Pollen Eyes: Foolish Hopeful Wants to Go Home

Hi.

Through the wall I can hear Seth talk on the phone to someone who may move to Austin. The restaurants, weather, dogs, outdoors, music. All wonderful.

What do you do for work? I get to work for my company back in Chicago, but unfortunately Jenny hasn't found work yet. Its a tough, saturated market for her skill set. You're in HTM, right? Oh there's tons of visitor traffic and hotels here. You should be fine.  

Do you own your home? We did in Chicago. We sold it to move here. We are renting right now because we don't know where we want to be. We thought living in an apartment building would help us make friends too. 

What's the air quality in terms of allergies? I don't have allergies, but Jenny has had a bad time with them. I think they're worse than Chicago. Oh and the bugs are bad. Jenny sorta attracts them. I don't usually have a problem with mosquitos. 

Is is really, really unbearably hot? I love the heat! I am so glad to not have to wear a winter coat again. Jenny sunburns easily and gets heat rash with anything over 90*, but I don't have that problem. 

And I'm on the other side of the door. Choking down pitiful tears. Feeling so sorry for myself as someone chalk-outlines my pain and firmly excludes himself from it.

I have the benefit (is it, though?) of idly riding along on Seth's income until the right (any) job comes along. And in that wheel-spinning waiting game I am shrinking. I am undoing. I hear each itemized loss be listed: my beautiful home, my important (it was! I think!) job, my proximity to the known.

But I've been given a do-over! A fresh set of monopoly money and a new shiny shoe from which to launch my real estate career! C'mon railroads!

All I have to do in that time is decide who I want to be and then spend 4 months (so far) trying to be that. Then, when (now) it doesn't work, decide that I would want to be a receptionist or other professional warm body, or for Christ's sake a volunteer only to find that I am one of 100 people vying for said free labor and there is someone with 15 years of volunteering experience and I'll be put in the maybe-next-time pile. Still waiting for next time over here!

I have a 15-month lease to get my shit figured out so we can repurchase a home and I can get back to being the adult I was so proud of from 2011-2014.

Until then it's sad blogging or therapy.

With all the guests I'm having to endure (sorry, but I really am having a hard time with all the people... it's a bad time for 20 questions about how my job search is going. Short answer: shitty.) I chose blogging. Talking to a stranger for money sounds a lot like networking and I have to do more of that than I like as it is.

Tipsy Tuesday: Labor(ious) Day Weekend

Preparing to move.

Preparing to not-want-to move.

Boxes for sale, boxes for sale.

Seriously, anyone in Chicago need moving supplies, these are professional grade and come with packing  paper below. Over $300 worth of supplies for just $50. Leave a comment or message me for deets.

The paper made nice rosettes. 

Home Depot is thrilling now.

The first thing to unpack: barcart materials. And I really enjoyed styling it (this was a before picture).

Moving advice: Hire professionals to do the heavy lifting AND deep cleaning, if you can. Movers were expensive, but we saved our backs and have most of the house unpacked in record time. We did the packing ourselves to save some money. We probably couldn't get friends to move us if we tried. Our friends are just getting too wise to be bought with pizza and beer.

We decided to have cleaners come into our new place before we moved in. Long story short, we (and I mean "I") had to clean our rental when we moved out to get our deposit back. The sellers of our new place did not have to do any cleaning whatsoever. Needless to say, we would have had to deep clean two places in a matter of hours to be able to move. I've never hired professional cleaners, so I was feeling like a failure. But I was going bonkers and getting raw hands from all of the scrubbing, so we got an excellent rate on some lovely cleaning ladies. They came at 7:45 PM and stayed until the job was done. They were outstanding. We got all of our deposit back from the rental and now just have to worry about keeping our owned home as spotless as the pros left it. 

Song suggestion: The Outer Banks by The Autumn Leaf. I'm listening to it to see if it can bring back my post-facial calm. Light some candles with it too, folks. It's a gem.

Beverage pairing: Tons of water. Moving (junk food, living out a of suitcase), this heat, celebratory wine and stress have left my skin less than stellar. I just had a facial about a week ago and I already look like a leper. Gotta rehydrate and plump out my face again. 

