I know I'm a little late, but I finally have some downtime now, so I figured I'd check in and let you all know how the new job is going.
Week 2 in Danville, PA was a productive one. I worked until 7 p.m. on Wednesday and 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Things are coming together slowly. They expect me to transition the everyday operations of the daily-valued retirement plans from the home office here to the Valley Forge office next week. I'm a little nervous, but I'm sure it will be fine.
Did I mention it's freaking RIDICULOUSLY cold here??? There's about a ten-degree difference in temperature between Danville and the Philadelphia metro area. I wish it weren't so cold; I desperately need the exercise, and I'd like to be able to get outside and walk around a bit, but it just isn't happening. The nights are so frigid here that it hurts to breathe if I spend more than a minute or two outside. Granted, the hotel I'm staying at does have a "fitness room" (read: closet) and I have visited it a few times in the past two weeks, but it's a total joke. There is a treadmill, an elliptical, and a LifeCycle in the fitness room, all of which look like they were transported here from the set of Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" video, circa 1981. Unfortunately, I forgot to pack my coordinating legwarmers and leotard, so I just don't feel right exercising in there.
Last Thursday after I left the office, I was feeling adventurous, so I drove about 15 miles down Route 11 South to Selinsgrove, PA. I found the Susquehanna Valley Mall and stopped there for dinner and a manicure. The folks out this way are very nice but many of them are kinda stuck in the 80s. Bleached blondes with terrible perms, electric blue eyeshadow, clothes that appear to have been purchased from G+G or Marianne or Merry-Go-Round (remember that one??), and mullets. Many, many mullets. And not just on the dudes!
The highlight of last week came late Thursday night. After my jaunt to the mall, I returned to my room and played around online for a bit. Around 11 p.m. I decided it was bedtime. I pulled down the comforter and fleece blanket of the king-sized bed just in time to witness a large, silver-colored spider crawling up the fitted sheet toward the pillows. For an arachnophobe like me, this was NOT a welcome sight.
First, I screeched like a hyena for a moment and honestly considered calling my husband for moral support. I decided against it, though. Too late at night for that. Then, with what little presence of mind I still possessed, I dashed into the bathroom and grabbed a water glass from the sink. I ran back to the bed and scooped the spider up into the glass, flew back into the bathroom, and flushed it down the toilet while holding my breath. Then I flushed the toilet again. Just in case. You can NEVER be too sure when killing an insect.
After that, I proceeded to live out my rockstar fantasy of trashing a hotel room...but not because I was flying high on coke or Jack, sorry to say. No, I simply freaked out like a mental case and tore all the bedding off the bed, shaking the sheets, comforter, and blanket out over the carpet. Then I pulled the pillowcases off all four pillows. Still not satisfied, I pushed the mattress off the boxspring and inspected underneath. Then I got on all fours and peered under the bed itself. No more spiders.
Finally, I pulled out a pair of socks, put them on my feet, and tucked the bottom of my yoga pants into them, thereby ensuring that no creepy-crawlies could breach my pants during my slumber. I also pulled on a long-sleeved sweatshirt before putting the bed back in order and climbing between the sheets, exhausted. I didn't actually fall asleep until well after 1 a.m. It seemed that every time sleep was about to overtake me, I'd feel (or imagined I felt) something brushing against me. I guess I got about four hours of sleep total. Not a good night.
I'm hoping that my third and final week here is a little less, uh...eventful.
Good night!
Labels: funny stuff, health, travel, work
In My Head
