Launching & Flooding

Paparazzi wore his life jacket to check
out the flooded river.

Natural disasters hit Harrisburg, Pa. again! The wonderful hurricane season has followed me from Texas, and we experienced some serious flooding here along the Susquehanna River from the recent tropical storm.

The flooding didn't end up as bad as was originally predicted, but it still came in as the state's fifth worst flood, cresting at just over 25' (flood stage is 17'). Fortunately, it stayed a few blocks from my house (see a picture here). The island in the river where our baseball field is also flooded, and you can see how high the river got over the sidewalk that runs along it here.

I did evacuate at the suggestion of my landlord, and I was graciously taken in by some of my coworkers living west of the city (the flooding largely affected the east side of town). They were really fun to hang out with, and I felt so relieved to be away from danger. They even took Paparazzi, and their young son loved his tail :) Plus, it was nice to have company over the weekend for once.

The only damages from the flood and subsequent temporary power outage turned out to be a slice of watermelon I didn't get to eat before it went bad and a delayed website launched at work, though we came pretty close to launching in the midst of a natural disaster (the client's approval came after people needed to evacuate).

My first and primary project, a 250+ page website for Mount Nittany Health System, officially launched Monday! It's one of the biggest projects andCulture has handled and it took a massive amount of effort from our team. You can see the finished product here; the majority of the writing work I did was for the Specialties & Services section, which is intended to explain all the different areas of expertise throughout the health system, but I worked on a lot of other aspects of the build out as well.

The underlying goal of the entire redesign project was to become more user-friendly, largely by providing relevant information to improve a patient's experience in the healthcare system (the site was previously focused only on the hospital because it just recently became a health system). Some pages for these specialties, for example, went from a single sentence to several full pages of content. I feel really proud that we were able to improve this site as we did! I also loved that despite how challenging this project was, people really stepped up to help: several people who weren't directly involved with the project even took time to help us when needed.

In other news: I signed a writer's contract with Bust magazine for a short freelance piece I wrote for them, which is kind of dream for me: I've wanted to write for magazines for a while and Bust is my absolute favorite! Nana's fettuccine Alrefrdo recipe is currently scheduled to appear in their December/January issue, so check your local Barnes & Noble to find a copy.

Anyway, them's the highlights for now. Paparazzi is still doing mediocre in obedience class and I'm still losing weight. This month's book club read is "Nasty Bits" by Anthony Bordain, which makes me want to eat in his restaurant in NYC or at least check out some of his local recommendations. I'm also trying to get a group together for the National Book Festival in D.C. at the end of the month. Ain't the East Coast great?

Earthquakes and hurricanes!

I made smelt for myself, but Mom's,
of course, tastes better.

It’s been an intense week for me. Last weekend, I took the train to Trenton because Nana died, six months after Pop-pop. I don’t want to say too much about it in this blog, but it was easier to cope with than Pop-pop’s because Nana was so sick when she passed that I know she’s at peace now. It was good to see my family.

Sunday night, after I got home from the trip, I went to see my first roller derby bout. The sport had a revival in Austin, and it’s surprisingly popular here. Anyone can join the local league, though they don’t let you play until you can safely (and they’re really good), so I’m thinking about showing up for “fresh meat” night some week. It’d be a great way to get some good exercise and meet other girls.

Monday I went to a new members’ social for the Harrisburg Young Professionals club. It was a great setup because everyone there (about 50 of us or so I’d say) was new to the group so there was a lot less social pressure. I met some nice girls and I think it’ll be a good way to keep meeting people. I am really starting to miss my friends though.

Fortunately, I’ll get to see a lot of them in January because Laura (my college roommate) is getting married and asked me to be a bridesmaid! I’m so excited for her and John, her boyfriend of 6+ years, and I’m excited to be going back to Austin for it. I also can’t wait to see Vivian and her family, especially their newest addition, Katelyn, who will be making the journey from Ethiopia this fall/winter. John and I have also planned our next rendezvous in San Francisco in October for a record 11 weeks between visits. The separation isn’t ideal, but we’re both doing what we need to be doing, and we’re making it work.

Anyway, back to the crazy week: Tuesday, I experienced my first earthquake! I was at work, on the third floor of our building, and thought maybe I was sick and about to pass out because I felt movement but didn’t see anyone else reacting or doing anything that would cause it. All at once, people started reacting and the magic of social media set in—the news reported that night that Tweets about the quake hit New York before they actually felt it! Crazy. No damage, just excitement.

Paparazzi and I like to walk down to the Riverfront
Park for events, like the gay pride festival. (He was a
huge hit, what with that flamboyant tail and all.)

Wednesday night Paparazzi and I had our first obedience class. Fortunately, he’s not the worst behaved pup in the class of 10 (mostly because he doesn’t bark), but he still jumps the highest. We have six more weeks to go and hopefully by the end of it he’ll be well behaved enough to qualify as a therapy dog, which is something I’ve wanted to do with him since I got him. Wish us luck!

