After almost a year and a half...

I FINALLY got a job.

I'm very excited because I'm basically making the same amount I made working for the bookstore that I was laid off at.

I don't have to wear a uniform - this is the first place of employment where I won't be wearing any kind of uniform so you can imagine how freakin' excited I am.

I get to use the cash register and I get to hang out with dogs all day. There's even a dog that stays in the store that I kind of got attached to; he belongs to the owner and he's kind of old, you can see the gray in his face, but he's really sweet and for some reason, during the interview, I was the only one who was willing to pet him.

I don't know what it was that got me the job but it was a group interview and I was...myself. I told everyone about my dad and how ever since he's died, I promised to live my life as much as I can. I talked about my work ethic and how I always try to find more things to do.

I'm nervous about how tomorrow is going to go (tomorrow's my first day). I don't want to disappoint my boss or make her regret hiring me. I want to do well and keep this job FOR A VERY LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG TIME.

Since I now have a job, I can start blogging about food again.

I know that I'm going to have to manage my time even more now and spend less time with Ian, more time with my mom (this isn't a choice) and my friends.

I'm looking forward to having a job again because I won't feel so useless.

One thing that's always been hard to explain to my friends and my mom is that not having a job means not having stable income. Not having stable income means not having money to put on my bus pass. Not being able to put a lot of money on my bus pass means not a lot of traveling, which means I can't go here, there and everywhere to be with my friends.

I know one friendship has definitely been strained since I started dating Ian and this person will never know how difficult it is to manage everything when you're in a relationship, or when you've gotten into a relationship after such a long time until he's in one.

My relationships with all of the people in my life are really important and I don't want to lose any of my friends or damage my friendships so I'm going to work even harder to spend time with them. Even if that means sacrificing time with Ian. The only thing I worry about is him hanging out with someone I really do not like based on things I've heard and things I've seen. I think what bothers me even more is that even though I've told Ian I think this person is a bad influence or has the possibility of being a bad influence, he still hangs out with him. He doesn't have many friends so I can't really blame him but when I put myself back in my shoes, I always wonder what they're doing when they're together and what horrible things Ian might be saying about me.

I try not to think about it because this is the kind of crap that could start unnecessary arguments.