September 12, 2004

Oh, and by the way, because I haven't mentioned it here, I passed the written exam for the Sewer Cop job. That means that I get to go in on Wednesday at 10:10am and submit myself to a "work sample" and oral exam in front of a panel of technical experts. What are these technical experts going to ask me about? I have no friggin clue. But I do know that the entire process should take 1.5 hours. Ah, the joys of the public sector.

Nevertheless, landing this job would be a nice way to kick off the fall. Fall is, and probably will forever be, "New Years" in my mind. Something about nine years of college just cemented that one for me. You may recall, from previous entries, that I can get "restless" in the fall. So, as the days grow shorter and chillier, my thoughts turn to life assessment and character evaluation, with an obsessive-compulsive intensity passed down from my mother.

Those of you who know my mother, might not believe that she gets mentally obsessive. Most of the time, she is the very model of calm and relaxed (a notable exception would be that great big fancy party called a "wedding"). But there are a great many things that routinely keep my mom lying awake at night, analyzing and hyper-analyzing into the wee hours of the morn. And that skill, she has passed on to me.

Last year, I declared an end to obsessive thought about my life, and a call to action. And now that fall is approaching, and my mind is clicking into analyst mode, I've asked myself how well I've met that challenge. The answer was pleasantly surprising:

With a few notable "off days", this last year had been has been a good one. I graduated from college this year, which I have never done before. I have a shot a career-type jobby thing (I know, don't get your hopes up, Lisa, but I can't help it). I have a comfy cushy new mattress, and a shiny loud cd player in my car. I have a happy geek boy who wears flaming converse, and a badass kilt and cooks food for me. Mmmmm fooood.

Where was I? Oh yes, I have been very good at just grooving with the positives this year. And this year has been better for it. I don't know what exactly changed in my mind to let me not freak out about things, because there have been plenty of things I could be freaking out about. In a different frame of mind, this could easily have been my worst year, rather than my best. As it is, I feel more content and happy than I ever have.

So yeah, getting this job would be a nice way to kick off the fall, and get into that next stage of life as soon as possible. But if it doesn't work out--and there is plenty of competition--it's not necessarily going to send me into a pit of depression. That's a nice feeling.