I’m stealing an idea from Angela to start microblogging. She wrote her last blog post in 15 minutes, but I’m a bit slower than her (both writing and running), so I’m going for 20 minutes. I think this is a good idea, because I tend to be too compulsive when it comes to writing and posting — dotting i’s and crossing t’s, etc. Sometimes it’s good just to get words out and not sweat the small stuff.
I just started my 5th week at my new job! (How long can I call it that? 3 months? 6?) As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m now working from home, which has it’s pluses and minuses.
On the good side: No more commute! I knew it was causing me a lot of stress, but I didn’t realize how much. I’m also saving a lot of money from not commuting, not eating lunch out (expensive and unhealthy), and not treating myself to fancy coffee drinks ~2x/week on average. I’m off the clock right at 5pm, which is sooooooo lovely. I have plenty of time and energy to cook dinner, which has been great for our wallets and our health.
On the not-as-good side: I wonder how long it will take for me to get really sick of sandwiches for lunch. I’ve been trying to mix it up with the occasional soup or quick hot meal, but I think I’ll have to think of more alternatives. I get a bit stir-crazy some days if I don’t get out (see below). On most days, the only person I see is my husband. Some times, he’s the only person I talk to all day — but this will change as I progress in my training at work. But in general, I’m not as lonely or starving for interaction as I thought I might be.
As far as the work itself, it’s going OK. I’ve been doing a ton of self-study and software training, and while my inner nerd loves it, I’m also looking forward to actually applying the knowledge to help people (I’ll be doing product/tech support). I’ve been going to South San Francisco to get hands on practice on a real microscope once a week — the traffic SUCKS but since I don’t have to do it every day, and because I can go when I want, I avoid the worst of rush hour.
One thing I was really worried about working from home was becoming a totally sedentary person. At my old job, there was about 2 miles of walking built into everyday — from my car to BART, from BART to work, and then to the various buildings on campus. Even the walk to the bathroom was probably a good tenth of a mile round trip. Since I started working from home, I’ve been trying to follow a very regular schedule of waking up at 6am and either getting in a long walk (Mondays and Fridays) or going on a 3 mile run. If I have time at lunch, I try to get out for a 10-20 minute walk. This way, I get at least 3 miles in every day. Otherwise, I get less than a mile. 😦
OK, I’m running out of time so I’m going to cut it short. Let me end with a picture though, so you’re not totally bored by my ramblings. 🙂
Before we stuffed ourselves silly on Thanksgiving
Howdy! My name is Jen and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I like to eat, run, and blog, but not usually at the same time.
Running Tangents 
Love the photo. I, too, miss interactions with people I know while working from home. Perhaps you and I need to be each other’s work from home support buddies and do occasional calls/videoconfs to mix it up!
Glad we got to chat last week. Let’s make this a semi-regular thing!
I’ve been working from home this past year. I love it. I’ll be sad when I go back to commuting again. My lunches are almost always leftovers from dinner.
I’ve been saving leftovers for dinner so I don’t have to cook every night. However, last night I made something my husband doesn’t like, so it looks like I’ll be having leftovers this week for lunch! Maybe that’s the key? 😉
Yay for microblogging.
You should make more soup. I’m obsessed with soup, it’s so easy, so delicious, can be very healthy and you can freeze it in small batches and then defrost so you get different soup each day!
Soup is good! I’ve been getting ready made soup from Costco. It’s not the best, but a lot better than canned. Freezing in small batches is a great idea though.
Use ziplocks!
Hey now, I gave myself 10 minutes! 😉
Something that helps me with lunch is intentionally making big dinners, so there’s a day or two of leftovers for taking to work. I’m particularly a fan of crockpot meals because it’s so easy to make a big batch of something (soup or otherwise).
Oops, my bad! For some reason, I thought you said 15 minutes. I’m impressed!
See comment above about leftovers. Also, T has a huge appetite… sometimes there isn’t enough food left over for another meal.