6:11pm, pacific standard time, apartment in San Bernardino, California, USA, Monday evening, March 12, 2023. I am currently in San Bernardino, California. There is a one day Director meeting that starts at 8:30am tomorrow morning. All the branch leaders from across the state traveled in today and are staying at local hotels. Last week there was talk of a group dinner happening tonight but, I am not sure if it materialized. Either way, it is alright. I stayed in my room and ordered delivery. I figure I will spend all day with them tomorrow, no need to go out and socialize tonight. After the meeting I head to Palm Desert. Frankly, I am glad it is a short week. I am becoming more convinced a Director needs to be found soon, both for me and for the office. They need a permanent leader that is going to take the reins and help then realize their potential. The longer I stay in place the harder it will be to transition once someone is hired.

6:42pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA, Sunday night. March 12, 2023. Movers just arrived with the furniture. Now they are unloading. My daughter and her mom are going to stop by in a little bit. They are eager to see the new apartment. It isn’t very impressive but, the location is great. Personally, I am trying to sort out my emotions. Leaving Arizona was hard but, settling back into Orange County is exciting. Right now, the future and the past are racing through my mind and pinging my heart. It has been an emotional day.

6:10pm, mountain standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Saturday evening, March 11, 2023. The confirmation email I received yesterday said the movers would arrive between 8am and 9am. At 10:30am they called to say they would show up at 3:30pm. They didn’t get here until 5:15pm. I was a little annoyed but, the delay gave me a chance to have lunch with family and run errands. I was going to leave once the truck was loaded but, now I will stay another night and head to Orange County in the morning. I am trying to decide what to do with my last night in Arizona. I don’t want to stay in an empty apartment but, I am not sure how adventurous I feel. I have a couple hours to decide.

7:43pm, mountain standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Friday night, March 10, 2023. On the drive to Arizona I received a call from my supervisor and her boss. They wanted to thank me for my effort the past seven months and inform me I would be receiving a discretionary bonus next week. I was effusive in my acceptance. Not only is the money appreciated but, the recognition feels good. It has been a while since I felt valued at a job. Too many times I worked in no win situations for uninspiring people. Now, I have found a place where I can excel. The last seven months have not been easy but, they have been rewarding. That is all I wanted when I was laid off last May; to find an employer that paid fair value, have a job that matched my skill set and be given an opportunity to succeed. I have that now and look forward to enjoying it for years to come.

6:29pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Thursday night, March 9, 2023. Financials came out today. They look better than last month but, still not good. I knew the numbers wouldn’t be great yet, seeing the actual report hurt. I am not used to working this hard for no discernible gain. On the bright side; we are trending in the right direction and following a projected timeline to profitability. I just wish we didn’t have to suffer the next couple months and could simply skip ahead to the making money part.

6:35pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Wednesday night, March 8, 2023. Another busy day, mostly because of meetings. Lots of back and forth about patient care and best practices. Now I feel exhausted. And a little under the weather. Luckily, tomorrow looks less hectic. That gives me a chance to rest and catch up on neglected reports.

5:30pm, pacific standard time, sandwich shop in Palm Desert, California, USA, Tuesday night, March 7, 2023. I ordered a sandwich online for pick-up but, they didn’t have an ingredient prepared and needed it to complete my order. So, I am killing time writing this post. It was a busy day at work. Lots of new patients coming on service. Consequently, everyone is stressed. The branch is in growth mode after months spent working to get the right team in place. I have to remind myself; it is just as hard to ride upward momentum as it is creating it. We can’t stop now, we have to continue what we started. 5:41pm, one of the reps at work just called. She was in a car accident and her car is totaled. It was a brand new company car she just got on Friday. Luckily, she is alright and her husband is with her but, she sounded pretty shaken over the phone.

10:00am, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA, Monday morning, March 6, 2023. Yesterday, I went for a walk along the spillway/lagoon that runs by the Dana Point apartment. I also met my neighbor and his dog. The walk is an easy, flat stroll and the neighbor seems nice. I am sure all will go well with the move next week. Now, it is a matter of getting settled into my new life. Funny, the whole time I was in Arizona I obsessed about returning to Orange County. Now that I have achieved my goal I wonder what I will look forward to next?

7:22pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Aliso Viejo, California,USA, Saturday night, March 4, 2023. Went for a walk with the dog at 5am this morning. Apparently, she didn’t want to sleep in as much as I did. Getting up early isn’t a problem for me because I usually go to bed early. But, because of the movie starting late last night, we didn’t get home until almost 11pm. As a result, I have been dragging all day. I did run a couple errands, worked out and took my daughter to baseball. But, since we got back at 1pm, I have mostly lounged and watched movies. I am not complaining, the rest is welcome. With the weather being overcast and cold it was a good day to do nothing.

10:34pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Aliso Viejo, California, USA, Friday night, March 3, 2023. Went to work for a couple of hours this morning, drove to Orange County, unpacked the car in Dana Point, came to Aliso Viejo to pick up my daughter, drove to Irvine to watch a movie and do some shopping. Now we are back in Aliso Viejo and getting ready for bed. All in all, a pretty good day.