This is something I’ve been keeping close to my chest for awhile. Corner has accepted a new job with the Asian Longhorn Beetle program in New York City! We are leaving Monterey in two weeks. That means we are getting ready to make the second cross-country move in 2 years. Moving never seems to get any easier, but at least this time I have enough money saved for all of the deposits we’ll need to make on a new place in NYC. We’re also getting a ReloCube to send boxes full of our stuff, so my poor car won’t be packed to the gills (no furniture is making the move though…I have a feeling our new place is going to be the size of a walk-in closet).
Hopefully all these moving expenses don’t knock me off track on paying back the rest of my student loans over the next 9 months. Alas. And here I really wanted to treat myself to a new pair of Cole Haan Air Melanie boots. And a bag for my skates. And new skate plates. And new wheels. Sigh.
Roller derby has been consuming my life for the past few weeks and I just can’t get enough of it. It’s unfortunate that just as I feel like I’m getting the hang of things and getting to know all of the wonderful Monterey Bay Derby Dames, I am leaving the area. You can bet your ass I’ll be at the Gotham Girls‘ tryouts in November.
I am pretty sad to be leaving my job and colleagues at MIIS, too. Could I have asked for a better first job? I have my own office, loads of responsibilities (including supervising a few part-time employees), and an entire week off between Christmas and New Year’s. And who knew I would be managing the redesign of a higher ed institution’s website less than a year out of undergrad? Not me. I guess they had a lot of faith in me, and I am thankful for that. Telling my boss that I am leaving reminded me of breaking up with a boyfriend you still like. I’ve been slowly emptying out my office and walking around in a bit of a daze. There are so many projects to finish up…and only one week left! Aahhhhh!!
Also, as I’m sure everyone already knows, finding a new job is hard. Not to mention I am in the middle of my grad school apps. Let’s just say I’m one big ball of stress at the moment. Luckily my portfolio and resume are in pretty good shape and I already took the GRE; all I have to worry about are letters of recommendation and my personal statement. This may not sound like a lot, but the personal statement is turning out to be pretty difficult, especially now that I feel like I’m under a lot of pressure to get accepted to the programs I’m looking at in New York City.
And on top of all this, Dad and Robin are arriving on Saturday to visit for a week; Corner’s parents and aunt (who is visiting from Scotland) will be driving up in their RV to spend some time with us starting on Monday; and Robin’s son (Rob) will be driving up from L.A. for a short day trip. They’ve all had this trip planned for awhile, but the fact that Corner and I are getting ready to move sort of changes everything.
I know that everything will turn out fine, but there’s a lot of looming “to do’s” at the moment.
Deep breaths. If I knew how everything was going to turn out, life wouldn’t be any fun, would it?
So to end this entry on a positive note….a list of New York-related things that I am super excited about:
- Corner getting rid of his stupid car
- going camping on the trip across the country
- stopping in Michigan to see my mom and Kathy, who I haven’t seen in almost a YEAR!
- getting Nigel a haircut in the Midwest (where it will cost $35 instead of $50)
- seeing how Nigel reacts to SNOW!
- watching Nigel figure out that yes, he really does have to poop on concrete
- going ice skating at that famous place in NYC (this is how bad it is….I am moving to a place that I have never even VISITED! oh wait…this is a list of good things!)
- experiencing seasons again
- THUNDERSTORMS!
- fog being a rarity and not the norm
- not driving
- finding a kickass apartment
- seeing how big my 47″ TV seems in our itty-bitty new apartment
- discovering oodles of awesome restaurants
- meeting more people who are my age
- CULTURE! ART! STUFF TO DO!
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
You’re leaving Midd/MIIS too? Congrats and good luck!
I didn’t take any furniture with me when I moved, either. Haha. Hope it still works out that you can come visit.
Totally! I had just finished telling Corner how I absolutely needed to go overseas sometime next year and then you were like, “Come visit!” Soooo it’s going to happen, even if I have to take unpaid time off. I am excited! I just gotta get through a giant move, grad school apps, and a job search first. ;)
You forgot another great thing about moving to NYC–being around other PW alums so you can get together monthly and network!!
How could I forget that?! This clearly demonstrates how scatterbrained I am at the moment. My PW contacts in the NYC area have proved to be an invaluable resource already!
Kristen! This was a very highly anticipated post. Congratulations on new beginnings! I just wanted to say that you did a fantastic job at MIIS and have been a very positive person to work with. I look forward to keeping in touch with you via the Internet and your new adventures in NYC! I’m so glad that you’ve taken to roller derby; I have that same obsession with pole dancing. Yes, it’s kinda dangerous but it’s fun and a great group of people to hang out with. I have also never been to the big city and will be there next weekend! Good luck with the school applications and I have no doubt that you will do really great things!
We are all going to miss you terribly out here, but I have no doubt that you will love NYC and have great success there!
What an adventure! A stressful one, but I’m sure everything will fall into place. Let me know if you would like any feedback on your personal statement. I found it the hardest part of the application process.
I would love that! I will drop you a line when I have a working draft.
I second all of this!
Is the ice-skating place you speak about Rockefeller Center? :) I live so close to the city and have never done it. I plan on doing it this December though. There are seasons for sure in New York and the best if you are in the city is it’s a short drive to the mountains. I live at the base of the Catskills and though I’m not a huge fan of NYC, it’s nice to know I can be there in 3 1/2 hours if I want to experience it for a weekend.
It’s always funny to see people coming east as I’ve been trying to get jobs on the opposite coast to experience something new!