Hello my faithful readers:
I've been quiet of late - my last post was nearly 5 and a half months ago now! Wow what a difference a few months makes. It's really hard for me to believe that I spent the last year living abroad and seeing the world. The year away changed me indelibly.
The reason for the silence has mainly been as a result of me processing this sudden change in my life. I'm living at home for the first time in about 10 years. The first month and a half were torturous for me - although I was happy to be home, surrounded by my family, I wasn't quite sure of how to deal with living with my parents. Especially after having lived alone for almost six years.
I also feel slightly guilty because I haven't done much to explore my hometown. Nor have I tried to re-connect with childhood friends. It's as if I'm in a weird holding pattern, waiting for my life to start. I have to say that my parents have been very supportive of me through this phase - they are indeed a blessing to me.
Although they have been supportive, I must admit that initially there were a quite few squirmishes with my parents. Sometimes they still happen, but I believe it's a normal part of life and growth, etc. My mom has accused me on more than one occasion of being arrogant. I think it's simply the fact that she doesn't get my snarky sense of humor or that I am not afraid to voice my opinions on issues and I refuse to let her make judgments (or statements) in my presence that I don't agree with (as I would have a few years ago). I challenge her a lot more now mainly because my view of the world and of people is a lot more open-minded than it was even a year ago.
My dad and I used to have regular stand-offs about who would do the dishes. I hate doing them, but since I'm living here pretty much rent free of course I pitch in to do them. I prefer an alternating schedule, at first I got the impression he thought I was the hired help. We had a discussion about it and came to an understanding, now things have improved a great deal.
I've also started to cook more than I probably ever have in my life...it's a creative release and gives me something to think about other than the fact that I do not have a job. The initial adjustment period was rough, but after the first couple of months I finally managed to settle into a groove.
My day typically starts with me waking up, catching the morning news shows, then I work out for about an hour at least five times per week (mostly weekdays). The working out has become necessary because here in my hometown no one walks anywhere; here everyone drives for even the shortest of trips. I was starting to gain weight at an alarming rate and I decided that I needed to get working out or turn into Miss Piggy. I also realized that I have absolutely no will power when it comes to all of the cakes, cookies, candies and unhealthy foods that my mom keeps buying.
In order to make myself slightly more competitive in the job market - I'm working on learning Spanish, since I have a lot of time on my hands. I'm watch Spanish TV (normally a 2 hour block of what has become my latest obsession La Fea Mas Bella the mexican version of Ugly Betty) and use Rosetta Stone about one hour each day to learn. I also recently ordered a few grammar books from Amazon.com that I hope will help me with some of the finer points of conjugations and word order.
I have to say that when I first started with just using Rosetta Stone alone I didn't feel like my comprehension was all that great, but now that I watch the show daily throughout the week - my comprehension is a lot better. My next goal is to start speaking the language with a few more of my native Spanish speakers friends.
The major focus of my life is job searching. I tend to spend a lot of time researching the companies that interest me, industry trends and people that I should network with. My search started as this really narrow project and now I'm starting to broaden out and try to think a little bit differently about the way that I'm looking. The one thing I noticed was that there are lots of jobs that seek people who can speak Spanish, my biggest motivator for learning the language.
A few weeks ago I took a two and a half week trip out to San Francisco to have a few informational meetings with some of the companies on my target list. I also met with a few who weren't on my list. Ironically most of the meetings were made because of my friends helping to connect me with some of their friends and colleagues. I found most people in the SF Bay area were quite generous with their time and offered me wide ranging advice from info about the job market, which companies were hiring, recruitment cycles and what to expect lifestyle wise if I were to move to San Francisco.
The trip out west and returning home made me realize that I need to live in a major city. My hometown isn't small by any means, in fact I'm quite impressed by how far it's developed since I was growing up here. I felt at home in San Francisco. I felt like I was waking up from a long nap. There's something, a special energy about living in a metropolitan city. Being in San Francisco also made me think about returning to NYC. I'm open to the possibility now that I've been in San Francisco for a visit, because although I loved San Francisco, I realized that it's no NYC. And I miss NYC. A lot more than I'd care to admit.
That's the update for now. I'll try to blog more often...although most of my thoughts happen on
Twitter where I have lots of little 140 character blogs daily. :) Thank you as always for reading. I didn't mention it before, but the blog has a new name and design. What do you think?
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
