Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Update - Ch-ch-ch-changes!

It's been a bit hectic around the CJ household. I'll get directly to it here.

Enough whining about the hip. Done with that stupid thing. The PT, yoga, elliptical and bike seem to be getting the job done. I will try running again tomorrow night, and switch to the elliptical if it hurts. I need to do a brick soon too, either tonight or tomorrow. Might be bike/elliptical, but it will be a brick.

Saturday I got in 9 miles on the elliptical in a good time. Then we took off for NC to a bridal shower for one of my fraternity brothers. Have you seen these "couples" wedding showers? Used to, only skirts had to attend those. Now us dudes are getting suckered into going too. Actually, it was great to see the poor bastard again, and we all ended up pounding a few beers (except kelley, she drove my drunk ass home) before heading back to Greenville. The drive was almost 2 hours each way. Kelley's mom and sister (with neice) came to keep the kids at our house while we were out. It was a fantastic getaway.

Sunday I negative split 45 miles on the bike. Broke it down into 15 mile segments, and tried to hit 45 minutes per segment. They timed at 44:50, 44:31, and 43:40. That's right, NEGATIVE SPLIT!! At that distance, that much time, that was unexpected. I felt really strong the whole time. Hung with the fam some until they had to go and sunday was done.

Monday I worked hard at my job. No time to post, but I wanted too. After work monday I drove to Raleigh, NC about 4 hours away. Did some yoga and weights in the morning.

Monday was the last day of summer, and I have to update a goal. I'm not going to call it a fail, but it's not a total success either. You might remember I had a goal this year to wear white pants and make them look good. in an "ooooohhh honey" kind of way, not in a "noooo, honey" kind of way. That was defined as white linen pants with a 34" waist and no shirt, a slight tan, and slight hint of 6-pack abs showing through. Well, with summer at an end I'm in 35" pants, pale as a whole garlic, and no abs shining through yet. I also did not actually purchase these pants yet. However, I'm not calling it a fail because it's the first time in years I've been able to get into those 35" pants, and my abs are slimmer than they have been since I got married. I'll call it a close, but keep your shirt on goal almost met.

Tuesday was the first official day of fall. You know why I like fall? Good things happen in the fall. We get football, the leaves change, the stupid heat goes away, it becomes pleasant to be outside again. I love it. And this tuesday was an especially auspicious start to fall. I was in Raleigh, after all.

Since I work from home, and Kelley's dad also works from home, sometimes I like to go visit him and work from his home office just for a change of pace. But this time it was planned for a reason. I had my first job interview with a company up there, and I freaking GOT IT!!! I'm still in shock. Worked all morning at this job, then went for the 2.5 hour interview. Finished at 4:30. By 5 pm they called with the offer. I accepted. And after a few hours of celebratory jumping and screaming, I drove back to Greenville. Then we watched the Biggest Loser after I got back and called it a day.

This is an awesome company. It's a larger, more stable company than I have worked for recently, and there are 30 other software developers on staff. I've always been the only software developer on staff. Nobody I have ever worked with in the past can type as fast as I can, but everyone there types just as fast as me. It's going to be amazing to be amongst my own kind instead of having to wear the "lone developer" freak label. Two of the three owners are runners, and one even did Ironman CdA last year!

This also initiates an entirely new set of insteresting developments that are all going to go by too fast. I had to quit my existing job today, which was more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I have to buy a car - haven't had one for the last 18 months. Without a commute I had no need for non-bike transportation. We have to sell the house here in Greenville and buy a house in Raleigh. We have to move from said house one to unfound house two. Moving sucks. And I have to convince my parents (and brother Morgan) that it's a good thing to take their grandkids 4 hours away.

I'm going to stay with Kelley's dad during the week and come back to Greenville weekends until we can get moved into the new house. There is a list as long as my arm of things that need to happen to this house before we can sell it. Got to get all of those crayon marks off of the wall. The recent roof replacement and exterior paint were a great start, but now the whole landscaping thing needs to happen. Winter is the slowest time of year to sell a house, and the real estate market is still fairly dormant anyway thanks to the lending crisis and economy.

Kelley will be here with the girls while I am in Raleigh all week long. I do not expect this to go over well. I will have to join a gym in Raleigh and I'm going to get on that has a damn pool. Workouts will have to be confined to while I am in Raleigh as I will have no wife/kids then and I will be solely responsible for wife/kids when back in Greenville. The family tension that is sure to ensue in that scenario will certainly expidite the move to Raleigh.

