Out with the Gang

One of the hardest things to get used to with the "new" job (it's been 2 months now, so I don't think I can continue to call it new) is the after-work socializing. In my previous job, I lived in Chapel Hill while most of my coworkers lived in Raleigh or Cary, so after-work socializing was pretty minimal. We had a group that would do the blockbuster sci-fi and comic book movies with dinner but that was about it. Working from home made it even less likely that I'd meet folks for drinks after work. With so many people traveling to work up here (true both for my company and for my customer) there's a lot of after-work going out for drinks happening - I got pulled into that a couple of times last week with going-away parties for a couple of guys. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy it (for the most part), but with J in town and with me having way more work than I can get done during the day, it creates a strain. And of course it's always during the week, never the weekend, when I'm more likely to be interested in doing something if J isn't in town.

The going out with the guys from work is a good thing - the going out with my customer is more of a strain. Less of the latter please...