April 2010 – Part One

I was reminded recently that my monthly blogging goal has fallen behind, but I’ll tell you something…moving across the country…it is hard, and stressful, and time consuming. Don’t let anyone ever tell you anything different. Also, I’ve got pictures to go along with some of this, but because I don’t have my computer or cables I haven’t uploaded any yet. So, pictures to follow…eventually.

So I was offered a new job in Philadelphia on March 30th and gave my official acceptance on the 31st. I also tendered my resignation to my boss who was very supportive, but not very happy. For the next 2 ½ weeks she would ask me every day, “Have you changed your mind, yet?” or “You know they have a lot of Catholics in Philadelphia, are you sure you want to go?” or occasionally even, “This is a huge mistake, you should just stay.” Always said half in fun, at least half serious.

Because I was leaving this job on good terms I put in a lot of work to make sure all my major projects were closed or appropriately handed off, spent hours and hours making a binder for the new team member with all the information they would need to do my job, and saying goodbye. I worked really long hours, and was absolutely exhausted every night. And that was just at work.

At home, I decided to pack only the “necessities” in my car and leave everything else for later. I wasn’t able to cancel my lease so I decided to help alleviate some of my stress by not worrying about moving all my furniture immediately. I decided to sell my washer/dryer and pack up as much as I could before I left, knowing that I would have to be back in Utah to close out my lease in June.

I got a fair amount of packing done; mostly it will just be packing those darn odds and ends and cleaning.

My last day of work was scheduled for April 16th and I planned to leave for Philly on the 18th.

It seemed like so much time, and yet, it ended up being so little. I was totally exhausted.

Doing It's Part

I left my front door unlocked while I ran out to get some food. I knew I'd only be gone 10 minutes, and the cable guy was wandering around somewhere on the roof fixing my reception, so I left it unlocked.

When I got back, the front door was wide open the cable guy totally gone, but alas even though the Universe is trying to help me out, my possessions were still where I left them. Sigh.

March 2010

The short version:

I got a job offer the last week of March and am moving to Philadelphia in April! Everything else will have to wait until I have a quiet moment to gather my thoughts!

I will say this, I'm both super excited and very sad. I think this is going to be a great adventure, a very good thing for me, and as my Scottish friend said, "You just fancy a change?" Yes Rich, that sums it up beautifully. I fancy a change.

Sad because of all the great friends and especially family that I'm leaving behind. But I'll be back in June/July and I fully expect a lot of visitors. After I have an actual place to live and I'm not living like a hobo, that is!

February 2010

I’ve spend a good amount of time giving my friends and family a hard time about blogging more, and while I think they have an infinitely easier job (cute kids, doing cute things = easier, and also more interesting, entries) I’ve decided to do at least a monthly recap, lest they decide turnabout is fair play.

So...February. It is a good thing that February is such a short month because it is the month where I just can’t take it anymore! I’m itching for spring weather, sunshine, and other wonderful things that aren’t the bleak, dark, cold suckiness of short days and winter weather.

February started out with a huge possibility of a job offer that never materialized. In fact the folks I interviewed with didn’t contact me, and eventually reposted the job mid-month. Another job opportunity was posted, I applied, and after a mediocre interview they at least told me, “No thank you.” I used the time to curse the moving gods and specifically spell out timelines to make it work and feel like I have a plan.

The month ended with an email from the recruiter saying that the job req had been cancelled and reissued and I should reapply. Sigh...so, I did.

In the meantime, there was the Super Bowl (which I didn’t watch) along with a party (which I greatly enjoyed). I don’t know if I can tell you really who played, let alone who won, but I did eat a lot of really tasty food, and have a lot of really fun conversation. I really do have the best family, and I love hanging out with them.

Also making February tolerable: The Olympics. Really, I don’t think I need to talk about my love for them, and now I have become a rabid fan of both the biathlon (They have to ski penalty laps! On a little penalty track! I love it!), and curling. Seriously, I don’t understand the rules at all, but I love the Norwegian teams’ pants, and how every player is mic’d and you can hear all of the team conversation. I also enjoy that there is an Olympic sport which you can successfully participate in while 7 months pregnant. Rock On Curlers of the World!

I love the Olympics, I really do, but it seems as though Vancouver was the red-headed stepchild of Olympic Games in recent memory. Nothing really worked quite right, the venues had more than the normal amount of problems (from the mechanical failure during the torch-lighting, to the lack of bathrooms and concessions, to the dangerous bobsled track that caused a tragic death) and everything seemed...just really low-budget, and unsafe.

