2009: Stability and Progress

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted a blog and a lot has been happening in my little life! The holidays came and went and I have to admit I'm a little relieved it's over now. I definitely missed home and family. Layne left right before Christmas and I can't stop missing her and then all my other friends promptly went out of town. However I managed to enjoy all the good little moments, although it didn't really feel like Christmas sweating in the sun, eating bar-b-que asado and watching fireworks. New Year's ended up being phenomenal: I went to a big banquet dinner at a club here in town and danced the night away in too-high painful heels (which looked hot, btw!) with my roommate Natalia.

I'm really loving my new apartment, specifically because of my awesome roommates. Natalia is precious, and Lucia is amazing too. They're both Argentine and only speak Spanish so I'm finally getting some good language practice. We also have an unusual wheezing cat named Oscar. He's got cat AIDS and is only about half alive and has no hair (I'm not kidding). I'm a little scared of him but we've manage to establish an unspoken agreement that if he doesn't get on my bed I'll feed him. The building itself is absolutely ancient, everything leaks, and I've got a living room/dining room/patio that is "open air" with a ceiling that opens and shuts. Sort of strange but also charming in a rustic way. My room is huge and I've done some creative decorating to make it mine. I nailed tree branches to my wall and hung all my jewelry on them and it turned out really cool. Wall art! I'll post pics soon but right now my laptop is on the fritz so I can't download all my recent photos. Hope to be getting that fixed soon! Although no computer has provided great motivation for some extra reading, and since all the books in our house are in Spanish it's been a fairly productive pastime.

My job is also evolving well. I started in the Customer Service department listening to lots of complaints and after my first 6 weeks have just received a promotion! I'm the New Projects Director now. The job is very well suited for me because it utilizes my talents: creative vision and organization. I'm coordinating the development of new websites from scratch. This means I get to invent the blueprint of the site, work with our designer to make it look gorgeous, work with our IT programmers to make it function and work with a team to generate all of the content. I'll be doing a lot of research and writing, but I'm most excited because I've got a lot of freedom to make the projects my own. It should be an excellent challenge and I'll be making a tiny bit more money: always motivational! I'm still teaching English on the side for a little extra money as well, which is nice too. I'm pretty attached to my students and would hate to let them go!

I also joined a phenomenal gym around the corner from my house and have been attending schizophrenic aerobic classes and trying to follow the weights plan my trainer designed for me. It's sort of fun: when you sign up at a gym here they assign you a trainer for free and then that person keeps track of you and gives you all sorts of things to do. I feel like my trainer is always laughing at me, though, because I don't know the names of any of the muscles or machines in Spanish, resulting in a lot of gesturing. But I'm learning! Much more monitored than our gyms back home. I'm really liking it.

As the new year rolled around I found myself wondering about the feared New Year's Resolutions. Here in Argentina they don't do resolutions, they do Deseos del Año Nuevo (New Year's Desires). I think I might like this better, since it is a little less pressure! Everyone knows you never keep New Years Resolutions! The past few years have been tumultuous and full of change for me, and my desire for 2009 is stability and progress. I've finally managed to make it to a sustainable point in my life. I've got somewhere to live, a good job and I'm working on a social network to support me and make it fun. So now I want to just "be" for a little bit and enjoy the moment. Argentina provides enough surprises I don't think I need to be generating any more big changes on my own. I want to work on establishing a life and living it, which I haven't been able to do for a long time. I am finally in a position to accomplish my personal goals and focus on developing my life and career, and I'm really ready for that. Of course, life has a way of throwing you curveballs so I'm prepared to be flexible. If anything, the past few years have taught me to adapt and take what comes for what it is. But since I get a deseo, here it is: tranquility in the moment. Let's have 2009 be a calm and stable one!

Just so you know, I miss you all and my heart has been at home for the holidays, even if I didn't make it in person. I'm sending hugs to all my loved ones! Cheers and Happy New Year!