Sorry I'm Not Sorry

Photo dump. Backin' it up. "Beep, beep, beep."

Montezuma, Iowa

Inside the "tavern recommended by Al Capone"

My mom and me in front of Owl Pharmacy in Centerville, Iowa. If you're ever in south central Iowa, might I recommend The Continental Hotel? Half old-folks home, half bed-n-breaky - in the best possible ways!

Wedding date

Wedding dates

Not my dates, but would gladly be on the arm of either

Not my date, but my sister (sorta like a date... only we call them "Darinas")

She had a baby 4 months ago, people!

Stopped at the World's Largest Truck Stop.

After eating dumplings, fried chicken, roadside food and drinking sweet local wine, we needed a homemade V8 reboot. All of this got juiced.

Started packing glassware in the kitchen. This is only part of it.

This is another part of it... and there's still more. We are definitely purging some of this.

Came into the office today to find my artwork on the floor. Boo. I'm a terrible picture hanger. And people need to walk more softly. 

How was your weekend? Your Monday/Tuesday?

Yesterday I had another workout session with my friend B.Lill, a personal trainer, and this time I can move my arms post-push-up! I may someday be able to do a real push-up! She's good people. She worked me hard enough that I knew I burned some calories and pushed myself, but not so hard that I feel lousy or defeated. Need a trainer in the Chi-area? Let me know!

it starts

We got the ball rolling on packing.
We did the usual pack/purge piling and ended up with a carload to take the the recycling and thrift store.
We let a lot of "stuff" follow us around for years but have taken the opportunity, now that we are owning, to consider what we permanently want in our lives.

That old clock radio that your g-rents gave you? While sentimental, is useless now. That collage you made in college? While still memorable, you'd be ashamed to hang it up anywhere (or should be!).

Keep the memories and purge the tokens. We have finite space in our homes and hearts for "stuff". Make sure each item counts. Less (to dust, to move, to clean, to put-away) really is more (space to spread out, to bring in the useful and beautiful, to maximize the ever-important 'white space').

Just like budgeting, purging means giving up a ton of little things so that you can enjoy one big, important, expensive thing. Be it a stack of sweaters for a designer dress or a discount chair for some more bare, beautiful floor.

Move Along, Movin' Out and Other Relocation Songs

This question comes to me from a friend of mine via Facebook (shout out: Abby!). As FB is blocked on the computer I'm using now (ah, the unpredictable life of a temp) I'll answer this question as best as I can from memory.

When does one decide to move, provided that there is no specific urgency for moving like a relationship change (break-up, marriage, etc) or a job change? Where does one decide to move?

Well this question and it's answer has a spectrum of variables. Variables that each person must decide for themselves based on the intricate web of his or her own life circumstance.

Ask yourself these questions:
- Is your life in need of a change?
- Do you think that moving is just a way to run away from your problems?
- Would you be making a healthy move away from a job or relationship that is hurtful to you?
- Are you moving because you are bored? Do you think your boredom will only be found elsewhere?
- Are you a city person who likes everything at your fingertips or a country-pal who wants space and fresh air?
- Are you just desiring different weather? (am I right Chicago!?)
- Be realistic. Times are tough despite what optimistic politicians say. Can you get a job somewhere else if you move?
- Is your move a declaration of independence? Or are you moving to be closer to people that you can come home to?


(If you've never left home, consider "Moving out"... I mean, Billy Joel did and it inspired one of the Avett brothers...)

Abby has considered all of these things and, in part, helped me write these questions for consideration.

She's close to her family (in heart but not geography), not tied to her job (she's smart and extremely employable) and willing to make the leap to the south (the Carolinas are lovely, I hear).

I think, Abby, that by your question and thorough display of evidence, that you know in your heart and head that you would enjoy living closer to your family as they are growing with new additions (baby niece or nephew on the way!) and as your parents might retire to the south as well.

Chicago is (*supposed to be) nice this time of year, but weather, money and transient friends don't make "a home". I'd advise you to start shopping for jobs in the Carolinas and see what comes up. Pray about it and seek God's peace in your decision. I think that if He aligns your circumstances you'll feel it in your gut and pack up. If not, the weather will finally get beachy around here and you'll be glad you stayed. :)