I was so eye-coveringly embarrassed by parts of the closing ceremonies that I just had to turn if off. I mean really: dancing, Rockette-kicking Mounties (so out-of-sync, why didn’t they take lessons from Beijing Organizing Committee)...Michael Buble lip-synching really, really, poorly (think Ashley Simpson during her Saturday Night Live debacle)...and half-nekkid maple leaves twisting around. Not to mention the painfully unfunny bits by Catherine O’Hara and Michael J. Fox. Eek! And don’t even look at the giant inflatable beaver and moose, so reminiscent of the terrible, terrible bear from the Opening Ceremonies.





And last, but not least, in February a move that was thankfully not mine.


So February was kind of a mixed bag of events, but March is off to a quick start. Even though it is snowing today. Stupid snow! I also promise a list of books I’ve read so far this year with at least a one sentence review coming in the next couple of weeks. And if you’re lucky a recap of job status and job potential.

THE OLYMPICS!

You all already know how much I love the Olympics, especially the Opening Ceremonies where we pay respect to all the athletes and their hopes, dreams and accomplishments. Most of them won't win any medals, won't be named in any news stories, but for those few moments during the Parade of Nations anything is possible for them. I love it! And I might be getting teary just thinking about it.

Shut up!

But this is a terrible, terrible bear. It is the old ceramic Dalmatian from Wheel of Fortune that they were forced to buy because they still had $250 dollars left...


And while the ceremonies were a little more subdued after Nodar Kumaritashvili's death earlier in the day, they were still very, very cool. Except for the terrible bear, of course.

January 2010

So, let’s face it. 2009 sucked. Hard.

It actually started way back in November of 2008. I was involved in a hit and run accident that left me unharmed, but totaled my car. My car. That I’d had for 10 years and loved. That was completely paid off. Three days after I bought new tires and renewed the registration.

I started 2009 with a new-to-me-car and car payment. Sucked. The first quarter was fairly insignificant. I now had a car payment, which put a little strain on my budget, and then in April I got the news from my landlord that they would be raising my rent, again, at the end of my lease term. So, I decided to move somewhere less expensive, save some money and use it to go back to school. The hunt was on.

The complex I decided on was brand new, with a glorious layout. Bottom floor, no stairs, nice and shiny brand new. The downside (during the initial decision making process) was that it was waaaaaay out west, in the boondocks. I figured from my time as a home owner in the boondocks that I would readjust and everything would be fine.

It wasn’t. I hated the location from day one. Then the neighbors started in with the wall-shaking bass pounding from their stereo and video games. I complained. Politely. They responded. The way you expect white trash to respond. The police became involved, as did the management. Finally, after needing a police escort to go home, management decided to evict them. And then, they didn’t. Sucked.

After weeks of half-truths and full on lies from them, I reminded management that a contract went both ways, and they had legal obligations to me as well. They let me out of my lease and I moved. Again. It would have been cheaper to stay downtown and suck up the new rent increase.

The new place is adequate. It’s fine. It’s the same management company (it was the trade-off to breaking my lease) and I hate them. I decided I wouldn’t stay after my lease was up this summer.

My job was growing increasingly frustrating, leaving me unhappy and work and unhappy at home.

I had been saying for a couple of years that if my brother went someplace cool for grad school I would move too. He went someplace cool to grad school, and the more dissatisfaction I felt the more it seemed viable to actual pick up and move cross country. The call of easy, convenient travel, a big city, and family nearby to help me get settled and ease homesickness became stronger and stronger.

The decision to just go for it was made in late December/early January. I had several phone interviews with a group in Philadelphia. The last weekend of January they flew me out for a final interview. It went fine, but I was underwhelmed, and I think they were as well. Don’t get me wrong. This job....I could rock it, but the people didn’t jive. They were perfectly lovely, but I found myself thinking that I didn’t have anything in common with them, and if I took this (mostly fluff-filled) job I would have neither the satisfaction of challenging work, nor the fulfillment from a great connection with co-workers. I flew home less than sure of my decision to pursue the opportunity to move.

Despite all of that, January was good. A successful month. A month where I feel as though I’m making decisions and moving toward something.

The few days I spent with T3 were fun, and the kids were about the cutest things ever. I will always remember a certain someone in a little pink coat dancing through the parking lot, tugging on her dad's hand, and so excited to have me eat dinner that my plate was set rightnext to her's. And the baby laughing uproariously and adorably for no reason other than to make me laugh back. I loved spending time with them, and getting a feel for what living there would really be like. Of seeing how it has worked for them, and how much they enjoy it there. Of being able to babysit in exchange for a Sunday dinner and stuffing everyone in the car to drive to New Jersey to touch jellyfish and sharks.

Bring on February...I’m ready, and more positive about my future than I’ve been in a long time.

Congratulations T4