This weekend has been relatively quiet—mostly chores, errands and a bit of work—though I did have a "hurricane party" with some of my neighbors (I’m surrounded by doctors completing their residencies). Monday marks the beta launch of a 250+ page website I've been working on most of my time here, and right after Labor Day is the official public launch of this massive endeavor. It's been trial by fire, but I think we've done some solid work; I'll post the link here once it's ready, though it probably won't be all that interesting for y'all.

And finally, on the garden front:  I’ve used a couple jalapeños and tomatoes from my garden. I also completely ripped up my yard a few weeks ago and the new grass is starting to sprout. Anyway, I need to go because I still have 100+ pages to zip through before my book club tomorrow!

Still settling in...

Wow, it's been three weeks since I've done a post! Guess I've been too busy having a pretty normal life :) I've joined a book club, hung out with my neighbors, watched fireworks along the river, made gallons of vodka sauce for a company lunch. It's refreshingly balanced.

I think all my paperwork is in order now, with the exception of Paparazzi's license. I finally sorted out my car stuff, which turned out to be much easier than the DMV website led me to believe. Which made me want to rewrite their instructions online. But I resisted.

My home library finally set up. I found the shelf
pegs after I'd ordered a pack. Figures.

I used my library card for the first time today (turns out there's a branch between my walk from work to the bus stop). I picked up a few DVDs since I still don't pay for TV and the circulation lady says, "That'll be $6." I looked up and said, "Excuse me?" Turns out, they've been charging $2 a week for DVDs "as long as she can remember" and "that's a pretty good deal."

Excuse my language, but fuck that. People go to libraries because they don't have money. And not to sound too Tea Partyish, but we've already paid for those items! It's called city, county and state taxes, not to mention grants at higher levels, often also funded with tax money. I told her I didn't want them. I'd rather pay for Netflix than double pay at the library.

I did, however, check out a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Julia Child). The recipe I want to make is likely the most complicated thing I'll have made up to this point, and let's just say it ends with setting a bird on fire. I did buy a fire extinguisher for just such an occasion, so if I try it (clearly a weekend project), I'll post pictures. Anyone know how I can tell if my bakeware is fireproof? Reading through the recipes has me convinced that it's time to seriously consider a casserole dish.

John sent this huge, beautiful, awesome
smelling bouqet to me at work for our
one year anniversary.

I'm eagerly anticipating a trip to the grocery store this weekend since I haven't gone in a couple weeks in an attempt to save money and see how far my food supply could go. The downside there is that I've been out of fresh fruits and vegetables for a while now, which is bad because I've been trying to focus on eating more fruits and vegetables. (Can you say pesto made from leaves I just collected from the basil plant outside my back door? Yum.)

I have, I'm happy to report, lost weight since I've moved here, which I think is the result of several factors besides more veggies. I'm less stressed, I eat far less Mexican food (sad), I don't eat late dinners like I used to, I walk more, and I go for jogs. Simple.

Speaking of jogging: In two weeks I'll be in my very first running event with a group from work. It's just a mile, but running the whole thing is a real challenge for me. Running a mile has always been a challenge, even in my super-fit softball days. John will be in town (he's coming in a week!) so I've persuaded him to run with me to encourage me.

Too bad Paparazzi can't go! I am looking into obedience and agility classes for him once my budget can accommodate it because I think it would do wonders for all of that energy... or at least make me feel better about caging him all day while I'm at work.

My extra room super pimped out with Ikea and my
baby furniture. Sweet.

One way to make that happen is filling my extra room, but I'm being selective about it. I was able to outfit it with a bed finally when I came upon some great deals. It's ready to go, and there have been some bites, so my fingers are crossed that I'll find the right person and bring in some extra income.

I'd like to end this post with a few photos of things I've seen on my walk to work that amuse me in what is most likely a very dorky way. Things like this are the reason I like going by foot when I can; you just don't see this driving down the road and it makes for great details in short stories.

Happiness is homemade
(not like this doormat and matching Astroturf)

I really wish this guy's name was in
magnetic letters so I could move the "i"
in his last name to the end of his first name.

I'm pretty sure that "Years Ahead Styling
Salon" hasn't updated their sign in a
solid 20-30 years.

That's right fellow lushes who need a cart
at the liquor store like I do—don't put
your kiddos in the cart! There won't be
room for the Franzia!

I Live Here Now

This is day two of destroying a cardboard
barrier. This was the bigger, badder version.

This was my first week officially on my own since John left for Los Angeles. Without going into the mushy details, it's been different to have the house so quiet. Paparazzi has definitely been missing the attention, too. Besides the gross outbursts, the other day he brought a bag with ginger root upstairs. Didn't rip open the bag to try to eat it, just apparently carried it upstairs and left it. I've tried keeping him in the kitchen with five foot walls of cardboard, but apparently eight plus hours alone is enough time for him to figure out how to tear down that wall! 

