A year ago, I was panicking about taking my first of four CPA exams on January 9th. We had just returned to Bozeman after spending a week with our families for the holidays. Before that, we had our honeymoon on Isla Mujeres in Mexico - flying out the same day I finished my last final exam of the semester! It was a hectic time. This holiday season was very different and I welcomed its relaxed arrival. I am so glad I'm not facing another semester of school or a CPA exam right now!
2014 didn't go very fast for me which is abnormal considering the previous five or so years seemed to zoom by. It could be because I didn't have a job for much of the year - just participated as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for a few months in the spring - and thus wasn't having to rush back and forth to school and work. I spent all of my free time studying for the CPA exam from January until August. I tried to remain active physically and socially but man, studying really burns you out. After graduating in the late spring/early summer, I spent every day from 8-5 prepping for my tests. Remy and I hung out at the house all day, me with my head in those darn review textbooks or staring at my computer screen doing hundreds of multiple choice questions, until Garrett got home. The summer was long, boring, and strenuous for me as I forced myself to stay on track. Thankfully I passed all four tests!
The only month that went quickly was September. We had to move out of our Bozeman apartment, get all of our belongings back to the Bitterroot, try to soak up as much quality time with our families and friends in ten days, drive from Montana to Alaska with a trailer packed full, hurriedly find a place to live in Anchorage, move everything in, and be to work by the first week of October. September and I were not friends. It was so stressful and emotional to move. Why didn't anyone warn me?!
I thought life would become a whirlwind after starting back up at KPMG. I anticipated immediate 60 hour workweeks and difficult projects that kept me up at night. I was nervous and wasn't sure I wanted the lifestyle I thought I'd stepped into. It couldn't have been further from the truth, however, and my first three months at KPMG have gone very well. I attended training in Arizona for two weeks right off the bat and came back to work feeling ready and capable. The people in the tax department were, and continue to be, very welcoming and understanding of my transition into the role. I'm so glad I chose a small office. It's cool to think I work for a Big Four but in an office with a local personality. I haven't had to work over 40 hours yet and my tasks have been challenging but doable. I feel like I'm in a good place and am excited about where 2015 will take me regarding my job. I'm already involved in the women's group called KNOW and, since a few of the upper-level members recently took their careers to other places, I'm starting off in a relatively important role. Hopefully my involvement will help me make friends!
Speaking of which, that's the one thing I'm struggling with right now. I've been lonely without my girlfriends. I miss having them so close. Even though I didn't spend as much time with them as I should have or could have when we lived in the same state, somehow just knowing that hanging out was even a possibility made me feel like I wasn't alone. Up here, all I can do is talk on the phone, text, send pictures or look at Instagram. I'm usually pretty good at making new friends but it's been hard to do at work. There are a bunch of great girls that I could definitely see myself getting close to, but they're all auditors and are traveling most of the time. When they're home, they lay low (I don't blame them) and spend time with their families or existing friends. I don't want to intrude on their downtime so I resist asking them to do stuff. I heard that this time of year is a little slower for them, though, so maybe I'll change my tune.
It really hit me how much I miss girlfriend time when I ventured to the 5th Avenue mall this week by myself. Garrett said he'd go with me but I didn't want to put him through that kind of torture as I shopped for work clothes. I was excited to be shopping and was in a good mood when I first got there. The mall was dead and I was grateful because shopping in crowds is probably my least favorite thing. One of the first stores I went into was GAP (which was having a ridiculously awesome sale) and I grabbed a couple things to try on. While I was in the fitting room, a heard two girls come in that were around my age. They came in chatting about something funny that happened recently, then commented about each other's cute clothing choices to try on, then made each other promise to come out and show each item to be judged. I listened as they did the typical friends-in-dressing-rooms routine of commenting whether things fit/matched their expectations/looked dumb while laughing and having an overall good time. It literally made me stop in my tracks and changed my mood entirely. GOD I miss that. Where are my dressing room friends? Who's going to tell me if the shirt I chose actually looks good? I was tempted to follow them around just to absorb some of their fun.
To solve my problem of friendlessness, I'm planning on becoming a lot more involved this year. The girl who cut my hair for me this week told me there are a lot of things to do in Anchorage that you only know of after you've lived here for a while. Supposedly there are a ton of volleyball leagues that go year-round, numerous places to play tennis inside (yay!), live music almost every weekend, and obviously a lot more to do outside once the weather improves. Hopefully my tune changes by this time next year!
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