Since the new year is right around the corner, I thought this would be a good time to take stock of what I’ve accomplished this year. Later this week I’ll write about plans for the future.

• A little over nine months ago I took a new job in Richardson, leaving education for the bright lights of industry.  I’m an instructional designer with a SaaS corporation, creating client-facing training.  I really like the team I work with.  My teammates are a blessing.
• The job is very different from anything I’ve done before.  In education every project was different, but now everything I create has to meet a department standard. It’s odd trying to hit the same goals repeatedly, but the group needs reliability, quality, and scalability.  The approach makes sense, even if I have minor quibbles with picky details in our standard.
• It’s also very different being in a position where I’m not expected to lead. I occasionally manage a project, but for the first time ever I’m not in the thick of policy decisions. I don’t decide the future of the group, I don’t set standards, and I don’t evaluate my staff.  I don’t have a budget or even much budgetary input.  Surprisingly, I kind of like it.  Don’t get me wrong, I have a voice. But making leadership decisions is not part of my job description.
• File under Blast from the Past — I’m teaching part-time at my old school, for the art department!  Back where it all began. It’s strange, and odd, and fabulous all at once.
• Also in Past (but not necessarily Blast) I’ve moved into my parent’s house, partially to save on rent, and partially because they’re getting older. The peace-of-mind I get from being here is worth the commute and the occasional frustration.
• Sadly I haven’t lost weight, but not for lack of trying.  I cook at least three nights a week, often four or five nights.  I haven’t reaped many benefits, but my parents have both improved their A1C numbers. My Dad also has better cholesterol score and has lost a little weight. (Probably because he doesn’t like my strange cooking.  Quinoa, he tells me, is NOT the “new rice” regardless of my claims to the contrary.)
• In the facing phobias department, I’ve seen a doctor for the first time in years. Happily, I’m not (yet) diabetic, and my cholesterol is surprisingly within the normal range.
• In the REALLY facing phobias department, I saw a dentist who (in conjunction with an anesthesiologist) knocked me out for six hours and fixed issues I’ve been avoiding for years. Now I just have to pay for it.