Anyway, in an attempt to satiate his desire for attention, I took him to Shakespeare in the Park's "All's Well that Ends Well," which is a fabulous play and I'm a little sad I never wrote a paper about it in college! It was great, but he was squirming like a toddler and at one point I did body slam him to get him off my face and calmed down. Other than that, it was a great night out.

Last week, I got the plastic to prove I live here now: a temporary driver's license and my library card (haven't set up my home library yet but I'm ready to terrorize a new one!). Next step is PA plates, which is a convoluted system I haven't really figured out yet. They make it complex by wanting a pencil imprint of your VIN and if you can't get to it (like mine) you have to have it done at a verified place. On top of that, their official guidelines say you need to register and title your out of state vehicle within 20 days of establishing residency.... but you need Pennsylvania ID.... which you can't get until you have a utility bill... which takes more than 20 days. Stupid.

Some other theatre- goers decided it
would be fun to let him drink their cider.

Anyway, I spent this last weekend being very domestic--cooking and cleaning my little heart out. I organized the basement, bought a pork roast and an ice cream cone from an Amish woman at the local farmers' market (where I was lightly chastised for leaving Paparazzi tied up outside for about 15 minutes--apparently he's prime for dog fighting kidnappers), mopped the floor, hung things on the walls. I've realized that home repair can be rewarding, but my solutions very rarely work the first time, making for constant trips to Lowe's.

My garden is finished and I see a tiny little tomato starting to grow. I added some luck to it when I found--I kid you not--a cluster of lady bug eggs hatching in my guest room. I freaked at first (why the hell won't bugs leave me alone?!), but found out they're harmless so I just transplanted them to the garden, where I'm still picking out pieces of glass. The brief downpours we're getting are washing up new slivers every day and that's what I do while my coffee is brewing--collect a handful of glass. 

As for a social life--I met some of my neighbors last night and let me say, what better way to bond than beer and tearing apart sea insects? I was going to go to see Bridesmaids with one of them tonight, but I had to work late. I think they're all part of Harrisburg Young Professionals, and I'm planning on going to a couple HYP events at the end of the month.

Since John left, I haven't had the luxury of being driven to work like an old lady. It's close enough that it's silly to pay for parking but far enough to sweat. I'm still working on ways to minimize the sweat. Right now it's mostly trying to not move once I get into the office.

Work has been good, and by good I mean busy. I really hate not having enough to do, and that hasn't been the case since we've sent this master plan of content production into motion. That means I'm doing a lot of copyediting. Downside: I can't read anything without looking for errors.

Sometimes it concerns me that a large part of my job (editing in general) is looking for flaws. It becomes a mindset I'm not a fan of. I get over-concerned with effectiveness and purpose and lose sight of the validity of looseness and relaxation. Maybe I'm getting a bit too philosophical, but I've been thinking about my "career path" lately because one of the many people higher up on the food chain encouraged me to since this company is small enough to allow for role flexibility and successful enough for individuals to flourish. Which is exciting as hell, but also a bit of a wake up call. 

Once you get away from being financially burdened and generally being happy with what you do, you can go from adequate to ground-breaking. The question is what do I want to be passionate about in my work? I have no idea, and as I told Suzy tonight, I think it would be presumptuous for me to pretend I did really know. I envy people who have a goal like, "I want to ensure that everyone in western Uganda has access to clean drinking water," or "I want to provide scholarships for 15 inner city girls this year." They're clear goals to work towards. They make a measurable difference. I want one.

Glass in the Garden & Gale-force Winds

I saw about three trees like this - roots ripped out,
taking the concrete with them.

Just because I've left Texas doesn't mean I've escaped ridiculous weather. Texans like to say, "If you don't like the weather here, just wait a minute," since it changes so rapidly. Well. Last week, a storm that brought down trees I couldn't wrap my arms around hit in about that time.

I was out running with Paparazzi Thursday evening, and I knew it was likely to rain because the humidity rivaled Houston's standard mugginess. The dark clouds coming in were motivation to pick up the pace, but when I felt the cool breeze, I accepted that we were going to get wet.

What I didn't expect, however, was that with the cold front I felt came winds that immediately started breaking off rather large limbs from the trees around me. All of a sudden, I envisioned myself bleeding on the pavement with only stupid Cobra insurance coverage for the stitches. So I ran a block back, hoping the buildings would block the wind better. Eventually, I got to a place where I could call John, who came and picked up me and the smelly dog.

This guy's car was crushed by a fallen tree
(see stump in background).

When we got home, I went to turn on the TV to see if there were any tornado warnings (as it turns out, one or two did touch down nearby), but all that came through was Sesame Street. I crossed my fingers that somebody would interrupt Elmo kissing babies if I needed to get in the basement.

While mother nature is busy tearing down plant life, I've been busy trying to grow it. I do not have a green thumb; I've killed many a plant. But I still like to try. I think this time could be the most promising since I'm growing in the ground instead of undersized pots. I've also bought lots of Miracle Grow.

