The Modern Love Machine and I went over to our friends’ house to help celebrate a birthday this past weekend, and while driving over there we plotted how we’d share the news with our friends. The revealing went down as planned. The hostess, our dear friend Sarah, chatted with us a bit and then offered us beer. The MLM said, ‘Well first we have some news,’ throwing in a long dramatic pause. Sarah, who is about as disinterested in having kids as a person can be, doubled over and then backed away slowly, as if whatever was going on with me might be contagious.**

No, we’re not pregnant. I’m not even going to mention how much we don’t want to be pregnant because I don’t want to remotely tempt or dare the universe to make me eat my words. Suffice it to say, modern babies are not in the plans for now.

The news that has kept me quieter than usual here, on Facebook, on Twitter and in life in general lately is that I have a new job, and not just a new job, but a bit of a career shift. This news may seem relatively benign compared to being or not being pregnant, but I’ve been in my current job for five years, with my current company for seven years and in this particular career for a decade, so this is a major flux in my own personal universe.

I said at the end of 2011 that I expected this new year to be a relatively static one for me, as in no major life changes. I also said I would start working on more subtle changes in my life that might lead to bigger things. I had no idea at the time that small, subtle steps would open me up to a major change so soon. Apparently all the universe needed was a nudge, and through a few left turns I discovered my soon-to-be new job. It’s a fantastic opportunity that I think is going to prove to be a great fit for me — so great that I’m having a hard time believing it’s all worked out so swimmingly. (Seriously, what’s the catch, universe?)***

I’m experience such a range of emotions about the transition that I might as well be pregnant, though. I’ve been bursting-at-the-seams excited about the new job and frustrated that I haven’t been able to talk about it until now. I’m thrilled about working with some smart, creative, cool people in an exciting field. At the same time I’m already sad about giving up certain aspects of my current job and am fairly traumatized about parting ways with my current manager and some of my co-workers who are like family to me. Not to mention, with my closest colleagues being 200 miles away and some much, much farther, ‘giving notice’ and letting everyone know I’m leaving has been a painful, drawn-out process of awkward phone calls and e-mails, and that process has made it hard to sleep for several nights in a row.****

I’m not going to be a total tease here and tell you I’ve got a new job without (finally) telling you what I have been doing all these years and what I will be doing moving forward. I want to give that info its own due in its own post, which I’ll do once I’ve wrapped up a few more things at work. I’m excited about sharing some major context about my life that’s been missing from this blog ever since it transformed from an impersonal blog to a personal one. I guess my universe is shifting in more ways than one.

**We are awful people, but her reaction was predictable, hilarious and worth it.
***No, seriously, what’s the catch?
****This post brought to you by a 4 a.m. sleepless spell.