Tag Archives: moving

Back In Action

Holy smokes, it’s only been like 7 years or something crazy like that! Truth is I’ve thought about firing this old blog up many times so it’s time to finally get it done. A lot has happened in 7 years. I completed my two residencies, passed all 6 board certification exams…yes, 6; 2 of which were in person in Florida…I guess that explains a few years of not actually doing this. I have since lived in Los Angeles, Raleigh, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Ohio (such a tiny town no one would know but I oddly loved it because their park system was top notch and the trails were a mix of forest and prairie…but that wind! brrr), back to Raleigh, and now happily I recently ended up in the Land of Enchantment: New Mexico!

It’s been a wild 3 years. I was in Raleigh for 3 years and left because I hated it and wanted to go back out west so to Phoenix I went: saguaros, gila monsters, sunsets oh my!

Naturally, the company I worked for got bought out 6 months later. I stuck around for another 5 months but something just didn’t seem right…like we were acquired just to get rid of the competition but they didn’t really need us. I got a phone call from someone in Nevada who almost bought the company and asked me to work for them so I did. Six weeks later the company who acquired us went through and fired some people and gave the rest ultimatums about their new job and pay cut or severance and the door. I don’t know what my fate would have been but I was glad I went where I did though I’m not sure it turned out much better hahaha.

Nevada was great! I loved living there. Its so close to anything: 4 hours to the beach, 2 hours to Utah through the most amazing gorge, close to Zion, Tushars mountains, 2 hours to Death Valley, 3 hours to Mt. Whitney, less than one hour to Mt. Charleston, 3 hours to Joshua Tree, 5 hours to Phoenix…literally anywhere. Day trips leave you feeling like you traveled for 10 hours because you can get to any landscape you want. Anyway, I didn’t see eye to eye with the person in charge and that was the end of that. Sometimes you just have to deal with it but neither of us could deal with each other.

Morning trail times in Sloan Canyon before work

Ever since I lived in Phoenix, someone in Ohio had been trying to get me to work for them so I sought that out and took the job. I had a GREAT time living in Ohio. Truly loved it. I was in the part that didn’t really get snow…just a little bit here and there; enough to enjoy it and then it was gone. The trails were delightful, the rain brought fun mud, foggy mornings were abundant, everyone minded their own business and didn’t care what anyone else was doing…no keeping up with the joneses. Beautiful. My only complaint was that there wasn’t anywhere to get a good meal if I needed help with dinner now and then. But that is not a bad complaint.

And then the pandemic hit and my job went to hell and it was handled horribly. I tried and reached out and lasted 4 months after the start of the pandemic and then left that place in a ball of flames (not literally but I burned a bridge and can never work for them again I’m sure hahaha but it’s ok, I thought hard about it before it happened). That is how I ended up back in Raleigh at my old job…I needed help and so did they. We helped each other, I didn’t need any training period and was able to just jump in and make that money. Sadly it wasn’t the same job that I left. So I left…again. It was a fun 14 months though, seeing friends and camping on islands and even having a roommate for 3 months at the end preparing for a lease-less departure whenever it would come. But that place is NOT for me. I don’t like it but I was prepared to stay for the job and even looked into buying a house and even put an offer on one. Luckily that didn’t happen and it all happens for a reason.

Beach camping on Cape Lookout never disappointed

Finally the stars aligned and through some act of god the timing was right and I found a job that rarely exists for our field in a city I always said I would live in if it came to it. I LOVE this city: the people are friendly, every restaurant I’ve been to/looked at menu online has vegan options (I’m not totally but I typically reserve dairy for snacks and naughty deserts and have a steak every other month with eggs a few times a year when I get the craving), it’s easy to get around, and just like Vegas you can drive 20 minutes out of the city and be in the middle of nowhere with no one around. NM is the 6th least dense state with only 17 people per square mile…such a refreshing change from Raleigh which has something like 180 people per square mile.

