Diary of a Young Professional (Volume 1)

6.12.2017

Dear Diary,

David loves me - and I mean, he really loves me!

Last week was all a blur. I just got settled back into the apartment after a weekend with my family and another Monday Blues day. Going home was the best thing I could have done for myself, even though David didn't get to come along this time.

When I got back, David was waiting for me with carry out sub sandwiches and what seemed like a bucket of salad. I know he's trying to support me choosing healthier food options, but I saw the packaging for potato chips that he must have downed while waiting for me. He's been more of a snack food junkie since I graduated, but I can't quite put my finger on why.

While we were eating and watching one of the many trashy television shows that I recorded, he told me the most exciting news: he got a job! I mean, it wasn't like his fast food supervisor job that he'd been working ever since I met him wasn't a job. But he got an adult job, one that doesn't require hair nets or a car that smells permanently of pizza and weed (gross). I'm really excited for him to finally have one real thing to put on his resume...if he even has one.

The one downside to this amazing news is that he has to start working on third shift. Since I'm a salaried employee, that means I'm usually seeing a mix of first and second shift during my 9 -5 routine.  Meanwhile, David will probably be asleep most of the day when I'm up and working.

We decided that I could call him during my lunch break most days and that on the weekends I could stay up late to help him keep a somewhat normal sleep schedule.  It's a bit of a compromise, but what relationship doesn't come with compromises?

I'm happy for David, but it depresses me that we won't get to do as much of the fun weekend things that I like.   Who will I get brunch with or hang out for lazy mornings reading at my favorite local coffee shop now?  I guess I can still do those things, but it won't be much fun without him. 

But I can see that he is really trying to step up and take on more responsibility with his work, which makes me smile even as I write this.  All my favorite Internet bloggers (my go-to advisors for all things boys) say the same thing on this subject: if he's taking more responsibility and stepping up his work habits, he's thinking about his future.

A future with me!

Could this new job mean that David is starting to think more seriously about our relationship and where we need to be to make our future work? I mean...Holly and her husband work different shifts. They aren't on polar opposite schedules, but she manages to be perfect at everything and still has alone time with her picturesque marriage. Maybe I can use the extra time in the mornings to go to the gym or start work earlier in the day (my five-step plan waits for no one, after all).

Today was actually the first day that I got to attempt to do some production scheduling all on my own. And while it took most of the day to finish one schedule, I didn't have to ask for extra help.

When I took my production schedule by Holly's desk to ask her advice (strategically), she only found one mistake in the whole thing. She looked impressed by what I had done and said that it took her three months at first to be able to put together a schedule like what I created. I couldn't help but glance over to see that Brian's office door was open, so I'm sure that he heard the praise from his favorite employee coming my way.  Step 1: initiated.

To top off this excellent Monday, I had a girls' workout and dinner with Sierra. We went walking around a local park and stopped for wraps at a café, caring about nothing but inside jokes and how our calves looked in our joggers. Sierra mentioned that her coworkers were planning to go out for drinks tomorrow night and suggested that I join them.  Why not make a few new friends?

Speaking of friends...I made my first work friend today! After finishing my schedule and getting such great feedback, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. So I went to grab a half-coffee, half-hot cocoa (a concoction of my own design) in the breakroom.

While my coffee was dispensing, I ran into a boy who looked like he was my age. He was casually sipping a cup of coffee himself; all the while, he couldn't stop staring at my secret drink.  I caught him gaping as I sipped at the sweet sustenance, so he introduced himself as Kyle Lazenby.

Kyle just graduated from University and started with our IT department last week.  Hearing this, I teased him and asked why it took so long for my accounts to be set up, which left him scrambling for words.  He offered a sheepish response and feigned interest in an HR flier, so I took pity on him and stopped chastising his department.

He's probably going through a lot of the same emotions that I'm feeling right now, right?  Loneliness.  Confusion.  Excitement.  Anxiety.  The joys of newfound adulthood.

We wound up making plans for tomorrow to eat lunch and swap stories of our college glory days. I've considered asking him to join our gang of cocktail-goers after work, if he's interested.

I know that it's premature to claim that I'm getting this work-life balance situation worked out. But today I rocked it at work and I'm finally on my way to making new friends while hanging on to my closest college relationships. My phone isn't necessarily ringing off the hook every day - and now I'm certainly doing more calling than I am picking up someone else's call - but I'm making it. Each day I feel a little bit better about my routine, my apartment feels a little bit more like a home, and I realize that who I was in college doesn't have to disappear.

Oh – I almost forgot the most exciting part of the day today. After work and girls' time, I was fully prepared to lie down on my (new) couch and watch TV until I passed out.  I'm serious. PJs were in full swing, hot tea was in hand, and a charcoal nose strip was firmly applied in a declaration of war against acne. But then my phone rang – and it was my mom.

I had just seen her all weekend, so why did she need to call me so late in the day?

Of course, I answered the phone (it's my mom). And am I ever so glad that I did. It turns out that a family friend had an unexpected litter of Boxer puppies (squeal!) – and that the puppies were going free to good homes. They won't be ready to go into their fur-ever homes until they're eight weeks old...but the family is offering one of those puppies to me!

I can't believe it...here I am, just over a month out of college, and I'm getting a dog (in two months)! Already I'm thinking of all the best ways to confirm why I'm a great choice to be a dog mom. A dog needs lots of exercise, which will keep me active and fit, and I've been so lonely in the apartment by myself (even though I don't want the hassle of living with a roommate).  Since I live alone, I have plenty of time to devote to a growing dog; I can even come home during lunches to let the little guy (or gal) out in the middle of the day.  Somehow, I watched a montage of how my life with a dog should go - a whole 12 years of adventure - in the span of the thirty seconds that followed Mom's explanation.

I'm pretty sure that I screamed on the phone – I hope that my neighbors don't think that I've had a tragic accident or anything.  All I could do was ask for pictures because my mind couldn't process much more than that at the time. When the pictures came through to my e-mail, I barely heard anything else that Mom said during the call.

I vaguely remember her saying something about making sure that I find a good veterinarian for the new puppy?

I've spent the last hour scrolling through online stores for the perfect supplies – from dog collars to crates. And now I can be one of those "friends from college" with the great social media posts, reaping searing jealousy (framed as congratulatory comments) on my Insta and Snapchat.

Sierra answered my text immediately when I told her what happened (with about 500 ideas for names for the little bugger), but I haven't heard anything back yet from David about my new four-legged best friend. He's working, though – so I'm sure I'll wake up to some goofy and adorable text about dog parks and something remotely Disney-ish.

For now: T-minus two months until my single occupant apartment loneliness disappears. And hey – now I have something extra interesting to bring up at lunch with my new work friend!

~Kelsey