All summer long I've been lamenting about some kind of big life change. This is it. I've been waiting on this plan to kick into action for months. Step #1 was to find the job. Mission accomplished. I've been complaining about SC and wanting to move back to NC for some time now, but it has to be done the right way. My patience has been rewarded.

Today I worked some and quit my job. Tonight I'm hitting the gym for some bike work, maybe a bike/elliptical brick. Tomorrow is more work, I have to finish the projects I'm working on before starting the new job. Tomorrow night is a run or elliptical or both. I'm going to try out this hip and see what happens.

I'm still so excited about this new opportunity. I feel it is a blessing, a door that has been opened for me.

18 comments:

Aron said...

congrats on the new job!!!!! very exciting :)

Unknown said...

Best wishes on the changes. You sound content with the decision and excited about the opportunity. That's great.

And good job with the negative split on the bike

Amy - the gazelle said...

Nice job on the bike ride.

AND congrats on the new job. That will be such an exciting change! I hope that you are able to sell the house & move quickly. That week day separation thing gets old pretty quickly, I've heard!

Amber said...

CONGRATULATIONS! That's great!

It's going to be stressful and cause a lot of upheaval in the coming months, but it sounds like you're excited about it and in the end it will be the best thing for everyone! Good luck with it all!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

WOW! That is definitely big news!! So no more working at home?! Wish you only the best, sounds like an amazing opportunity. CONGRATS! :)

Sun Runner said...

Great, now I have David Bowie stuck in my head. Thanks. :P

Wes said...

Things are going to be hectic for a while for you, bro! Keep your priorities straight and simplify!! You guys will make it through the ch-changes!! Good luck, and congrats again!!

Georgia Snail said...

Congrats!!! Just so you know, I have always hated thinking "I have this blogger buddy that lives in SC..." Now I can think, "I have this blogger buddy that lives in NC" which happens to be one of my favorite states......

Seriously though, congrats on the new job. There will be a lot of changes, take them one at a time!

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

First off, Woo-hoo, brother! Congrats on the new job! That is awesome news! I am truly happy for you!

Second: Yeah, Teh 'Bride is always my designated driver, too. If we go out somewhere and there's beer there, I'm a-gonna drink me some of that beer and by "some" I mean "all". This is why Teh 'Bride rarely takes me anywhere.

Third: Since no comment of mine here on your blog would be complete without a kertwang ...

And I have to convince my parents (and brother Morgan) that it's a good thing to take their grandkids 4 hours away.

This was my favorite line in this whole post because it implies that your kids are also Morgan's grandkids, which makes Morgan not only your brother, but also your father. Which is pretty consistent with the way I view your family tree, Cletus.

Also: In the chorus of Bowie's "Changes", he stutters the "ch" 4 times, then two. Never three, as in your post title.

Way to prove you can't count, either, "dubmass".

All kertwangs aside, CONGRATS on the great news, brother!

Jess said...

Congrats on the job. Good luck working out all the logistics that comes along with relocating for work. I know ti sucks sleeping on friends (or fathers-in-law's) sofas, and I didn't have a family to worry about when I did it.

Sounds like the new job is a great gig and everything will work out great once you're all settled!

RockStarTri said...

Wow. Now is the time to be excited with all the stuff you have in flight. The excitement is a revalidation that you are doing all the right things.

I'm sure it is going to be hard but the best things are.

Al's CL Reviews said...

Congratulations! I'm glad things are coming to fruition!

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

Congrats!! That is so exciting! So happy for you.

And can I just say how awesome it is that you got tipsy at a wedding shower! That is sweet! My friend got married a couple years back and it was a couples shower - he said he had so much to drink, he didn't remember what they got for gifts! of course his wife obstained so she filled him in on it. Kind of funny, though. That is the kind of shower I would want. No thanks to the cucumber sandwiches, polite chit-chat, and oo'ing and ahh'ing over house hold goods.

joyRuN said...

Big awesome changes - good deal!

Best wishes on getting through the transition :)

I want a pic in those white linen pants, m'kay?

Unknown said...

Congrats on the new job!! You guys have a lot coming up but it will be fun and it sounds like it's what is best for the fam. Exciting stuff!

Alisa said...

Wow lots of changes in your life!

I've heard Raleigh is a great town. One of my long time childhood friends just moved there, she loves it!

Great job with that 45 miler! I still need to work on improving my bike speed =). I'm hoping I'll get a little faster when I get a new bike.

Yes, make sure the gym has a pool. 1.2 miles is far =).

Badgergirl said...

Exciting news! Congrats on the new job and the negative splits on the bike!

Jes said...

Wonderful!! It will be so awesome to work with other runners and triathletes!