That much coveted meet-up at Oscar's Pizza and Sports Grille with your long lost IT gang after way too much time apart, where adult beverages and salty snacks are consumed amidst chit-chat about latest news, aka gossip. Good God how I've missed those people, even more so than SUSHI.  Must attempt to work that little detail into our next meet-up.

The worst part of being a new employee during the holidays? Lack of PTO ("Paid Tme Off"). The best part of being a new employee during the holidays? Other peeps have an abundance of PTO, hence leaving the workplace considerably empty compared to non-holiday times. So this week I'm doing all kinds of online training and enjoying my personal skyscraper view with NO. COMPLAINTS. WHATSOEVER.

So I made the fatal mistake of wearing unbroken-in high heels during the first week of my new job and paid for it with an elevated iced foot all weekend long, complete with limping around the following Monday - today. No more treadmill until this situation clears up. *sigh*

In fact, my fellow teammate is a former long-time cheerleader friend of whom I have the utmost respect in too many ways to count. Who knew life would come full-circle in such an unexpected way?

Here we are at the Creighton basketball game cheering on my alma mater and celebrating 25 years of marriage together. And as I post this blog entry, I am also celebrating a new beginning with the start of my new employment this week. At the pinnacle of my life, I am feeling overwhelmingly blessed by the uplifting milestones surrounding me at this moment.

Holy new job situation! Things are just moving all crazy freight-train-like after making my final role choice (See what I did there? I'm talking HR-speak after so many months of getting schooled on the proper lingo.)

So here's my new bulleted list of key events that have taken place since my last blog post:

• Successfully completed a background screening and drug test, thus confirming I'm not some closet gangsta-druggie, but quite the opposite with the most boringly cleanest background/urine test of any other living job candidate
• Searched out and secured downtown parking accommodations and now must overcome my fear of sketchy-looking pedestrians roaming around the new-job area
• Actually TURNED DOWN requests for 2 more phone interviews for positions that have been way up there on my radar
• Also got me some more application rejections that are no less painful than before accepting an offer *ouch*
• Continued that video streaming marathon of "Friends" via Netflix, and while getting super annoyed hearing about Ross and Rachel's so-called break, I'm finding Phoebe's surrogate status even more interesting to watch now - must be that whole empty nester thing

All of these things happened today, and I am exuberant and busting at the seams, to say the very least:

• Interviewed with another highly recommended employer, then was invited to attend the second round of interviews with hiring managers
• Call with HR representative (from another company) resulted in actual JOB OFFER #1, the first in almost 7 months of job searching and also one that is way too amazing to refuse
• In less than an hour of that phone call, received a call from yet another HR representative (ANOTHER company) with JOB OFFER #2, one that is also unturndownable
• Husker Dude returned for a quick weekend visit, and we toasted today's good fortune over homemade pizza, complete with hugs & high-fives

So yeah, if I weren't so shocked and in disbelief at this super-fortunate turn of events, I'd probably be dancing on the table to a funky Prince playlist. (Although, it just might happen yet!)  But for now, I'm feeling blessed and thankful to be able to breathe again.