Comparisons

“Oh, good gracious,” I muttered when I looked in the mirror. My eyebrows were in terrible shape, having been neglected for several weeks now. I’ve thought about plucking them, but it’s always when I’m nearly asleep or already dressed and leaving for work. Once conscious of the problem, it tugged at my attention all day. But I still returned home to work a bit and read blogs. At 7:30, I finally decided to find my tweezers and remedy the situation.

Current grooming status? Worse.

I didn’t go to work all that much as a post-doc, but the trips I did make included 15 or so miles on the interstate, often laden with heavy traffic. I despised the drive, having problems with the masses of stopped cars, idiotic driving decisions and sheer length of the commute. Now I need about half the time to make a few turns and take lovely back roads past valleys and farms and mature trees just beginning to turn golden or reddish as autumn approaches. I drive directly to my building in the light traffic – the worst point is a stop sign at which I sometimes have to wait for 10 whole cars! – and park as close as possible. Then, instead of waiting for a bus to make my way closer to my office as I used to do, I walk for less than a minute, open a door and proceed to my desk.

Current commute? Better. Much, much better.

I had about 1200 square feet in my cute cottage of old. My home now boasts 3 floors, 4 bathrooms and about 2500 square feet of living space. It also has a number of lovely details that I adore – a large front porch and curving walk to the door, two decks off the back of the structure, cherry accents, a huge master suite and a basement that holds all the odds and ends. But there are inconveniences. The laundry is in the basement and I dress upstairs. So the clothes – whether dirty or clean – are always far from where they should be. I’ve also mentioned that I rarely spend time on the main floor. While it’s growing prettier with the matching shelves I ordered and elegant dining set, I still follow a standard routine. I get home, go upstairs – dog giddy with happiness at my return – change clothes, head downstairs to watch TV and work then return upstairs to sleep. I get completely dressed before walking Chienne in the morning because it’s so inconvenient to run up and down all the time.

Current house? About the same – better in some ways, worse in others. (Once I adjust, it will be better. I’m just being a whiner.)

I used to love to drink tap water. I even had a cold water dispenser on my refrigerator. I now grimace at the soft water I sip from the filtered pitcher I keep inside my refrigerator. Bags of salt? Freaking heavy. Oh, and I also heard the water is radioactive.

Current water? Worse.

I had a great deal of affection for my old colleagues. I loved Boss and Ken and Marlie. I adored having Friend around. I was comforted by knowing my way around campus. But my colleagues now are superb. Perhaps it was the effort I put in at the beginning, but I have friends at work now! We have lunch together and giggle over talk of TV, music, travel and children. I’m thinking of taking a ballet class with two of the women. I grin involuntarily when I see someone from the team because I’m just ridiculously proud and happy to be one of them. I really love the people with whom I work. They’re bright and funny and motivated.

Current colleagues? Better! They're the best!

I eat a burrito each week and do enjoy the rice and beans and chicken and cheese. But I would stab you with a fork to get a cheese biscuit and honey butter. I don’t yet have a good Greek place. I heard about good Chinese but I’ve yet to try it. Yet I have a gas stove and the results of my culinary efforts are of higher quality. Still. I like eating out. And one can only survive on Qdoba for so long.

Current food? Worse. Until I find new options. But the cheese biscuits…how I miss them.

I use a heavy Dell laptop. I had an iMac that sat prettily on my desk and worked whenever I asked her to.

Current computer? Piece of freaking crap comparatively. I sigh with pleasure when I use one of my Macs here at home. (And I have 4 computers here – 2 desktops, 2 laptops. This is likely a bad sign that I’m a little geeky.)

Nancy lives next door. I know her children as well as her dog. When Chienne got loose the other day, Courtney – an adorable blonde girl across the street – caught her while her little sister waved from the door. I also know their parents and dog. There’s a lab puppy who lives down the street – his parents greet me by name when they walk by. People say hello and wave and stop to pat Chienne’s head. It’s lovely. Especially considering I didn’t really speak to my old neighbors, though we could have commiserated over escalating gun violence and the effect of graffiti on property values.

Current neighbors? Better.

As I was contemplating the end of the blog post, I heard an odd banging sound. Rising from my bed to stand near the open sliding glass door (Current weather? Better! It’s cold! There’ll be winter!), I giggled when I realized it was someone practicing the drums. Badly. One of my neighbors down south did the same. Also badly.

Appreciation of bad drumming? About the same.