So that whole 30-day challenge has sort of gone out the window, but not without good reason. I’ve been much too busy the last week preparing to change jobs. I was a little surprised to see that I hadn’t shared this with you all, but I was promoted last week. I’ll start my new position on Wednesday.

I’ve been a data entry and service support technician for the last five years (full-time in summers and winter breaks, and part-time through my final five semesters). This is a fancy way of saying I enter hundreds of trips and fuel receipts for large (and small) trucking companies for tax reporting purposes. I also helped out with other projects in the department that mean nothing to anybody who doesn’t work with me, but whatever: I helped out with file audits, title tracking, prepared quarterly tax reports, base plate renewals – lots of really fun and interesting things. In my new position, I will working directly with two of our major clients (a large electric company and a wine (!) company) to assist with their compliance  of federal, state, and local regulations. My new position comes with more responsibilities and probably a lot of unique challenges as I’m trained and beginning to learn and understand the regulations that are relevant to my clients. I’ll also be making a bit more money than my last position and I have a full benefit package also. It’s like I’m an adult or something.

In other exciting news, I’ve been nominated by the uniquely witty Jess over at Mitten’s Blog Stop for the Lovely Blog award. This is my first blogger-nominated award, other than being Freshly Pressed a few weeks ago. Though I don’t blog for the glamour and prestige, it’s nice to be recognized by bloggers I respect and enjoy reading.

I guess the rules of this award are  that you thank and link the person who nominated you, write 7 things about yourself, and then nominate people in turn and tell them!

So…seven things about me:

1.  I’m currently reading DFW’s Infinite Jest and my environment has to be completely silent for me to concentrate and appreciate his novel with 50 conflicts and roughly 250 characters. I might be exaggerating, but my point is that it’s a very complex novel and I wish I had a week to lock myself up without any distractions so I could plow through the thing.
2. I just had a Christmas party with two of my closest friends. We had brunch for dinner, exchanged gifts, and drank champagne.
3. I took four semesters of Russian in college and remember close to nothing.
4. I’m planning a vacation for spring break with my best friend. We’re hoping LivingSocial will give us a good deal on an all inclusive resort someplace hot and exotic where we can have short-lived romances with foreign boys.
5. I have a strange fascination with Kanye West. I wouldn’t call myself a fan because I listen to his music with when I’m not feeling like myself. Kanye is the soundtrack to my existential crises (breakups, drunk nights, jogging, etc).
6. Virtually all of the fiction I have ever written is memoir in a bad costume. I used to think I just wasn’t very creative and then I learned that memoir and personal narrative are legitimate art forms.
7. I was born on Leap Day, so technically, I’m only six.

I think Jess said I’m supposed to nominate 15 bloggers for this award, but really? Fifteen? That’s like…all of the blogs I read. Though I appreciate all the wonderful posts and content I read, I think that awards should be selective and reflect those bloggers who I truly think have Lovely Blogs. My nominees are as follows:

• Becoming Mindy (New to the blogging community, but a talented poet and writer nonetheless)
• The Siren’s Tale (Found her via Twitter and I love both her tweets and her blogs)
• Magnified Whisper (meandering, insightful – very enjoyable to read)
• Fun Fit 5k Plus (Written entirely in verse, it’s a lovely peek into someone else’s life)
• Do Not Get Sick in the Sink, Please (hilarious, insightful, a bit naughty but always a joy to read)

I would love to nominate Jess because I truly love and admire her posts, but I’d hate to start an award-war (reminiscent of the once-charming “poke wars” on Facebook). Regardless, congratulations to my nominees! Feel free to just accept the award, repost it & nominate your own choices, or display the award on your blog.

I’d like to thank everyone who reads and supports me in my blogging endeavor. It means so much to have a group of friends and family like you guys.