3.12.21
I’ve been applying for jobs in Knoxville and the vicinity. I haven’t heard back from any of them yet. I was reluctant to start looking for jobs this early (though it doesn’t feel early). My concern is they won’t want to wait for me. Due to the logistics of moving, I figure I can’t start at the new job until May 10th at the earliest, unless everything goes super smooth, which, let’s face it, never happens.
But I will keep applying. Because it really isn’t that far away.
And now I’m back to freaking out again.
Some of you may ask why I am living with my sister, or why she was part of this conversation. The short, short version is that she is my best friend. The short version is when she graduated from high school, she moved into a shitty situation (even if she didn’t recognize it as that at the time). So, she came to live with me. I was a junior in college at the time. That’s what started it. And it just naturally went from there. We’ve lived together on and off for most of our adult lives. We can count on each other. She is the only person that if she called me in the middle of the night and said in all seriousness, ‘shit is hitting the fan, we gotta go now,” I’m out the door no questions asked. She can fill me in later. We support each other in all things. We root for each other. We console, and listen, and give advice. We go on adventures together, and our lives are richer for having each other in them.
3.16.21
We’ve given notice to the apartment complex. My sister has secured a transfer from her company. And I have completed the hardest part… telling a good friend of our impending move.
He took it like I thought he would, with grace and well wishes. That hasn’t always been the case when I’ve informed people of news like this. He made it really easy on me. He is probably the only thing I will miss about Utah.
We’ve been decluttering and packing stuff already. Hopefully, when I get home today the old couch that I posted as ‘free—you pick up’ will be gone. I had a taker who was supposed to pick it up while we were at work today. So far, we’ve taken two carloads of stuff to be donated. We already have another pile going. I anticipate that we will have at least two more loads that are going.
It is amazing to me how much stuff one can accumulate in such a short period of time. It was only a year ago that we did a similar declutter, purely for the purpose of minimizing our stuff.
3.17.21
It’s St. Patrick’s Day! My favorite day of the year. I’m listening to my Irish music at work. This is the only day I can without people looking at me like I’m weird. Half the office is in the spirit. They organized a potluck and dressed up. The other half is my department. They are complaining that the other half of the floor is being too loud, and I’m the only one that even tried to dress up. I’m fighting the urge to blast my music.
Just one more reason I’m getting out of here soon. I am fighting not just giving my two weeks’ notice on Friday. The place is killing my soul one day at a time.
3.18.21
I ended up cutting out of work early yesterday. I figured I was due. I finished all my work and helped a co-worker catch up four days’ worth of their stuff, and then headed out to the St. Pat’s celebration at our local Irish pub. The music was enjoyed, adult beverages were drunk, and a good time was had by all.
Today I am prepping to post an article online and thinking about where my writing is headed. Do I want to focus on my non-fiction? Or on my fiction? I have been writing fiction longer, but for me, it is also scarier to share. Maybe that means I should push myself in that area?
3.26.21
I’m training someone at work. No, not my replacement. I haven’t given my notice yet. We are still in the planning phases of the relocation. I actually kind of feel bad. We just had someone leave the department to go to another one. The same time I leave, one of my co-workers is going on maternity leave, and with the new person only being here a month, things might get a little dicey. The only thing that keeps the guilt from overwhelming me is to remember that I am replaceable. Everything will be okay, and my highest priority needs to be what is best for me and my family’s sanity and future.
3.30.21
I’ve been working on my resignation letter. Everything in it is true, but I am leaving a lot of stuff out. Frankly, many of my reasons for this change are too personal to include in a letter.
Turns out my sister’s transfer has hit a bit of a snag. Technical problems, everyone involved is on board, it’s just getting it pushed through the computer that is causing the headache.
I’ve applied for several positions at the university and have yet to hear from any of them. Though, that’s not really a surprise. Things like this tend to move slowly through academia. I think it mostly has to do with bureaucracy.
We continue to declutter the apartment, packing some stuff as we go. One thing I did not account for was how difficult it would be to get rid of a mattress!
The normal channels I would take are shut down right now, i.e. The Salvation Army is not doing pickups. We don’t have a vehicle that we can haul the damn thing with, and everyone I’ve talked to that would pick it up are going to charge upwards of $200 to get it and take it away. At the end we need to rent a U-Haul van anyway. We are commandeering my parents’ washer and dryer and kayaks to take with us. So, we can just get rid of the bed and any furniture we are going to donate and pick those up all in one day.
That's it for this installment. Stay tuned for the continuing story next week!
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