I promised more blogging...and haven't been back since.
I promised more blogging...and haven't been back since.
It has been over a year since I have blogged! I am not good at keeping things up.
Okay, okay, I owe an apology or two… So I know I said I was going to update when I was out in NJ although I failed to do so :( Also, I have been slacking since I got back from NJ on October 28, 2008. Here is a re-cap of my adventures out East. Much love!
So my job in NJ lasted from 6/30-10/17, almost 4 months that they at least guaranteed me. In the end, I put my notice in a smidge early so I could get back home.
1) I missed Seattle like crazy
2) Worried about finding a job too late for 4th quarter if I didn’t get back until late Nov or Dec…not to mention I didn’t want to drive home in the winter
3) My sister Brina was having knee surgery for the 2nd time and could use some help
4) I also wanted to be able to vote in time, I wasn’t registered in NJ
The job definitely taught me new skills in my field and I thought this would be one of the major reasons why I moved across the country. Boy, was I sure wrong! This experience ended up being more about me learning about myself , closing old chapters in my life and really recognizing how easy it is to take things you value for granted at times. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything else!
Learning to function around the abrasiveness of people in NJ was difficult. I am accustomed to smiling and saying “Hi”, “How are you doing?”, “Have a nice day!” to workers at the cash register, for example. Often I wasn’t acknowledged or they would look at me like I belonged in a Looney bin! In one of my rants to my friend Darren, his response couldn’t have shed better light on the subject:
“sounds like your getting a nice little dose of east coast. we americans are so silly when we think that all americans are alike... we are vastly different, i have learned that in my travels around the country. our television and media lead us to believe we are all the same and function as one... but have you stopped to think that the difference from seattle to new york is about the same or longer than the distance from london to moscow?”
Wow. Good point! This definitely helped me endure everything a little better. I still kept on doing what I was doing with strangers. I made sure to put myself out there as much as I could. I made some friends Lauren and Ed while hiking on a Sunday evening. We met up for some more hikes, BBQ's and they even babysat Simba when I was on my two trips back to Seattle! I was very fortunate and they are great people!
Let’s see, I learned the hard way when I was out there regarding public transportation. I was taking the bus to work in Wayne, NJ. Now, I lived in Hoboken, NJ … so I would have to go into NYC at the Port Authority in order to transfer out to Wayne 20+mi to work. On my way home the first night, it took me 4 hours to get home since I stood on the wrong side of the street to catch my bus. After another bus transfer, I ended up in a town called Paterson which by far is the scariest place I have been! Not really a good idea to wait for a train there. Once on the train that I had missed 45 minutes before…I got to Hoboken. I could then walk a mile home or wait for yet ANOTHER bus or take a cab. Getting home at 9pm definitely wasn’t my cup of tea, and Simba was really upset of course. Poor puppy!
So I ended up renting a car for a few weeks since I was tired of commuting at least 1.5 hrs in the morning and 2.5 hours in the evening, depending on traffic. Renting the car became pretty expensive even with company discount and my underage driving fee waived… so in August I came out to Seattle for my Cousin Michelle’s bachelorette party. On the way back to NJ instead of flying, I drove back with my good friend Jil from Sunday, August 24th – Wednesday, August 27th in my Passat. What an amazing adventure that was! The longest time both of us sleeping at the exact same time was 4 hours. We saw everything from Yellowstone National Park, Wildfires outside Cody, Wyoming…Mt. Rushmore, Wall Drug in Wall, SD…the Sears tower in Chicago and the joys of feeling like you were on a rollercoaster across Pennsylvania/New Jersey in order to get back in time for work that Thursday. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.
You can enjoy the rest at – Jil 'n Jessi's Jersey Trail
I will be typing up our hand written Journal from our road trip here Trip Blog. You can see how much humor we found in the tiniest things...
Jil was able to stay until after Labor Day. All of my sightseeing of the area was done while she was visiting. She is from Seattle as well and actually used to work in the same building that I worked at in NJ! VERY small world :-) Jil misses the city so this was fun for her to show me around. And I got to play around more with my new Canon 40D camera.
I made friends out there through my roommate, Bob. He was renting out his 2nd bedroom to his 2bed/2bath apartment. Everyone was around my age, so it made everything easy! The room ended up being $1200 a month + utilities + TV/cable/internet. Not cheap but the experience was cool. Hoboken is actually where Frank Sinatra grew up! It’s a cute “city?” that is 1 square mile. Lots of great food up on Washington Street and directly across the Hudson River from New York City. Take Lincoln Tunnel with your car and pop out near Times Square or hop on the Subway on the south side of town through Holland Tunnel to come out where the World Trade Center used to stand. I severely miss the best Indian Food I’ve had in my life…or Grimaldi’s brick oven pizza with big slices of fresh mozzarella. Mmmm.. One thing I will NOT miss is my parking tickets. I swear they picked on because of an out of state license plate. They really just need to do a better job of painting yellow lines where you’re not allowed to park. I eventually gave up and rented a parking spot at the laundry mat on my block. Oh and Simba won’t miss not having any grass to go potty on. Even the dog park/run was all dirt and pebbles. Two paws down!!
On my original post that I was moving... here were some goals of mine...
*Pay off all my debt - save & invest...be a minimalist while I am there.
-Well, I didn't come out as ahead as I would have liked, but I made work what I could and did get SOME stuff paid down although there were many expenses that I DIDN'T plan on...but you live and learn! :)
* Focus solely on work while also keeping my current fitness goals...1/2 marathon and more triathlons. Might even try to make the FULL marathon in NYC in November for a charity :) Ahh, that would be wonderful!
-Well I definitely worked! Although my workout regemine fell through the cracks unfortunately. I do have my first 1/2 marathon scheduled for June 27th, 2009 on my 25th birthday, check it out here: Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon
*I won't have my car so I will being using public transit or bike often.
- Please see above...LOL
*Buy a new camera and rent a car to explore many places on the East coast! I am soooo excited! Keep checking back here for updates!
- Yup! I got a new Canon 40D, it worked out perfectly for my drive to and from NJ, little road trips, adventures and my cousin's wedding.
*Coincidentally, my sister Amanda, her husband Servet and my 6 year old niece Safi live 13 miles from my work. They will help with my transition for the first 2-4 weeks. I get to see my niece start 1st grade. I can't wait <3
And...after all is said and done, I hope to buy my first house when I get back for me 'n Simba. As well as get that mini Australian Shepard we've been day dreamin' about...hehehe :) Can't wait to get my kitties back from my best friend's mom, Jean, who has been wonderful to watch them for me since last Fall!
- I am not in a position to buy a house YET but the time will come eventually. I will be moving into my own 1bedroom apartment on 2/1/09 in Woodinville. My best friend Kelly's family has been VERY gracious to let me stay with them on the interim.
Here are some additional photos from Pennsylvania and the Jersey Shore. I'll post another blog about my drive home from NJ. Thanks for reading and I'll answer any questions/comments :)
Wow, it's been a long time since I have posted on my vox blog. I hope that all had a very merry Christmas. I sure did. I had lots of fun visiting with family and friends.
I am going to be an uncle
How do you entertain yourself when you’re bored at work?
Sponsored by World Golf Tour.
There is no way to entertain myself at work. But I always entertain the idea of lunch time.
What first attracted you to the person you're currently dating?
kind of lewd but true.... Her Butt
