I love pie!

Have I ever mentioned my huge weakness for pie? Huge. Specifically fruit pies: apple, cherry, peach, blackberry and even blueberry--oh, and cobbler. Cobbler is also delectable.

Today is my 3 day mark of working in the real world. I've survived my new job 3 days. I have 2 more days and then I will have survived a week.

That is why I am eating pie. Well, that, and my Aunt Nancy makes the best fruit pies ever. They're also healthy, due to a sufficient lack of over-sugarizing it, so the guilt-factor is way, way down.

I don't have a lot to say on the subject of work, seeing as I've only had 3 days of it, but it is going to be hard and a lot of work and I think I'm going to like it a lot. One of my first assignments includes interviewing every member of the Ohio Statehouse legislature (99 Reps, 33 Senators), all of whom are up for re-election in the fall minus half the Senate, as well as the Governor. Next year is a Budget year too, so this is going to be a ruthless next few months.

I'm staying with my cousin and her family this week until I move into my apartment this weekend. I get to play with her 7 month baby, which makes me so happy. I love babies. I helped raise all my siblings, spent the last 3 years with the 5 Siegels kids and now I'm going to feel baby deprived for a while since my cousins are moving to GA in 3 weeks, where my cousin's husband is going to practice medicine (he specializes in ENT). I'm reading 3 books right now, which is a little naughty, only because I am trying to read sequentially, but I think multi-reading (a form of multi-tasking) is a habit I picked up in college, and not easily broken. I haven't been writing as much as I've wanted, but I only graduated 3 weeks ago and they've all been a blur. I have been writing letters, though, and thank you notes. I do love writing letters and look forward to writing lots this summer.

My June is booked, as of today. My cousins are coming to Columbus the first weekend; I go to training for Buckeye with Laura (the other journalist hired) the second week with the other reporters from the other 49 state-based think tanks; Michigan the third week for a Hillsdale friend's wedding (Cara, who used to coach soccer with me!); home the fourth week for Muff's Shakespeare performance on Friday and a triple party on Saturday (Mike's high school graduation party, my graduation party and my parents' 25th wedding anniversary party).

I went to a luncheon today where my boss was the keynote speaker and all I can think about is how much work I'm going to be doing and how needed my work is to help turn around Ohio. Perhaps that over exaggerates my importance in the scheme of things, but I like knowing I'll be helping contribute to an accountability in government and a chipping away at an ignorance too many constituents (myself readily included) have about state and local politics, as well as help make much needed reformations. If Ohio does not increase anything in the budget next year, for example, at this point, we'll still be 8 million dollars in debt even before we've started spending more money. That makes me a little sick to my stomach.

Here's to eating pie!