It's almost 9 AM and it's still lingering around 30 degrees. It's not much colder than it was last year, but I think I'm losing body fat and that's making it difficult for me to keep warm at temps that used to be tolerable. Damn metabolism. I spent eight years living in the frigid ass northeast and dealt with sub-zero temps, but, for some reason, it's just not going over well with me this year. And I get to go to Denver in two weeks. Great.
The boon of the cold, however, is that it's helped me reach a few decisions. When I was living in North Carolina, I used to run around with my friend Katherine. Kath is from Georgia. One evening were we sitting on my patio, drinking some whiskey, smoking cigarettes, and talking about how surprisingly cold NC can get. "It gets like this in Georgia," she said. "What? Get the..." I said. "No, seriously," she continued. "What were you expecting...something tropical?" Well, actually, yes. Not that I expected Georgia to be tropical, but I do expect southern states to be really frickin' hot. And I want to be back in a really hot climate. Period. When I was in Austin over the holiday, it was 71 degrees. In December! We ate dinner outside! Outside. In December.
I've also been trying to figure out what to do with myself at work this upcoming year. Not knowing was actually kinda stressing me out a bit, but I had a light bulb go off on the treadmill last night, and 2 and 2 came together. I'm supposed to be working in our Human Resources department for the next 11 months or so. Our HR director wasn't quite sure how to structure that time, but I think I've figured something out that will make me happy.
There are a couple of jobs I've been eyeballing here and there (Chicago, U Mich, Mountain View, CA) but I'm not ready to make that transition yet. Yet. What I've decided to do is take those vacancy announcements and use them to guide my time here for the next 11 months. My director and I will put together a lesson plan that will prepare me to do all of the things that are required by those positions. I do a lot of these things already, but we can really fill in the holes now that we have some defined expectations to guide us. By November, I should have the skills and experience I need to be a competitive candidate. Best of all, one of these employers has an office in Austin, the city I've decided I want to relocate to.
I've moved around a lot, but in all of those travels, I never felt like I was at 'home'. Despite spending Christmas with my family, there was only one time during this break that I really felt at home, (this for the first time in many many years) and it wasn't a feeling I experienced with my family. It was with my friend and his wife, shopping at a grocery store. Internally, I just felt genuinely relieved, as though that is what I'm meant to be doing with my time: taking care of business with the people who know me best.
Moving to Austin would put me closer to home, but not too close. It would give me access to a social, cultural, intellectual, and entertainment lifestyle that is more in line with my own preferences. I could meet more like-minded people doing the things I like to do; and I'd be near the people that are important to me...maybe even find a lady-friend to monkey around town with.
Sure there are ghosts of Christmas past there waiting for me to come back so they can give me a piece of their mind. Yeah, that's inevitable; but I can handle that. Besides, it's deserved. I ran away from Austin 13 years ago; ran all the way to Boston, to Brooklyn, virtually to Canada, to North Carolina, and now here. I'm tired of running. Enough now. It's time for the boy to return home. Finally. Austin or bust. I'm comfortable with that.
Yeah for breakthroughs. 70 minutes on a treadmill will do that to a person.
The boon of the cold, however, is that it's helped me reach a few decisions. When I was living in North Carolina, I used to run around with my friend Katherine. Kath is from Georgia. One evening were we sitting on my patio, drinking some whiskey, smoking cigarettes, and talking about how surprisingly cold NC can get. "It gets like this in Georgia," she said. "What? Get the..." I said. "No, seriously," she continued. "What were you expecting...something tropical?" Well, actually, yes. Not that I expected Georgia to be tropical, but I do expect southern states to be really frickin' hot. And I want to be back in a really hot climate. Period. When I was in Austin over the holiday, it was 71 degrees. In December! We ate dinner outside! Outside. In December.
I've also been trying to figure out what to do with myself at work this upcoming year. Not knowing was actually kinda stressing me out a bit, but I had a light bulb go off on the treadmill last night, and 2 and 2 came together. I'm supposed to be working in our Human Resources department for the next 11 months or so. Our HR director wasn't quite sure how to structure that time, but I think I've figured something out that will make me happy.
There are a couple of jobs I've been eyeballing here and there (Chicago, U Mich, Mountain View, CA) but I'm not ready to make that transition yet. Yet. What I've decided to do is take those vacancy announcements and use them to guide my time here for the next 11 months. My director and I will put together a lesson plan that will prepare me to do all of the things that are required by those positions. I do a lot of these things already, but we can really fill in the holes now that we have some defined expectations to guide us. By November, I should have the skills and experience I need to be a competitive candidate. Best of all, one of these employers has an office in Austin, the city I've decided I want to relocate to.
I've moved around a lot, but in all of those travels, I never felt like I was at 'home'. Despite spending Christmas with my family, there was only one time during this break that I really felt at home, (this for the first time in many many years) and it wasn't a feeling I experienced with my family. It was with my friend and his wife, shopping at a grocery store. Internally, I just felt genuinely relieved, as though that is what I'm meant to be doing with my time: taking care of business with the people who know me best.
Moving to Austin would put me closer to home, but not too close. It would give me access to a social, cultural, intellectual, and entertainment lifestyle that is more in line with my own preferences. I could meet more like-minded people doing the things I like to do; and I'd be near the people that are important to me...maybe even find a lady-friend to monkey around town with.
Sure there are ghosts of Christmas past there waiting for me to come back so they can give me a piece of their mind. Yeah, that's inevitable; but I can handle that. Besides, it's deserved. I ran away from Austin 13 years ago; ran all the way to Boston, to Brooklyn, virtually to Canada, to North Carolina, and now here. I'm tired of running. Enough now. It's time for the boy to return home. Finally. Austin or bust. I'm comfortable with that.
Yeah for breakthroughs. 70 minutes on a treadmill will do that to a person.