Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The year is almost over...

My stuff left yesterday- never realized there was such drama with watching 90% of my worldly posessions drive away and out of my control. Wow... So all in all the move went relatively well and now for next time I'll be better prepared. But with a little advice and lots of reassurance from the big sis (military moves apparently train you well) I at least knew to bag the cords and label, pick up the screws and put them into zip locks and even asserted myself a couple of times when they were going to do things that didn't make sense. A few little hiccups and more than one panic moment as I realized they were about to load a box that was not taped or that they were going to move my stuff between vehicles more than once. But it's at the say a prayer and try and let go stage (took me about 24 hours before making to that). After watching them handle my stuff all I can say is I am VERY glad my bikes are traveling with my on my car.

Work is wrapping up today and I'll miss my friends at work but I'm excited to head home today and pack up my stuff in the car. Got reservations for cedar city, utah tomorrow night in a cute (arts&crafts) b&b. Mom's been awesome putting up with my drama and rolling with it so I am looking forward to enjoying the fun part of this adventure with her instead of the stressful try and pack and move things for the carpet cleaner and try and finish up the old job and did I remember to eat OMG how will this all get done and my cell phone DIED for the 200th time moments that have been popping up this week.

First things first, the computer is clean and everything is ready to be handed over for work. I updated my soon to be former job description. I'm going to go grab a cell battery right now and then it's onto the wrapup/exit interview. Goodness!

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Deep breath and here I go...


Nate left for SF this morning and after a lovely day of sightseeing in DC- well the modified version of a day as dictated by the darling little ones- we checked out the National Cathedral (stunning stained glass and mosaics as well as impressive architecture) hit some errands and headed home again. Mom and I catch our flight in the morning and I am starting to face the reality of what is waiting. I'm sure the move will be fine and all but I'm nervous none the less. Once it gets rolling I'm guessing I'll be so busy I won't have time to worry. 

We've got the basic itinerary worked out for heading out towards the eastern part of the West. I think I've decided  on a route through Mojave National Preserve (maybe even check out the rockin interagency Hole-in-the-Wall fire station) and into Cedar City, UT for the first night.  The second day I'm aiming to check out Arches National Park (near Moab, UT) during the mid-day for a short break and then head onto my cousin's place near Vail. Then onto Denver we go. 

I'll keep you updated :-)

Friday, December 26, 2008

Chilling with the boys

Hanging out with the boys in DC... Max is napping and Teddy is being entertained by those funny things called fingers. I'm blogging from this neat little mini-laptop that Nate got me for Christmas- perfect for toting around to the coffee shops. Teddy was nice enough to give me his cold so I'm hoping to get rid of it prior to the flight back to the West.
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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

in DC

Got into DC late yesterday after flying through Vegas, Phoenix and onto Reagan. Today was a busy/slow day. My nephews are adorable and I'll try and post a picture soon- Max napped on me most of the late afternoon. The interview seemed to go fine but phone interviews are so hard to tell what the feedback is. Regardless, I'm headed out to Denver soon.

Gotta go wrap presents....

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

What if the movers showed up and I was stuck in an airport?

So this morning a very well intentioned co-worker was telling me about another co-worker who happened to be stuck in Seattle going on 36 hours. She was asking about my moving schedule and when I mentioned I was flying home on the 29th and movers were coming on the 30th she asked... if you weren't there is everything sorted so someone else could do the move for you?

Wow... in my contingency planning I hadn't really given that a thorough thought. Monentary panic and then planning commenced. Um, yup there was one more thing to worry about. So this evening I was trying to find a few things for an interview I have Christmas Eve (trust me long story- too long for tonight), packing for the trip to DC and simultaneously trying to sort things so that if I was delayed 24 hours or more everything would still work out OK. So now the essential clothes are piled in the closet and the keep with me things, like photo albums, are all isolated in one area of the garage as far away from all the other boxes as they can get. I'm sure I could make my life more complicated but it would have to take some imagination :-)

So now I have remote sensing and emergency managment text books to read on my flight as well as geospatial standards documents. I'm charging my ipod so I can block out the screaming children till I get to Alex's and then I'll meet my cute nephews and listen to them make noise. 

Everything is going according to plan... which means be prepared for the unexpected soon!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Hmmmm factor

Ok this is a test of sending a blog via a mobile device...
I've been letting all the clients I've worked with over the past
couple of years know I'm leaving my current company. Interesting
exercise in realizing which ones became friends and which were just
clients.

