Back to some normalcy

I thought for this Weekend Coffee Share I should take a break and write something a little more light-hearted. I am happy to say that we are returning to some sense of normalcy. Today we are going out for Easter brunch at this restaurant we’ve been meaning to go to for some time. Also it’s Lana’s first Easter.

Almond brioche and mini cheesecake at Kirari Bakeshop.

I feel I get to have part of my life back too. On my day off last Monday, I took out Lana and my dogs, Teddy and Koda, out to some coffee shop enjoying some sweets and then met up with my husband for lunch at his work. It was nice because it was something I did all the time. Pre-COVID and pre-pregnancy, I would take Teddy and Koda out to the mall, the park, or some cafe on my days off. At the time I thought my maternity leave would look a lot like that, but the pandemic stopped all that. Instead during my maternity leave, I walked with my kids everyday around our neighborhood — I just did not see the point of driving to some cafe somewhere else to only eat in the car.

Also good news, my parents finally got their first dose of the vaccine. Though they had an appointment, they still had to wait in line for about an hour. I told them they could have gotten the vaccine before they were eligible because when the vaccine is reconstituted the self life dramatically decreases. When the vaccine expires,, it gets thrown away. To avoid vaccine waste, the leftovers could be given to anybody. At our clinic, we have the Pfizer vaccine and finding four other people in less than 30 minutes is not a lot of time. Thankfully our clinic is in an urban area where it is easier to find people to take the vaccine regardless of eligibility. In suburban or rural areas, finding four other people in 30 minutes can be challenging.

Also, I am in the process of looking for another job. I absolutely love, love, love my job — I love the work and the people. I am incredibly blessed to have on-site daycare at my job. But when Lana starts to become school age, I wonder if it is better to work closer to home. I did consider her to go to school near my work, but my current work schedule is incompatible to a school schedule. I start work so late in the day. Maybe when the time comes, I negotiate a favorable schedule. Or maybe I transfer to a different department or promote to a new role within my current office that allows a more flexible schedule  to start earlier in the day. Another ideal situation is stay with my current employer but transfer to an office closer to home so I can still have on-site daycare when she is still young. Another thing I am considering is working for another employer as long as it is in public service. The benefits — namely the retirement benefits reciprocate as long as you work in public service.

Anyways, I’ve got some time. I’m just casually looking. In my last job, I job hunted after five years of being at the job. At tge time I felt out of love with my job and thought it was time to move on. I completely underestimated how time consuming active job hunting would be. It took me a year of job hunting…actually the current job I had was a yearlong process from application to job offer. Anyways it may look like I’ve got some time, but I do anticipate a long application process.