You Take the Good With the Bad

May 20, 2013 at 10:09 pm | Posted in Career Moves, Life and Living | 1 Comment
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Anyone who knows me well enough knows that it is rare for me to say I am happy. It’s not because I’m not a happy person. I have a certain paranoia when it comes to saying things are going well, and for good reason. Literally every single time something goes right it is accompanied with something going wrong. It is the great paradox of life — you take the good with the bad.

So with the happiness of finally moving and dealing with that happy stress, I have now learned that my assistant of the past two years has accepted a new position, his last day being the week I am moving. Everything really does happen all at once. While I am really truly happy for him, I’m terrified for me. I have come to rely on him heavily, and with our busy season gearing up at work, I can already feel myself getting overwhelmed. So between the stress of moving and the stress of things heating up at work, I also have to deal with a major loss. My assistant has not only been helpful in easing the workload and furthering the work, he has been a shining light in my day. It’s really a stretch to call him my assistant. He’s my colleague and more importantly my friend. I am seriously going to miss laughing with him every day.

It’s not the first time this has happened. I’ve seen many a close co-worker move on, and it’s never easy. But things change and people get better opportunities that they can’t pass up. Careers aren’t what they used to be. People just don’t stay at jobs for as long.

But I can’t help but feel as though so much is coming to an end. I’m 30 years old and I feel the change that I couldn’t predict. I knew leading up to 30 was one thing. But now I am 30 and I feel the transition. I feel the change in perspective. I am reflecting on what I want next from my life, what goals I want to achieve, and I am dealing with the obstacles that go along with it. This is just another set of obstacles on my path.

So when the dust settles, maybe then I’ll be able to confidently say I am happy without fear.

Moving on Up

May 13, 2013 at 4:29 pm | Posted in Life and Living | Leave a comment
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It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been living in my apartment for six and a half years. It was my first home after college. I had spent 2 years home after school as I tried to save enough money to move out on my own. When I did, the pickings for dog-friendly apartments was slim and I went with the only apartment I saw. It was fine back then, and I planned to stay for about two years before moving on. Two years turned into three, and then my then-boyfriend now husband moved in, and here we are six and a half years later, finally ready to move on.

But I had been ready for quite a while. Life just got in the way and I just now got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. Walking up to a third floor walk up, dealing with the heat in the summer, the crappy street parking, things constantly breaking and a landlord who has just given up. On top of all that, it’s a one bedroom that was now being occupied by two people and an 80 lbs dog. I just outgrew the place. So the hunt was on, and in true fashion, I had a vision, but life had other plans.

I originally thought I’d move within the city limits so I could save on transit and be close to Manhattan. But in my search I found nothing to fit my requirements. When I expanded by search beyond that location and beyond my price limit, I found a great match in a city setting outside the city on a residential street — to me, the best of both worlds. I can walk to the train, to the malls, to my hair salon, to the bars, and the best part — guaranteed parking, a place that loves dogs, and a landlord who cares about the property. It seems too good to be true, but still I am nervous to leave behind all that I have come to know as home.

And it is change. It will be different. It will be an adjustment. My commute will be a little longer and I won’t be next to the nightlife that I am used to. All change is hard, even if it is good change. It is always scary. But for me, this time, the excitement outweighs the fear of the unknown. Moving to me is a huge step up. It’s the right thing to do and I think I’m going to be really happy in my new home.

Here’s to moving on up!

The Hoarder in All of Us

July 13, 2010 at 7:46 am | Posted in Life and Living | 3 Comments
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We’re all guilty of holding onto things. Let’s face it.  Some stuff has sentimental value. Even if it’s just an old hat or an album cover.

When I first moved out of my parents’ house, I wanted to get everything out. I wanted to be completely independent of my parents and to me that meant not using their house as storage.  I was mostly successful in my venture. About 99% of my stuff is out of their house. The few things that remain are some books and stuffed animals I don’t have a place for.  Ok, the truth is that if I bring stuffed animals and dolls to my house, the dog will destroy them in 30 seconds and some of them are worth something, whether it is memories of my grandparents long gone or original dolls that are impossible to find.

There’s been a lot of talk about moving around me lately, so I’ve been going through lots of piles of stuff.  I spent many hours in my parents’ attic helping them purge.  Some stuff had never even been unpacked from when they moved in nearly 30 years ago.

I don’t know if it’s an American thing or what to have so much stuff.   I’d love to see some statistics on the amount of storage facilities that exist in our country in comparison to others.  There is definitely a comfort we find in owning stuff. Ah, the great ownership society.

But some of this stuff isn’t even worth trying to sell on E-bay. I mean, come on!   Who cares about your action figures?  Ok, someone might, but really, selling your Super Nintendo? I just can’t deal. I’ve been trying to make it a habit that whenever I buy an article of clothing, I get rid of an article of clothing. I usually put items in one of the many drop boxes within walking distance from my apartment.  This is me doing my part to give back, while purging myself of excess.

For some people it is just so hard to throw away stuff. I’ve watched my mother try to get rid of old baby clothes (yes, 27 and 30 year old baby clothes) and have a tough time.  I must admit that the TV show Hoarders really puts things into perspective.  The intensified versions of hoarding represented on the show are testament to this serious issue we all have.

The other day, I was cleaning out the trunk that I’ve had for 15 years. I originally purchased it to bring to sleep-away camp (I don’t know what it is about trunks and sleep-away camp, but it’s kind of a thing).  Most recently, it has served as my coffee table, storage bin and stage for my dog’s daily butt rubs.  But I was getting rid of it and some of its contents too.

I got rid of my HS graduate cap. Seriously held on to that thing without even knowing it for almost ten years. What’s the point? It cost all of 2 bucks and I wore it for 2 hours in my life.  I still have my class ring, photos and my memories.

One day, all of this crap won’t mean anything to anyone.  But if you are lucky, a few gems will go the distance and stay in the family for years to come. But it probably won’t be your pet rock.

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