Back to the e-mails and rewriting my former job description for the company.

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Why Denver? Why are you moving? and many variations of that...

So why am I moving to Denver is the most common question I get asked... don't I like San Diego and it's amazing weather? don't I already have a job in this crappy economy? don't I already have a great rent controlled place to live 1.5 miles from the beach? didn't I grow up in San Diego? Is it for a specific job? Is it for a person? Is it to get away from something? Why?

The short answer- San Diego is great and there is no specific attribute of this town I can point to- the weather is unbelievable, the people are nice, the beaches are great, my job pays well, and I am close to the coolest Mommy ever- mine. I moved here and got in shape, found a more adventurous side to myself, made a home, and learned what frequent flying really means. I've become closer than ever to my mom and sharing time with her is the #1 thing I will miss about San Diego. It's just time to move on and I want to do it based on quantifiable aspects of a city I would like.

The long answer- I'm in my early 30s and I want a career. Granted yes, I'd give that up for a family as most of you know... but since I don't have my own yet- well I'm focusing on what I have. I tried the great experiment known as the private sector and after 6 seasons and 7 years in the government then almost 3 in the private sector... I'm a public servant at heart. So after surfing federal jobs (looked at regional/local too) the place with the most opportunity in my field (geospatial) with my interests (DOI or DOA) is Denver. Bizarrely enough I also have the most professional contacts in Denver too.

As for a town I was looking for a good airport (after maaaannnnyyyyyy hours at DIA aka DEN it's among my top in the US), outdoor activities, and old school neighborhoods. Denver has a viable art scene, some museums/theater, lots of parks, and people who seem to be outside a good deal- oh yeah and a couple of decent shopping malls since I am still a girl.

For all of you who say the description of the town could be Portland, Seattle, Boise, Sacramento, San Francisco and heck San Diego- you're right. I have spent a decent amount of time in all those cities except for Seattle. I have a pre-exisiting support structure in Denver. I have friends from when I was in BLM and friends I have met over time- and friends who can help you move a couch or invite you to dinner are worth more than I can describe here. I spent a good amount of time in Denver for a number of months and got to know the city enough that for a bit of time it was my second home.

So I'm not running away from anything and I'm not running towards one particular thing. It's a combination of career, atmosphere, recreation, people, and architecture. There has been a lot going on in the past few years and I took sometime to discern where my life is going and after listening the angels' wings are herding me in this direction.

So I have a decent job to go to, movers scheduled, a six month lease, a car with all wheel drive, and most of my things packed. I am excited, terrified, and at peace all at the same time. I've never lived outside of CA so this will be different but I believe this will be a good move... and really that's why :-)

Friday, December 19, 2008

Where I'm going to live...



Since I was downloading some picts from the camera I thought I'd toss a couple out there...


This is the duplex I'll be living in- the unit on the right. Old brick construction and lots of origional features to the place...




This other picture is the street I'll be living on looking North- it's winter so the trees are bare but that'll change in a good... um 6 months? Yikes.

Mass distribution of random facts

So I'm not sure how long/if I'll keep this blog but I thought I'd try it out... since I'm going to be moving across states and I'm not being a very good e-mailer lately maybe I'll be a little bit better at keeping in touch. The evening hours have been sorting and packing instead of typing lately and so much has been going on I don't know where to start.

So... I'm moving to Denver and will live in the Speer neighborhood (just south of Capitol Hill) of Denver proper in a cute little duplex. I'm going to have my own little place again and am looking forward to rearranging furniture- okay well not a ton but it is exciting to try and figure out what artwork goes where now. I'll be leaving San Diego Jan 1st and doing the drive with Mom through the Utah route.

Oh... and for those of you wondering where the title comes from... Sierra Point is a location in Yosemite National Park. The trail was closed in the '70s but before moving down to San Diego in April 2006 I went to Yosemite for a last hurrah with DC and the Greenwoods and hiked this trail. Something about going off the beaten path and standing in the middle of such beauty just told me that it was a defining moment. It solidified that the possibilities for the future are open. 2 jobs, a couple of guys, some great hikes, 2 new hobbies, and lots of airline miles later I am ready to trade San Diego for Denver and the private sector for government again.

So as I stand looking out at the possibilities... who knows where I'll be in a year but I am eager to find out :-)