What IS That Girl Up To?

'What in the world is that Sunny doing with herself?' you may be asking.

(Or maybe you're asking who ate the last piece of pie. Well... maybe that's what I've been doing with myself. Har-de-har - NO PIE FOR YOU! It's all in my belly.)**1

Well... it's been very busy in SunnyLand.

You may have noticed that The Blog is looking ever so slightly different than it did in the past. It's lost its pleasant green-iness, and has instead adopted the look of a doodled-upon notepad.

(It's very apropo, you know. My note pads are almost always full of doodle.)

Well... there's a lot of explaining that goes into the changes.

And it's long and boring and involved and not terribly funny. So I'll let you use your imagination to come up with something better than the actual tale.

But what I will tell you is that I had this revelation**2 a few weeks ago on my drive home.

My route home heads almost directly west. And at this time of year, so close to the vernal equinox, the sun is setting at just about the time I drive home.

 

Which means, for a short period of time in the spring, each evening I quite literally leave the office and drive into the sunset.

 

That realization got me to thinking.

 

(Scary, I know.)

 

See, my evening commutes towards the blazing red sky are so peaceful. Perhaps because, at this end of the year, I know that the days will only get longer and that there will only be more sunlight to brighten my waking hours. The darkness will fade and hope will rise again.

(Winter gets pretty sucky in northern New England.)

One evening, while mellowing in that hope, I'm able to reflect on what a cranky little snot I've been of late.

 

Sure, I can offer you all sorts of excuses for my behavior, culminating in the fact that 2013 hasn't been nearly the pleasant year it should have been.

 

(As a matter of fact, it's been full of suck and awful.)

 

But all that suck and awful around makes it all the more important for me to put my Sunniest face forward.

 

Really, I haven't had too awful much to complain about lately. I've got food in my belly, warm clothes on my back, gasoline in my tank and a Boyfriend of Amazingness to make me taco salad and cocktails at the end of the night.

 

It's crazy, but it's true. 

 

For instance, recently...

The most curmudgeonly curmudgeon I know blushed and giggled as we solved a problem together.

He *giggled*. 

That's not abysmal.

 

But instead of focusing on that anti-abysmality, I've been all moody and self-absorbed.

 

I know I can do better. There's a new Sunny that's making herself known around these parts. At this new office, I'm able to shed the old skin of "Just The Junior Admin," and become a new person complete with responsibilities and the respect of my coworkers. Just a couple weeks ago, I spent four days elbow-deep in a backlog of filing. But as the end drew nigh, there were thanks and trophies and booze in recompense for my efforts.**3 Now I get to handle projects all on my own. Hell... I'm even qualified to help wrangle some of our most difficult residents hereabouts. And they thank me, too.

 

It's just a different world around here.

 

Sure, there will always be people who are tough to be around. And there will always be new toughness to take on. But there's a heaping helping of sunshiney-ness, too.

 

And really, that's what's important to share.

 

So, with that in mind, I've stripped down Dear EngineerFriend to its comedic bones.

 

It's true: DearEngineerFriend has been revamped into lackadaisy chain - the musings and ramblings of all my lifetime undertakings, instead of just those within my workplace. I'm hopeful that it will lead to new and exciting adventures in writing, and will leave you all with a more positive image of me than the snarky, discontented admin from before.

 

Of course, not everything will change. You'll still get the blurbs about Boyfriend of Amazingness... you'll still hear about the shenanigans of the NeighborSpawn... and, of course, there will always be tales from workland. But you'll also get new and exciting content, fresh from my brainpan as often as I can provide it.

 

And so, together, we embark on this new creative adventure. 

 

I wore my adventure socks and everything.

 

Thank you for everything, ReaderFriends. I wouldn't be here without you.

 

With Love,

Sunny Smiles

**1 Actually... I haven't been eating any pie. Instead, I've been eating as healthy as I can. Stupid medication with its stupid fat-making. Dislike.

**2 I am incapable of typing 'revelation' without first spelling it 'relevation' and then backspacing and fixing it. Don't know why... And, actually, I'm not even sure why I'm telling you. But it seemed important when it happened.**4

**3 There was also an overabundance of blood. Seriously... is it possible to file without losing at least a pint through your lacerated fingertips?

 

**4 See what I mean? Lots of musings. All over the place. All lackadaisy-like.