♪ ♫ Ch-ch-ch-changes... ♫ ♪

"Turn and face the strain..."

Well, it's now 2011 and I've finished week 5 of a temporary work contract which will end in mid May. I am learning to enjoy working outside the studio again and it helps that it's a pretty easy work environment to be in. The biggest adjustment is not having ANY time in my studio to make or work on any jewellery or cards; frustrating at first, but this is temporary and with time, I might even muster up some energy in the evenings to head into the studio. Another big adjustment has been getting up early and going out every day, which means having to care about my hair and if I have crust in my eyes - generally the cats and the mailman don't care about that stuff.

My first week had me marvelling at the fact that I was part of the "work force" again - a bit of an odd feeling after trying to make it on my own (so to speak) for the last few years as a self-employed artisan (again, so to speak). I now feel useful at work, which is a good thing, but I still have a lot to learn - by the time I feel like I totally know what I'm doing, the contract will over :)

I was ridiculously nervous leading up to my first day, but everyone has been super helpful and welcoming. Very different than the people I'm used to, but I am actually enjoying the daily contact with such a variety of people - in spite of my mole-like tendencies, I do like seeing and chatting with people. Really interesting too, in terms of personality dynamics and interactions.

Clothing has been a bit of an issue for me. I got lots of clothes from my sister in Edmonton (thanks Nance!) - kind of standard officey stuff and I did do a fair bit of shopping as well. I often feel like I'm wearing a costume though; I guess I should see it more as a uniform, which a lot of people have to wear at their jobs, right? Now after a few weeks at work, I'm now allowing a bit of my personality into my wardrobe, although I cannot get too granola or grungey or "way out there" since this is a government office and pretty clean-cut... anyway, it's no biggie really. Work costume, it is!

The best thing about this job is that I am contributing substantially to our household and I am so grateful for that. Jean-François has been so amazingly supportive these past several years of my very sporadic business and it feels good to have a regular paycheque to deposit. It is also a very low-stress job, in that I do my stuff when I'm there and I leave it all there once I leave the building. I guess that's a choice as well, but I have made a conscious decision that nothing is going to freak me out at this job. Little daily issues aside, I cannot think of anything at work that is worth getting so worked up over, that it will spill over into my actual LIFE (ie, outside the job).

My creative side is on hold for the moment (well, not really, but you know what I mean) but I'll be back. I cannot really complain about anything. I have my health, my honey, my family and friends, my cats, my passions, a roof over my head, more food than I can eat, more clothes than I could possibly need, a great temp job and a great job to go back to once this contract is over.

Life is good.