Lillith EOY 2011: Work Health LIfe Balance

After two years in Massachusetts I finally feel like we are really settled in and live here. We are still in an apartment in Dudley which is very convenient to Zarah’s high school and is quite affordable for the space we have. We are looking at moving a little closer to Boston and to a place where we can have the alpacas with us once Zarah graduates in 2013. Until then I have the equivalent of a half time job commuting to work in the city, mostly on the commuter rail; two and a half hours each way. I drive one day a week which can be shorter time wise, only an hour and a half if things go well, but risks running into bad traffic. I read, nap, work and talk to friends on the train. Eventually moving closer will make it easier on both Zarah and me as she is likely to be attending school in Boston.

Until then the alpacas are housed on some nice grassy space in Uxbridge with a lovely caretaker. They are too far away for us to see them as often as we would like to. The alpacas are a whole story of their own and I wrote a lot about them during 2011. There were a variety of health problems in the herd that we struggled with both time and money wise this year. I have spent time figuring out how to get the fiber we have in storage processed and turned into product we can sell, that effort is still ongoing. For more fun stuff about the alpacas, check out my posts on www.alpacasofavalon.com to read about how baby Irene arrived in a hurricane and to see videos we made about fiber and sorting. We are starting to have a little bit of product on hand and I’ll get it posted for sale sometime.

We almost bought a house back in the spring, but the deal fell through because they just could not figure out who really owned the seller’s mortgage. They kept delaying the deal and coming back for more and more money. We backed out and decided to stay put for now.

I am very grateful to have been employed steadily for the last 18 months. From October 2010 to November 2011 I worked at the State of Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure on a contract as a Sr. Business Analyst. It was a good gig, but then in November the phone call came with the offer I just couldn’t refuse. When you work contract in Information Technology, there is a stream of incoming phone calls and emails offering other contract work. I have a routine polite brush off for those offers when I am already on a contract, but this phone call was different. They were recruiting for a full time job, at Boston University, for an OnBase developer. The first two elements would have been enough to peak my interest, but getting a job working with OnBase is a dream come true for me.

I learned OnBase and became a certified system administrator on it back in Arizona when I was working at the Superior Court and I absolutely love the software. It is a very sophisticated electronic document management system which also incorporates workflow capability and it is highly configurable. The vendor company Hyland is a great place to work and they offer a fantastic level of support and training. When we moved east in 2010 my original plan was to shop my resume around to OnBase resellers and places that were using OnBase to get a job working with the software. Stuff happened and I didn’t follow through with my plan. I did other work, mostly analysis. So to get a cold phone call to do OnBase workflow development as a full time job was a totally awesome opportunity. I am so thrilled to have my hands back in some development work as well as doing the discovery, analysis and documentation.

I started at Boston University on December first and so far I absolutely love it. The culture is eclectic and emphasizes ongoing learning, training, work life balance, and working in teams. My management team is fantastic and I am really excited to be there. There are some pretty amazing benefits too, particularly college tuition available for both myself and Zarah. I’m thinking about pursuing a graduate degree or maybe just taking some classes for fun. If Zarah decides she wants a full university education, Boston U is a great school with lots of program options and we only have to come up with 10% of the tuition for her to go. I wish my base salary was higher, but the economy is tough. Every employer is asking employees to do more work for less money. Higher Ed has never been a sector that offers high salaries. At least I really love what I am doing and the pace is manageable.

I couldn’t do this commute and work schedule without Jonathan. He makes sure I get up in the morning, drives me back and forth to the train, and lets me collapse when I get home on weekday evenings and then feeds me good home cooked meals. It is really ‘our’ job that I go to and I am so grateful for his logistical and spiritual support. He also facilitates the girls getting where they need to and keeps the household running smoothly. I’m amazed at how much videotaping and editing work he has been able to do with his remaining time.
Having the girls at home is wonderful. We four live together very comfortably. Zarah is my Daughter and Selena is my Other Daughter. They contribute to the household chores, pursue their interests, see their friends and are just generally delightful to live with. Hearing Selena’s stories about the animals at the EcoTarium is a weekly treat. Watching Zarah’s steadily developing skills at art and sewing is inspirational. I am very proud of both of them.

Having good health insurance coverage for the last year and also access to a wide variety of medical professionals, I’ve spent some time and energy over the last year working on some long standing health issues that I have had. Just before Thanksgiving I got some definitive news from a rheumatologist. He said I have the most classic case of fibromyalgia that he has ever run across. For many years I’ve thought I had arthritis, but I don’t. The Fibro syndrome actually pulls a lot of disparate symptoms and issues together and explains them as really being one thing. I am kind of relieved to know what it is, to have a label. It has given me something to work on to feel better and knowledge about what my reasonable limitations really are.

I have actually had fibro for a long time, it just got worse recently as often happens for women my age. It isn’t life threatening, and most of all, I’m not crazy or a hypochondriac. Rest really is the answer to feeling better a lot of the time. I’m currently working on improving my sleep quality and also started making some recommended adjustments to my nutrition. There is more to learn and try, more Docs to talk to. Meantime I’ve cut back on my optional commitments, focus on getting to work, and getting to bed on time. Jonathan and the girls have been very understanding and forgiving about my energy and pain levels. I’ve actually been living with this for a long time without knowing what it was. Having something clear to work on is a good thing.

2012 will be about settling in at Boston University, stabilizing our financial outlook, and continuing to enjoy the company of friends and family. Now that I have some paid vacation time again, we may even get to do some travelling out to visit folks west of here that we miss very much. Best wishes to you for a prosperous and happy New Year!

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