Adjusting to life in Huntsville
Well, I’m back, none the worse for wear.
I started my new job in Huntsville last week. I’m pretty homesick and missing my family, and yes, there has been some emotional eating. Luckily, this has been offset by a huge increase in physical activity due simply to the size of the plant. The walk from the parking lot to my office takes about 6 minutes, around a 1/4 mile. The cafeteria is on the opposite side of the plant and takes about 5 minutes to reach. Along with normal pit stops and chasing people down for face time, it has all added up to some pretty sore legs and feet. I’m going to need to evaluate getting some new shoes for work soon.
I actually put my gps on some of these walks to get some accurate measurements, and it looks like I get between two and three miles of walking in each day at work. One of my coworkers estimates she gets in 4-5 miles a day. That will probably increase and be more consistent as I ramp up my responsibilities.
I’m also exercising when I get back to my hotel each night. It’s a cheap-o extended-stay place so there’s no fitness center, unless you count holding your breath and sprinting in the hallways to reduce your exposure to the fumes from the meth labs.
Ahem. I keed, I keed..
But, I found a nice pond with a sidewalk circling it, nearby. And I’m doing my core exercises a couple times per week. Unfotunately, I left the scale at home, so it will be a few weeks before I get an update on the weight.
Tags: exercise, fitness, huntsville, life, workEat the cookie, don’t eat the cookie…
So, with this move to Huntsville, AL coming up, I’ve been giving the diet and exercise a good hard thought. As opposed to a soft thought, I guess.
Anyway, I’m going up about 4 months before my family so the kids can finish school. Sucks for me. But for my diet and exercise, it could be the best thing to happen in a long time, or the worst. It’s been mroe than 10 years since I lived on my own, and I did a decent job of maintaining my weight back then, but things change. Here’s where I see my opportunities and my challenges:
Pros:
- No competition for my time when I get home from work.
- No one asking to go out to a “bad” restaurant.
- No one bringing food into the house that will tempt me.
Cons:
- No one there to hold me accountable.
- No support, no one to cheer the good days.
- No one to remind me about my diet when I try to eat ribs instead of a tomato and mozzarella cheese, dipped in a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
So, yeah, this can swing either way. I’m being honest with myself and acknowledging that there WILL be a change, but it is going to be up to me to work it out.
Tags: diet, exercise, kids, lifeNow on to something completely different
So what was stressing me out earlier this week?
A frustrating negotiation around the terms of a relocation agreement. But, it’s all wrapped up now, better than I expected, and we’ll be moving. We’re in Jacksonville, Florida, home of the Jaguars, and we’re moving to Huntsville, AL, home of… something, I’m sure. 
So, it will be a different kind of stress in the coming months, along with personal and professional opportunities. On the personal front, my family will not join me until school gets out this summer. But, there’s an opportunity in this arrangement that will allow me to spend my alone-time getting plenty of exercise without the competition for time from my family, to whom I can never say “No” when it comes to my time.
Tags: exercise, life, time, workHow not to deal with stress
I’m under a huge amount of stress thanks to a life decision that will change everything for me and my family.
How’s that for an introductory sentence that grabs attention?
God willing and if the creeks don’t rise, I might actually be comfortable talking about it later. There’s one last “T” to cross though.
But, dealing with the stress - if you visit the site regularly, you may have noticed that the weight loss number hasn’t changed since late last week. That’s probably a good thing because I’m not putting weight back on, but it’s been a real struggle and I need to get past this decision to get back on track as fast as possible. I’m definitely an emotional eater, and when first faced with this possibility a few days ago, I literally got nauseous and started eating.
Oh yeah, it looks like my mother is going in for gallbladder surgery in the immediate future, and my father is having surgery in a month or so. So there’s that, too.
Tags: life, stress