Let me say, however, that digging out a 2x5x1 piece of ground is not as simple as I thought it would be. Fortunately, it's not clay, but unfortunately, it's full of crap: enough glass to replace one of my windows, a plaid shirt, a beer can or two. It's gross. But, with any luck at Lowe's today, I'll have the plants in the ground before the sun goes down. I'm trying to be modest - just a tomato plant, a bell pepper plant and a jalapeño plant for the ground plus some herbs in small pots - and while I'm planting a little on the late side, I'm hoping something will come of it. After I get everything planted, I'm also starting the war on weeds - most of my "yard" is actually weeds, so I'm trying to remedy that so it looks half decent.

I don't have work today, which is exciting, though I very well might end up doing some work from home any way. In addition to the medical system project that I'm working on, I've started doing some work on a new client that I'm very excited about: Art of Tea. I've been learning a ton about tea, resulting in a serious spike in how much I'm drinking. Part of that is that it's hard to read about tea and not want to drink it and part of that is I've realized the low quality of most of what I have and want to drink it up so I can get better stuff.

And while most things are going well, there have been two low points over the last week. First, John will be leaving in a week. He's sick and needs to get back home to see a doctor. Second, my ex-roommate from Austin has decided to steal about $300 from me. She owed me overpayment in rent, which she agreed to send minus any bills I owed, but decided she didn't feel like it. So in addition to finishing the garden, one of my goals today is to finish filing a suit against her. Maybe being served papers by the constable will be enough to make her realize that it's better to just honor your agreements.

Making this House a Home

The long downstairs area was a bit tough to figure out,
but I think between Dad and I we figured out a good layout.

John put together the pantry (center) since there wasn't
one in the kitchen.

It's been almost two weeks since we unlocked my back door for the first time, and it's been a super busy between moving in and my first days at work.

So far, I've met two of my neighbors and spent about 30 minutes chatting with them on the first visit. I'm in a changing neighborhood - my row of houses is half black and half white tenants. While it used to be a less than desirable place to be because of crime, it's changing every day. People like my neighbor Laila won't stand for that shit. That's the attitude of lots of people on the block - we're a strong, healthy neighborhood and we won't tolerate criminal activity.

Anyway, my POD arrived and John supervised the less than cordial attitude of the driver frustrated by the tight situation. Within a few hours, however, John and Dad had everything emptied into the house, and the POD was picked up less than 48 hours later.

A week later, I'm still organizing nearly nonstop. Most of the kitchen boxes (the largest number for any room - surprise//1) have been emptied and the necessary cleaning is complete. Praise the Lord I got my laundry done (with the nice new matching w/d set) and have clean things to wear, though I was disappointed to realize things won't dry terribly well in the basement. I have more cardboard than I know what to do with now!

I'm pretty antsy to unpack my books and
set up my library.

Internet (slow but secure) is also up and running. Almost all of my books are upstairs, but the bookcases aren't up yet since I can't find those damn little pegs used to put up the shelves - it's stuff like that that makes moving so hard.  I'm also  realizing what kinds of furniture I need (in time and at the right price), and plan to hit up local garage sales and used furniture stores for anything without cloth (i.e. not a couch or chair).

Work has been busy as well - it's basically been a thrown-into-the-deep-end kind of experience, which isn't too traumatic for me since I learn by doing and I'm used to a chaotic environment. The way this office uses technology makes my old office look like all we had were glorified typewriters  - we chat, we use Yammer (basically like Twitter for just our office, resulting in wonderful HR nightmares), everything is uploaded and worked on online, etc. I love it because it really facilitates faster, more effective communication and a better company culture instead of constantly interrupting each other, sending emails, etc.

This is the spare room. Mine looks a lot like it but
without the balcony door and much messier!

I've been working primarily on writing copy for a website redesign for a health system, which means it's pretty much the same story as before - I get to write about lovely things like colonoscopies and prostate surgery. (I was so naive to think I left behind writing disgusting phrases like "projectile diarrhea" when I left Guitar Veterinary Services). There's nothing like asking, over the phone in the middle of a room full of tech guys quietly coding away, "Can you explain what a patient can expect during an in-office vasectomy?"

I do wish there was a half bath downstairs, but this works.

I've also functioned as a floater, helping with other projects as needed and as I can, which has allowed me to learn some company-specific software by simply jumping in and doing it. And everyone is so busy that I'm trusted to ask the right questions and get it done, which is nice. There's definitely a sense of teamwork to achieve company goals. I experienced that willingness to help out my first week when I put a Yammer post out about needing help transferring info to my new work computer and three people jumped in to make it happen within minutes!

Last week, we were told that the company structure will be changing somewhat - not an unexpected change given the growth we're experiencing, but growing pains are anticipated nonetheless. For me, that means I'll be taking on a lot of the duties of my manager and, I think, essentially be the primary (but not only!) copywriter on staff. I think the change comes at a good time for me since I'm not really attached to any particular way of doing things so as long as it's for the better, it should be simple for me.

