Swinging Pendulum of Luck

After a couple of rough weeks full of frustrations and disappointments, some positive things suddenly started happening at the end of last week. R got called on Thursday afternoon to do an interview for a part-time job that he had applied for a about a week ago. That afternoon, after I was finished with work stuff, I walked down town to meet him, and took a slightly different path. I discovered a lovely little nook of restaurants and shops. We went back that way and stopped at the Flagstaff Brewing Company, one the local breweries, for a beer and snack to celebrate his job interview. We sat outside on their patio and enjoyed local brewed beer and black bean hummus along with the late afternoon sunshine. The hummus had some unusual accompaniments with tomatoes, feta, lettuce, artichoke hearts, and roasted red pepper sprinkled over the toasted pita. It was finished off with drizzles of honey that sounded weird, but did work with the overall flavors. The beer was tasty and refreshing. I had an ESB and R had the brown ale.

We stopped at the mailbox on the way home and discovered a last paycheck for Robert that we had not been anticipating. This could be pretty helpful considering the theft of about half his bike last weekend. That is the only negative bit I will bring up as I don’t think I mentioned it yet. We discovered last Friday that someone had taken his seat and seat post. An annoyance, but could have been worse right? Wish we didn’t have to spend the money to replace it, but we can make it work… Well, two mornings later, we came out to discover both wheels gone. Just wheels, right, well they aren’t cheap and apparently there was a lot attached to them like disc brakes and gears. Poof! Just like that about half the value of his bike has been ripped off. Anyways, this check will hopefully help replace a lot of this and get him back on the road. And… now we are going to have to figure out how to squeeze two bikes into our little space. Stay tuned for that creative arranging!

So after that, I ran out to the store to pick up some wine for dinner. As I was walking past the clearance kiosk, a “picnic pack” with ketchup, mustard, and relish caught my eye. Surely, this was put there in error? But no, it had a half-off sticker on it. So, I got all three for less than $3. Sweet!!!! I know you may be rolling your eyes at my excitement over sale priced condiments, but keep in mind we have to restock our pantry after moving and we have that whole limited grad student budget thing. So this was a gold mine find in my book!

Then we had a delicious dinner with produce from the Flagstaff Farmer’s Market that included fried green tomatoes, glazed carrots, and green beans. The mac n’ cheese was from the box, but it a favorite guilty pleasure and comfort food for me. Here are some pictures of our yummy dinner.

Friday continued to look up. I confirmed that my SMU vacation payout was finally in our bank account. Robert’s job interview seemed to go well. And last but not least, my missing books FINALLY turned up. One of the advantages of being a grad student is the schedule flexibility. I decided to spend my Friday afternoon doing laundry and doing some work on my net book instead of sitting in my office. Since we are back to doing laundry in a common area, I am paranoid about not staying and keeping an eye on it. I have known too many students who have come to me about stolen laundry. So, I was sitting there soaking up the beautiful sunny afternoon and working when I noticed the post man at the mailboxes. So, I did what any normal person would do… I stalked him. After a long conversation where I explained yet again that I am struggling with the fact that 7 packages could just disappear into thin air, he agreed that this was pretty weird. He ended up breaking into the one locked parcel box package for which there seemed to be no key. Guess what was in there??? Yes, you got it… all seven packages. Finally! A happy ending.

I know my recent post was pretty whiny and a downer. In fact, my dear mother requested that I not do posts like that in the future… I will try my best, but can’t make any promises. Life happens – sometimes it is enjoyable and sometimes it sucks. Truly, though, I have felt happier in Flagstaff than I have been in a long time. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t unhappy in Dallas. I am just happier here. My stress level is consistently lower, and I am excited about my surroundings and all the opportunities to explore it is offering us. I feel at peace here. Maybe it is the new location or having less responsibilities or being outdoors more and physically active, or the excitement of taking my professional and personal life in a direction. Whatever it is, it is working for me. I am relaxed, sleeping better, and seem to find more reasons to laugh and smile. I hope it sticks.