Two Thousand Thirteen

Happy New Year, dear readers!  Did you celebrate auld lang syne last night?  I'll post a full recap of our evening later in the week - though if you follow me on Twitter you probably caught some glimpses of our party - but I thought that today, the first of 2013, would be a good time to touch base as we head into the new year.

I'm not going to write up any goals for the year before us.  Instead, I'm going to continue focusing on something a bit more holistic: changing my attitude.  I think I've done pretty well on centering myself amongst chaos, which was last year's resolution, though obviously it's something I'll need to be mindful of for the rest of my life.  This year's resolution is sort of an extension of that.  I want to remember that everything is relative.  I don't need to be the best; I just need to be better than I was yesterday.  If I can do that, I can say I have succeeded in keeping who I am and what I do in perspective.

And now I'm delighted to be able to share the details you've all been waiting for!  Here are some of the changes that have already been put in motion and that will continue to unfold through this new year:

I gave notice at the theater in late October, four and a half months after I started working there; my last day was November 16th.  My first interview with the new organization was on December 1st, and two weeks later I accepted their offer!  I'll be working as Major Gifts Officer for an amazing museum in DC and I can't wait to start on January 7th.  The organization is bigger than any I've worked in before, and they have a very different appreciation for the role that fundraising plays in the arts than any of my previous employers.  I'm going to learn so much from my colleagues and I really look forward to growing in this new position.  (Also, I've decided to do a few posts about my job hunt.  Hopefully you all can learn from my experiences!  Watch out for those on upcoming Mondays this month.)

This was always a bit up in the air, even before I moved back to DC, and my feelings about me living at home have fluctuated wildly since June.  (To be honest, I think my parents' views on it have as well!)  I love being close to Mom and Dad, don't get me wrong; but at a certain point I will need to do my own thing and let them get back into their groove.  We've decided that I'll start looking for a place for me and Charlie over the summer with the goal of starting a lease in September.  That way I can spend the next eight months working on rebuilding my savings account, plus it means I won't have to worry about moving until after the wedding, which I'm sure will relieve some stress!  The first complicating factor is that there aren't tons of places in DC that accept large dogs.  The second is that I have to find somewhere that is good not just for me and Charlie but also for Jon as well.  Because:

Yes, dear readers: Jon's moving to DC after we get married!  He's now told his boss which means that we can announce it publicly.  (We have known for a while, actually, but these things have to unfold in a certain way!)  We'll still hop back and forth across the pond together as much as we can, of course, though we'll be based in the United States for the first few years of our marriage.  We can't see too far beyond that yet because - well, who knows what could happen in that time?  We certainly plan on living in England again eventually!  But we're shifting things west for now.  The visa process takes some time, so Jon most likely won't be here for real until 2014.  We'll tell you more as things develop!