Overall, I think being homesick hasn't set in because I'm so busy and John's here, though he'll probably need to be gone by the end of June. We tried a Mexican restaurant the other day and it was sub-standard as expected, but other than that, it hasn't truly hit me that I'm so far from home. I'm sure it will catch up eventually.

A quick summary of everything else:

• Yes I've looked at the Taylor Daily Press website a few times, and it seems to be the same headache as before. I'm so glad I didn't have to work Election Day this weekend!

• I'm still working to clear up all of the Austin apartment (the bedbugs one) nonsense. Thank God everything has gone smoothly with this landlord, though there was some disagreement over blinds - they said they don't provide them, but they took down the ones that were here and would put them back up for a fee. I picked my battles and had Dad do it while he was here, among many other Dad jobs.

• John and I have both been taking runs about every other day. We don't go together (he used to run cross country so I'm not even going to put myself up against that), but we take Paparazzi and he seems to enjoy it, even if it doesn't entirely wear him out.

• I think I've finally sorted out my mail forwarding situation; a pile of it was sitting in Austin, but it's moving along now. Email me if you need my new address. I might also be getting a new phone number since I keep getting unwanted sales calls about health insurance and furthering my education...

• I'm hoping to have my spare bedroom rented out by early next month, but I have to get an actual bed first and take pictures of my place when it's not a cardboard explosion.

On the Road to a New Home

Part I

Paparazzi enjoyed fake freedom with his head out
the window while safely strapped in.

Monday John and I made the long (11 hour) haul to Memphis in our first day of driving, and we spent the next day exploring the city. I expected it to feel bigger, but in reality it isn’t much beyond the size of Austin. Probably the best thing we did was visit Sun Studio, a place established by a white man who loved the blues and recorded greats like Howlin’ Wolf, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. It was very sweet.

We had a dinner of seafood gumbo, chili, Cajun BBQ shrimp, fried fish and ribs at a place called Blues City Café on Beale Street, where the music scene is rocking. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting soul food in Tennessee, but black culture is especially strong in Memphis.

John checks out the menu at Blues
City Café, where we had dinner Tuesday.

The Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum really explored the blend of white and black culture in Memphis music, explaining how white sharecroppers worked side-by-side with black sharecroppers in the cotton fields, feeding off each other’s music. Primarily, the way things went was white guys picked up black trends in music. At Sun, I learned that the original version of Hound Dog (Elvis: “You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog…”) was sung by a woman, which – when you think about it for two seconds – makes far more sense. Another artist came back with an answer song called “Bear cat woman,” but was sued over it since it sounds just like Hound Dog.

Anyway, it was a gorgeous day despite an 80% chance of rain predicted the day before and the same was true on our drive on to Grandpa’s house outside of Knoxville, Tenn.

Paparazzi enjoyed being outside for a while at Grandpa’s a little too much; he bolted when I let him in the backyard without the leash and I had to run after him across many a backyard and a street. As usual, I caught him because nature called and he couldn’t fight it. I write this as he sits panting behind me in the back seat, and I know it’s truly no wonder he ended up in a shelter; every time he runs I feel bad for whatever family lost him last.

Manny and Paparazzi scrambled for
Grandpa's attention Wednesday.

The weather has been beautiful and the driving is much more interesting than in Texas. We’ll be camping in Shenandoah National Park through Saturday, when we’ll get to Harrisburg and into my new place for the first time!

Part II

I didn’t have a chance to throw up the previous blog because there wasn’t Internet access at the park. When we got there, we found out we’d have to drive about another hour and a half to two hours into the park and fortunately made most of it in the remaining daylight.

We stopped for dinner at one of the many beautiful overlooks and dodged at least a dozen deer on the final stretch into camp. We set up camp in the dark and climbed into our sleeping bags without the rain fly, which meant we could look at the stars since John’s tent is all mesh covering. Unfortunately, that also meant I got pretty cold, so I woke up in the middle of the night to don a couple sweatshirts and extra pants and socks.

These two kicked my butt on the trail!

The next day, we headed out for a four mile hike after breakfast. Now, four miles in Austin is not the same thing as four miles in Virginia. It was up and down hill – flat for only short stretches – and included a decent amount of climbing over rocks, which Paparazzi made look easy, even in his booties (stickers got stuck in his paws when hiking in Texas so we got these to protect him this time around).

It was exhausting, but really pretty and fun. By the end, even Paparazzi was laying down if we stopped for anything. I paid $1 for five minutes of hot water (no warning when time was running out), and we passed out back in the tent for a hard afternoon nap.

I woke up first and am proud to report that, for the first time ever, I made a camp fire all on my own! We had tried to make one before conking out, but when it started to sprinkle, decided to put it off. John woke up about 15 minutes later, after I already had some food cooking over the fire (I impressed the Eagle Scout!).