The last three years since the acquisition finally make sense and I’m happy that I didn’t resist the change and went where the world told me to go…because if it hadn’t been for that July day in NC this would have never come to fruition. This job will never be acquired, they don’t hound you about how much you bill monthly (yes, a true part of healthcare in America), and it’s an actual team. In the interview I had a horrible question and answer session with everyone there about stressful situations…literally like 15 questions of giving scenarios hahaha aaaaaah. I was discussing interdisciplinary communication in the field and how horrible it is with certain departments and the head of that department was there and said that they work as a team here and collaborate. Yeah, ok, lady…sure. But afterwards one of the employees came up to me and said: I have no idea what you are talking about with all of that because it doesn’t happen here and it sounds horrible. Music to my ears. And there are actual benefits! It’s amazing how working in the healthcare field, healthcare has been the most stressful thing about it. I feel taken care of and safe with the benefits it’s delightful. I had to have an appt with occupational health and she was talking about when to see them and mentioned a work related injury or even non-work to see about continuing duties. I got nervous and asked: what if I get very injured like I fall off a trail or something? She said: we find another position that you can do until you can return to your position. I said: what if I can’t return to it? She replied: then we permanently replace you in the company. Whaaaaat?!?!??!?! That has been a huge stress as any job I have had if you have a major illness don’t expect to have a job when you come back. Also, maternity leave. It’s never been a big deal for me because that’s not a part of my life plan but I know people at my last job who plan to quit when it’s their time because it’s just all so ridiculous.

Anyway, that’s that. I have tried to link a new blog to this one since they won’t let me change the name but I can’t figure out, naturally. It’s time for a tune up and new page anyway but a lot has changed with technology so I’m cautiously optimisitic. I’ll keep working on it and share when it’s ready…do people even read these things anymore?! I know my friend Lisa is out there reading: hi Lisa! 😀

Also, I didn’t even have my cats at the time of the last post! i picked up these cool cats right before i left LA for raleigh. they showed up on the doorstep, i got them spayed/neutered and then me, the cats, and Lisa drove for ten days to NC with everything I own in my Mazda3. They are true adventure cats and I’m so thankful to have them.

New beginnings, new juicer, new city

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Hey, y’all! I feel like so much has happened since my last post and I just cannot keep up…mostly because I can’t keep up with electronics and photos to get posts finished. But I purchased one of those SD card things for my phone and I am working on learning to use it so hopefully soon I can get a bunch of stuff to a post so y’all can see the different cities I traveled to in case you plan on making it there.

In the meantime I will do a quick update on my journeys since graduation.

I enjoyed my time in Pittsburgh and had a super delightful time. I ended up staying with my friends who live in the North Side of Pittsburgh which is amazing because I’d never believe I’d happily live there. If you look up stats about Pittsburgh’s North Side you don’t see anything worth writing home about. I worked at the methadone clinic over there in 2009 which has caused the majority of my fear of that part of town. But when you have a place to stay you don’t turn it down. My friends live in a nice block and I had the whole third floor which is the most space I’ve had since I had to move out of my apartment in August. I had a little kitchen area, bedroom area, bathroom area, and desk area. It was also nice to see the views of the city from a completely different part of town. I wish I had photos to share with you but I really sucked at taking photos of the city. Mostly because I was always just staring at it and taking it in to remember it in the back of my mind. Here are some photos I took when our class had one last outing at a Pittsburgh Pirates game. You really can’t beat the views from that stadium. They are breathtaking no matter where you are seated.

Yup, those are piierogies racing around the field!

My friends gave me a going away party which was amazingly fun. I knew that I would actually be enjoying some libations so I took juice with me to see if I drank it through the night if I would feel great the next day. Turns out I would!

Juicing the dream!

I also enjoyed a wedding of two of my favorite people. Their wedding was on my birthday and despite them having so much to do and focus on that day they got ME a birthday cake complete with a birthday song and candles to blow out. I was speechless and am still excitedly telling people about it.

These are some of my favorite friends I made at my least favorite job. I will miss them hard!

I also enjoyed my fair share of Mad Mex with my favorite high school friend and with my favorite others right before hitting the road.

We hit the road at noon on Sunday and drove straight through to AZ; it took 34 hours…oy! The scenery was awful. Oklahoma’s roads were shit. New Mexico’s scenery was shit but their roads were amazing. Texas was full of asshole drivers with big trucks. I hope I never have to do that drive again. We tried to stop at the Mesaland Dinosaur Museum in NM but they were closed on Mondays. Lame. But I got my photo taken with this humerus. (Yes, I am wearing a straw top hat and fringe vest…I wanted to try to fit in when I arrived. Sadly I have not seen any other straw top hats…)

But since getting here it’s been amazing! The people of Arizona genuinely seem happy and are excited to talk about their state and weather, which is great because I need tips on surviving desert weather. My roommate is great and even cleared out the other half of the garage so I could park inside. I’ve never had a garage! The scenery here is beautiful and I love forgetting where I am and seeing mountains pop up everywhere I go.

