I don’t know what it is about the fall that always brings big changes in my life, but it’s a consistent thing pretty much throughout my short stint into adulthood. Maybe it’s like I got so used to the United States’ school year that the universe just aligns itself that way? Regardless, 2019 is definitely yet another example of this.

As you may have noticed, I haven’t been doing a lot of posting lately, and a big part of that is due to my current job. To call the schedule wonky would be an understatement. For example, this week? I worked the midnight shift on Saturday and Sunday, have today (Monday) off, and then work 1:30 to 10:00p until Friday; next week, I work Monday through Thursday from 8:30a – 5:00p, only to switch back and work the midnight shift over the weekend. I’ve been doing this since … *checks calendar* … May of this year, sometimes with an even weirder schedule (work midnights on Saturday and Sunday, 8:30a – 5:00p Monday, Tuesday off, 8:30a – 5:00p Wednesday and Thursday, and then 3:30p – 12:00a Friday). This has not surprisingly thrown everything off. I caught the flu and had to use sick leave for almost an entire week (and miss a production meeting for Drunk Shakespeare, which I’ll do an entire post about later because OMG), and my body spends most of its time trying to figure out if it’s sleep time or not. Not necessarily the best way to live, as you can imagine.

So, on my sister’s 33rd (how???) birthday, I am starting a new job, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. I’ll have, as a friend put it, “normie” hours, complete with weekends and a reportedly supportive management team, and I’ll be driving against traffic, which, for those of you who aren’t familiar with Nashville, is a game changer. While I won’t be able to wear glorified pajamas (aka scrubs) to work anymore, I can at least relish in the fact the dress code is business casual, with jeans allowed.

It’s not a completely triumphant departure from my current job, as I do genuinely believe in the work I do there and care for the majority of the people I see on a daily basis, but I just can’t do this any longer. In addition to the dumbstruck reactions of my friends and family to my bonkers schedule, my body and soul have simply told me that it’s time to move on. And so, as if like clockwork (I got the job offer for current job last year around this time), the autumn has signaled a new direction in my life, and I’m just tagging along.