We got him the doggie booties because
his soft fur catches stickers and hurt his paws.

After a slow dinner of soup, scrambled eggs and bacon, John showed me his expert s’more making skills – apparently, the key to a finely toasted mallow is waiting for the fire to die down to the embers. We re-packed the bear box and went to sleep with the rain fly on for extra warmth that night since I’m cold natured.

Saturday was our shortest driving day of the trip at under four hours on the road, and my landlord left the key for me. With a few minor things to remedy, the place looks great, though I don't know what I'll do with so much space!  It's a true house - three bedrooms - and so much space downstairs. I can't wait to get to settling in and decorating to feel more at home.

I've already met one of my neighbors and she was super friendly. Her name's Leila and she welcomed me to the neighborhood with unprecedented warmth. It was really reassuring that I did chose the right neighborhood.

Monday is my first day of work and Dad will be here later this week to help unload the POD, which is coming Thursday. I can't wait to get my stuff in here because now we're basically camping indoors. Look for more updates in the coming week!

Packing and Prepping for the Road

It was pretty cool to watch how they moved this thing.

I am unbelievably exhausted, and I'm pretty sure my Dad, who reminded me today that his next major birthday milestone is 60, is even more pooped. Today (with beautiful weather - a real rarity in these parts), we loaded about half of a 8'x16' PODS container.

Dad also reminded me that this is the first time since high school that everything I own is in one place, which is crazy. Not only is everything going to be in one home since they are - shall we say "encouraging" - me to take anything of mine I don't want thrown away, I'm also taking quite a few things that they're simply trying to get out of the house in preparation for their next move.

But beggars can't be choosers, and a beggar I am because moving is expensive! My company will be reimbursing me for some of the costs, but it's killing me now since it's all upfront. The PODS container alone is $2,200, not to mention the gas to get out there, food, places to sleep since it's a 24+ hour trip, etc.

But John and I have decided to make the best of the trip out. We're leaving Monday for Memphis, Tenn. and staying an extra day for site-seeing, staying with my Grandpa one night, and spending a few nights in Shenandoah National Park. While I hate long-distance driving, I'm looking forward to the fun we'll have :-) We haven't decided what all we want to do in Memphis, but the Memphis Zoo, the Rock 'n' Soul Museum, Sun Studio, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, and Beale Street are all on the list of potential places to visit. Tell me what you think we should do by voting (sidebar to the right on the blog's homepage).

Dad is the master of Tetris. That's why
he broke out the sweatband.

So besides packing constantly and making phone calls for arrangements (from hotel reservations to switching over my utilities), I'm also trying to see friends before I take off. Last night, Laura (my college roommate and hair cutter extraordinaire) introduced me to the very awesome Anvil Bar in the Montrose area of Houston for finely crafted drinks. I also got to meet her sweet, 70-pound Labrador retriever Brujo, which of course made me miss Paparazzi (he's staying with John while I wrap things up in Houston). I'm hoping to see a few more people this weekend yet!

In the mean time, real-life Tetris will continue, but since the storage unit is all but empty (only my unneeded washer and dryer remain), I'm hoping it will move swiftly.

I finished up today with an Elk burger from Fuddruckers (oh yes, I said ELK!) and a little more repacking magic, and now my brain is shutting down. I'm going to get some shut eye so I can get up early tomorrow to finish up and get back to my boys!

P.S.
Did I mention that moving is hard and expensive? Just wanted to make sure that got in there.

Found a Place to Live!

To make a long day of events short, Tuesday was basically just a repeat of Monday – about two-dozen calls and several mediocre viewings. One property stood out – it was a complete remodel that nobody had been in since. It was gorgeous, but about $100 over what I was hoping to spend and about a mile further out than I wanted.

My new place in midtown Harrisburg.

I did, however, find the right place in the end. There’s a group called WCI Partners that’s bought lots of buildings in the neighborhood where three other andCulture employees live. They remodel and sell or lease the rowhouses out, and they do great work. Fortunately for me, they actually have their work done by the woman-owned construction company that remodeled the other house I liked so much! They really have their act together – wrote up all the remodeling changes they committed to for me – and are super nice – she let me borrow her umbrella all day to look at other places. So I feel at peace about it.

The house’s current seafoam green carpet (when was that popular?) will be replaced with new flooring and the whole place will be painted in some nice neutral tones (the kitchen is currently pumpkin orange with a plum ceiling – what were they thinking?). They’re adding a washer and dryer to my private basement plus a security system. There’s even central air, which is definitely nice, though I’ll be making the switch to life without a dishwasher.

There’s one bathroom and 2.5 bedrooms upstairs. The “third bedroom” really is tiny so I’m going to geek out and turn it into a library! My room has doors out to a second floor balcony. Hopefully once I get settled I can rent out the other bedroom to interns at the capitol or maybe exchange students. I don’t need that to make the rent, but it would help me save some money and give me some company besides Paparazzi, who’s welcome there. They even waived the pet deposit and pet rent to meet my budget.

