They said I had to go to rehab, but I said . . .

So many changes have occured in the last week. It's quite remarkable to consider how altered my life situation is at present.

• I have a job. No more unmitigated time for me.
• I have a job that I have been trained for and am qualified to do. And I really like it (at least, I really like what I've seen). Working in a rehabilitation hospital is heart-wrenching on a good day. No one asks to be admitted to such a facility. But, it's largely rewarding as well. Even small gains are large triumphs to my patients.
• I have an address! A person can now send me mail and it will come right to me. This is fabulous! I had forgotten what a joy it was. Yes, it's a sparse little home, but it's my home. I really like that.
• My life has become more quiet. I come home at the end of the work day to my little stuffed Rottweiler named Carl. Carl is always glad to see me, but he never has much to say. I guess that could explain why I've been a little phone dependent these last few days. I'm just not used to all the peace and quiet.
• I attend a branch now. We're bigger than the single's ward here in B-town, but we're still a branch. It's a new scene for me - full of interesting characters. I'm sure things will pick up once I actually know people.

It's an adjustment, but it's been good so far.

On a tangent, about a year ago, I experienced a similar transformation to this. I stopped wearing a watch mostly because I can't stand the way it gets in the way when I'm playing the piano or typing - something about the way it impedes the movement of my left hand and gets all sweaty while I'm working . . . let's just say that I've lost more than one good watch because I have taken it off and left it on a piano or in a computer lab. Thoughtless really, but it's what I do. Now that I work in therapy services, I have to keep track of time in an unobtrusive way - a way that doesn't look like I'm checking for missed calls from important people. So, I'm back to wearing a watch. I'm not sure how I feel about the change yet. Let's just say that the watch comes off before the shoes at the end of the day.