has graciously allowed me to stay with her for the next eight or nine months while I get on my feet. I have lived alone for the past three years and grew up as an only child. Needless to say, I am not used to being around someone 24/7. I feel bad because I don’t want my aunt to think I am giving her the cold shoulder because I am so quiet around the house! It is something I am working on, but again, it’s a slow process.

I do feel incredibly blessed to be around so much family up here. Along with living with my aunt, I have another set of aunts, an uncle, and cousin who live about 35 minutes away. It is nice to be able to see them on a regular basis and have family gathering such as crab feasts like we did on Labor Day.

In work related news, I am currently working two times a week for my uncle’s law firm doing some basic administrative and filing work. The plan is for me to work on days when I do not have to report to my internship and basically do any work that they need to have done.

I also started my internship last Wednesday and I (think) that I did pretty well on my first day! My internship is actually with Girls on the Run- DC!

Since I just started, I don’t know everything that I will be doing until December, but my job requires me to wear many different hats. I will manage the social media platforms, do administrative work, go on site visits, and basically anything else the organization needs for me to do. I am excited to be working for/ learning about the “behind the scenes action” of the organization. Being a coach for three seasons with Girls on the Run of Northeast Florida allowed me to experience working with the girls, but now I will see what goes on to make sure the girls get the best experience possible through the efforts of the “backstage crew” (via the coaches).

That is all I can say about my internship right now (seeing as how I have only worked one day and can’t disclose too much anyway) but I am sure that I will share more of my experiences in the future (especially once my internship is complete in December).

I am starting to research opportunities to pick up a third part-time job in the next month. I would REALLY like to get my personal trainer certification soon (because my new gym has expressed interest in me possibly applying to work for them once I have my certification) but I need to set aside some time during the week to actually study! Hopefully my life will start calming down next week so I can sit down and plan out a study schedule for myself.

As for my fitness up here- I am still remaining active through weight training, cycling, and running, but have yet to find a pool. I am hoping to check one out tomorrow (because I really do miss swimming) and then I should be set.

I have had a setback with my running this week, which I will discuss further if I need to, but as of right now, I am taking (another) hiatus from running due to leg pain. However, I refuse to let the setback with my running get me down, so if I can’t run, I might as well pick up my cycling before the weather gets too cold to ride! In fact, today I rode a personal distance record of 35 miles!

It was not super fast, but for not riding very much since my triathlon last month, I’ll take it! The hilly topography of Maryland is quite different from the flat land of Florida so I am slowly building my hill endurance. I’m hoping to increase my distance over the next month to six weeks since I am toying around with the idea of doing an organized bike race/ ride in October. But that is for another post…

So there is the grand update of my life as of lately. Tomorrow will mark two weeks since I have moved up here and while I still have a ways to go in feeling like I am “home” (ahem- I really need to meet people my age ASAP!), I am much more settled than I was at this point last week.

There has been some frustrations along the way, but every day is getting better. Thank you for your supportive tweets, comments, and E-mails during this time!

I am VERY behind on my blog reading lately, so tell me, what is new in your life? Update me!