I’m in the same neighborhood as Liz Rose, who recommended me for this new job because she’s awesome, and she raves about the neighborhood – block parties, really friendly, strong neighborhood watch. I’m hoping to buy my way into her car pool party too to save money on gas when I don’t want to walk, though I hope to do that a lot for the exercise – it’s about 2.5 miles round trip - while it's nice.

The Church of Poetry at Midtown Scholar
Bookstore down the street.

I’m also just a few blocks from the Susquehanna River, where there’s a great walking trail people take their dogs on all the time, and I’m about half a mile from a giant bookstore/café and farmers’ market. It’s just what I wanted. :-)

So, despite the initial nerves and probably 10 miles of walking over three days, I ended up with a great deal in the end. And I’m not worried that I’m missing out because I think I’ve seen every freaking available place in the area!

My projected move-in date is May 15, depending on how fast they can do the work they need to. If you need my new address, just send me an email since I don’t want to post it online. If you're in the area, I plan to have a moving party: Beer, Brisket, and Boxes. Apparently Shiner and decent barbecue are scare in Central Pennsylvania so I aim to remedy that for any who will help.

I’m not sure yet what will be my last day in Texas, though I’ll probably be around through the end of April. My official start date at andCulture is May 9, but they’re flexible on that. John and I will likely be road tripping out to PA, so I’ll keep y’all posted on when I’m leaving the great state of Texas.

Apartment Hunting Opening Day

The capitol building is beautiful (and lime green on top).
I saw it several times during my nearly 4 miles of walking.

I've come to the conclusion that apartment hunting really brings out both the best and the worst in me since, as often seems the case, both labels can be applied to one trait depending on the context. Allow me to elaborate (you have to, it's my blog).

Despite my rampant cynicism, cultivated as a whiskey-drinkin' journalist of course, I'm an optimist at heart. For me, optimism means looking at a challenging situation with an eye for how to solve it while pessimism means looking at that situation and only seeing what can stop you.

Here's what happens when this is applied to apartments: the optimist in me looks past what's there towards what could be. Which is healthy and probably not bad given that I can't expect perfection. However, it also allows me to talk myself into things I shouldn't. The first time I went apartment shopping, in Taylor, Vivian was my voice of reason - the person who said, no this bathroom is ridiculous, we're leaving. I tried to keep her voice in my head today, especially when I walked into the first of seven apartments I viewed.

Upon walking into a building that looked like it was straight out of Beetlejuice, I smelled the smoke and asked if smoking was allowed inside. My extremely indifferent, and tardy, leasing agent said that there wasn't anything in the contract preventing it but she'd never seen anyone smoking in the hallways. But, um, can't you smell that? I've been around smokers my whole life and as such have an olfactory immunity to the smell much of the time. I decided to give the units a shot since maybe people only smoked in the hallways because it snows here?

Well, I walked into the first one and immediately lost my balance. I looked down. I looked at the leasing agent (an Asian girl named "Fir," I shit you not). "Are these floors uneven?" I asked. She looked up from her PDA long enough to give me a blank stare like, "Oh, you noticed that?" She assured me they were safe, which I think is bullshit. She pretty much looked at her phone for the rest of the tours.

Needless to say, the other three units in that building were also lacking (mostly for kitchen space). The final one had fire escape stairs as the only way to get inside, which terrified me. How would someone get their dog to go up or down the unstable, narrow steps, let alone ever move furniture? I was not to be lured in by the bay windows and view of the river, no sir. So I walked on (clocking nearly 4 miles over the day).

I just can't say no to that face.

According to my phone, I made about two dozen calls today on properties I passed by, probably about half of which said no to Paparazzi. That dog is complicating this process like no other, but I'm not even considering giving him up - I need someone to come with me! I'm going to be so homesick, not to mention that it would just be selfish of me to give him up because it's inconvenient. So he's coming, but he'd better appreciate how tough he's making this by being a canine. Fortunately, his almost complete lack of barking and tiny stature makes him negotiable in some places.

Two other places I saw were huge - really too much space for me - but again, the kitchen had no counter space and no room for a table. So disappointing! I can live without a dishwasher, but I need a place to prepare food. It's becoming clear to me that the kitchen is the most important room for me since cooking is not only a daily task for survival but also a means of relaxation and entertainment in my life. And while I don't need granite counter tops to be happy, but I do need counter tops.

The seventh place was tiny, though I was a big fan of the fact that the landlady used to run an extermination business. Definitely big points in my book, for obvious reasons given my recent rental history. But the place is basically just a wide hallway with a kitchen at the end, and I just don't want to hang out in my bedroom all the time.

So the hunt will continue tomorrow, which is a real bummer because I was hoping to meet some andCulture clients tomorrow. But alas, there are rental calls pending and new contacts to check in with, so wish me luck in finding a decent place!

