New Job, New City, New Life - No Running!

Well, friends, it has certainly been a while! I haven't been running much, so there's not much to report on that, but life has been anything but slow lately!

New job, new city, new house, new car… By the end of the day, I am so exhausted, I usually pass out before 10pm (even on weekends, how pathetic is that?). But let’s start from the beginning…

Everything shifted into motion when I was offered a position at Google. As sad as I was to leave my previous position and my hilarious co-workers, I was very excited to get the job--and to get out of San Francisco!

I had to start pretty much right away, so I had a week—a WEEK!—to pack up, say goodbye, and drive down to Texas with Jeff and the two puppies.

Our adventure began in Palm Springs, where we stayed at a beautiful resort with plenty of room for the dogs to run around and plenty of ducks for them to chase.

Day Number 2 was spent in Phoenix, where we stayed at yet another awesome resort. We arrived in time for Jeff to meet up with his friend Nick and play a round of golf.


Meanwhile, I attempted to run a few lame miles on the treadmill while watching the NLCS playoffs. My knee wasn’t having it though. It felt strange, painful and numb all at once. Fellow runners, do not, I repeat: DO NOT get a cortisone shot if you can help it. If you must, please find a doctor who knows what she’s doing and who can explain all the risks and possible side effects, not someone who will say it’s a “coincidence” that the excruciating pain started AFTER you got the shot (come on, seriously?).

Anyhow, I digress… It was great to spend some time in Phoenix and meet Nick’s lovely wife and cute little girls. I wish we had stayed longer.

The next day, we headed to Roswell, NM. Oh yes, the UFO geek in me was pretty excited to be in that strange little town. Unfortunately, Jeff wasn’t feeling well, so we had to skip the UFO museum and drive straight to Austin the next morning.

We finally made it to our corporate apartment that night. It was in a huge apartment complex, but everything was set up to make us feel at home (thanks, Google!). The next day, our house hunt began. We met up with a fantastic real estate agent, Lesa Calhoun from Gimme Shelter, who showed us around and gave us great tips for settling down in her cute southern accent (I missed that!). After a house hunting marathon, we were starting to get discouraged… Jeff and I couldn’t seem to agree on a place. That is, until we came to the very last one: a beautiful two-story townhome in Northwest Hills, surrounded by trees and in a great neighborhood (the middle school down the street even has an outdoor track!). We had found our new home.


The next three weeks went by in a blur… A week of Google Orientation in Mountain View for me, a week of training in Boston for Jeff, shopping for a new car, going to a batting cage, playing disc golf, watching the World Series (still heartbroken over my Phillies and my newly adopted Rangers), taking the dogs to parks and creeks, more car shopping, visiting my family in Houston, moving into the new place and now, endless unpacking.

I must say though, I am incredibly happy to be here. I LOVE living in Austin. Absolutely love this city. I love the people, love the food, love the cost of living, love the trees surrounding our house, love seeing baby deer in our neighbors’ driveway in the morning, love the owl in her little owl house right in our front patio, love waking up to the sound of rustling leaves and wind chimes, love the smell of fresh earth when I walk outside our door, and love sharing that with a wonderful man and two great little puppers.

Ask this guy how happy he is to be here:

Oh, right, what about running? Believe it or not, running is not my main priority right now. I’m taking some time off to settle in and adapt to my new life. I know that eventually I’ll be itching to start training again (Austin Marathon, anyone?). But for now… I will cherish my lazy evenings and weekends, thank you very much.

PS: Check out the new whip!