First Impressions of Harrisburg

I've been in Harrisburg for about 48 hours now and it's been interesting. I thought about writing last night, but my 102.3 fever seemed to indicate that I might regret whatever I wrote. My fever broke during the night and I woke up feeling much less achey and miserable, though I'm still fighting a sore throat. But I'm jumping ahead.

The flight from Houston to Philadelphia was rough because I tend to get sick after something stressful is removed from my life - in this case, working at the Press. So Friday felt a little bit like going to the first day of school sick: Will they like me? Will it be too hard? Will I stay standing the whole time?

I did get through the day with coffee, ibuprofen and an exciting work environment. I know that andCulture isn't easy to understand based on their website, and that's because they're a company with a lot of different working parts. The simplest explanation is that it's a design firm. They specialize in websites, which I write for (my official title is junior content strategist). They also work with mobile apps and experience design, but I'm not sure if/when I'll be involved in those kinds of projects.

Bottom line: they're a forward thinking company in both product and company culture, which is incredibly refreshing. It's intense and serious when it comes to creating a great product, but really friendly and fun in the process. Of course, that is judging it from one day and current employees' opinions, but major upsides I've seen so far include: company weight loss competition, ping pong table, kitchen for monthly group meals, shower at work so I can walk there without fear of being gross all day... good stuff.

Anyway, there's not much more to report work-wise since it was mostly a day of meeting people interspersed with working on a project I've started on with a hospital system's website rebuild. But it's wonderfully located downtown and while I was worried that Harrisburg would feel too small for me, it seems like a great balance.

Let's put this into perspective: not including the multitude of surrounding towns around Harrisburg, about 16 Harrisburgs could fit into Austin (population wise). Houston has 80 times as many people as Harrisburg! On the other hand, Harrisburg is about four times the size of Taylor, the city I formerly reported on. One thing I liked about Taylor was that I could go places, like the post office, and run into people I knew. It was a town I could fit my head around socially.

Harrisburg seems similar in that way - we ran into some friends of Liz's when we went out for a drink after work, for instance. And what I really loved? All the people walking around downtown during the day! I don't know why, but I just love that about cities and I've really missed it.

Had some nice, hot Italian wedding soup at Alvaro's

I was looking forward to doing some of that city walking myself today, but alas the beautiful weather quit and it rained all day, leaving me indoors since Liz had to judge a design competition. I made a quick run to a cute Italian bakery a couple blocks away when it let up, but otherwise just rested, which is probably for the best. The weather looks like it should be clear tomorrow so I can get to walking and find myself a place to live already! I've seen lots of places in areas I'm interested in with "for rent" signs up, so I'm optimistic I'll be able to find the right one (without bedbugs - priority number one, followed closely by allowing dogs).

Welcome to the Adventure

Hanging out with Suzy's cows in Brenham, summer 2008.

That's right, dear family and friends, much as I did with my blog about living in Spain, which I can no longer access because my college email address is dead, I'm going to use this blog to keep you up to speed on my adventures in a foreign land.

This time it's Pennsylvania. Where they have snow and no respectable Tex Mex.

After six months and three interviews, I was offered a job with andCulture and put in my two weeks with the Taylor Daily Press. I'm on my way to getting the hell out of bedbug-infested dodge. While I'm thrilled to be leaving my over-stressful job as a journalist, I'm not as excited to be leaving Austin. There are things here in ATX (and just in TX) that I truly love. I'm not eager to get out of this city, but it was the one catch for the sweet gig I landed.

Let's be real: I'm scared shitless. 

For one, the temperature difference alone is a solid 30 degrees and I don't have the wardrobe for that. But really, while I'm psyched that my good friend Liz (they call her Liz Rose up there - the effect of her superb branding skills), I'm already missing Texas.

Twelve years ago, I got out of the car in our Houston driveway after a three day journey from Colorado and said, "How do people breathe here?" I eventually adjusted to the humidity and two-season world of Gulf Coast living, but once I left H-town, I had no desire to go back.

I was a little more country in high school,
but I still have the hat and the boots.

Still, I love Central Texas. Sure, I may not love barbecue and football as much as a native Texan should, but you can't help but associate this state with your personality when you've been here this long. I met my boyfriend on his first day here after an epic road trip for California, and ever since I've found myself saying pretty often "at least that's how it is in Texas." I'm realizing that Texas is what I know. All I know about Pennsylvania is that it's a less cool shape with cheesesteaks.

And so, with the help of my "I'll-never-move-you-again" father, Mom's expert and far more organized packing skills and John's ability to move anything in flip-flops, we loaded up the apartment I've been in for about a month. In a few days, I'll be skipping away from the Press and on my way to visit PA - and hopefully find a place to live.

"I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion. And this is true to the extent that people either passionately love Texas or passionately hate it and, as in other religions, few people dare to inspect it for fear of losing their bearings in mystery or paradox. But I think there will be little quarrel with my feeling that Texas is one thing. For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study and the passionate possession of all Texans."

John Steinbeck