Now the best: the grocery store basically gives their produce away! While in Pgh I didn’t even buy broccoli the whole month because it was 2 for $7. The price in AZ: $1!!! Mangoes are 3 for $1!! Cucumbers are 2 for $1!!! Raspberries are 87 cents! Bulk nuts are $2 cheaper, my favorite wine is $6 cheaper, and craft beer mix and max 6 packs are $1 cheaper. It’s amazing. With that said, let’s talk about this new juicer I got…

The day after the last day of school I went and upgraded my juicer. I had wanted to for awhile so I made it my graduation present to myself. The prices were the same everywhere so I got a 20% bed bath and beyond coupon and purchased it there. I also sold my old one so I wasn’t stuck too far down in the hole. And this juicer is amazingggg. It not only juices, it makes pasta noodles, grinds coffee, makes frozen treats, and makes nut butters. !!!!! Also, the juice tastes better, yields more juice, and saves better. Best purchase ever. It also has a 15 year warranty. I can’t even imagine what the juicers will be like in 15 years. They will probably clean and chop the veggies for you. I was concerned about having to chop the fruits and veggies since my last one I could just throw them in whole but this juicer is totally worth it. And it actually doesn’t take much more time. The juicer is easier to clean so that helps.

To give an idea of the juice yield, I got 32 oz from 2 cucumbers, 2 celery stalks, 2 handfuls of spinach, and a 1 lb bag of carrots (I got a crap bag of carrots from Target…I know I would have gotten more from a decent bag). I decided to start storing them in 8oz jars because it’s so hot here that a nice treat a few times a day seems to work better than one larger one.

Look at that dry pulp!!!

I also got 16oz from one stalk of broccoli (is that the right term…stalk? the bunch comes with 3…I use one each time), 2 granny smith apples, 1 celery, handful of spinach, and half of lemon. This juice is the one that I can really tell tastes better with this juicer. MMMM om nom nom. With the price of veggies in AZ this juice literally costs less than $1 per 16oz serving. Amazing!!!

So far I am surviving the heat. The only thing I have to adjust to is not doing things during 10am-2pm which is my favorite time to get out. It’s interesting that when people talk about the heat they remain jolly about it. They give tips and laugh about it all. That is refreshing because it gives a sense that despite the scorching temps people genuinely enjoy living here. In Pittsburgh when people talk about the snow and rain and cloud coverage it is not as jolly. It is depressing. So that gives me hope and I have already begun assembling a desert survival plan from all of the tips I am receiving.

Also fun in Phoenix are these water stores where you can take any size jug from 1-10 gallons and refill it for A QUARTER! I love water so this is great.

And even though it is hot already, my roommate doesn’t have the air conditioning on yet. WHen I was moving in I just kept thinking I won’t make it. But then I realized that it was 1pm and I needed to not be outside haha. Then I cooled down and later that night my roommate explained that she doesn’t use it yet because if you use it now, when it gets to be 115 every day you need it to be really cool and their goes your paycheck trying to keep cool. It makes sense and it’s not so bad. It’s interesting the things I have adjusted to by living with other people. This is my 8th move since August and I have happily adjusted to dealing with things I otherwise probably couldn’t have tolerated…well, with the exception of the first two places I moved in Savannah but that was more of a health and safety issue. Irritations aren’t so irritating when you are just happy to have a place to live.

And that’s my update for now. Of course, it’s 9:30am and I am about to head out when I shouldn’t. It’ll get easier when I start work on Monday. I am equal parts nervous and excited but I know it’ll all be alright. I am prepared to make mistakes and get frustrated but as long as I just keep learning and trying I’ll get there one day!

I hope everyone is having a great week and I will check in this weekend with my Grand Canyon half marathon post. So super excited for that but I know it will be a show because my left leg is still all knotted and cramped from power dancing for hours at the wedding and sitting in a cramped car for 34 hours right after…but I’ll at least finish!

Until then, readers!

Step it up, Savannah

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Boy, oh boy. My move to Savannah has not been an easy transition.

I left Pittsburgh on Saturday to head for Baltimore for a few days. I left early because I was tired of only hearing weather talk and people bailing on plans because of it. I would rather sit somewhere else in warmer weather! We were supposed to get more snow on Monday so I kept getting reminded of that as that was my scheduled day to leave. I thought about leaving Sunday instead but Baltimore was supposed to get freezing rain. So I sporadically up and left on Saturday. It was either that or wait until after Monday and I didn’t really want to stick around for that to see what -30 degrees felt like.

I had a great time in Baltimore and was glad I got to spend some time with my lover (my friend Ellie for those of your who may have missed the Orioles game post in the summer). For as much as I loathe Baltimore, it is the only place I can consistently go to and relax. As soon as I got there we went to Kislings which has THE best wings on the planet (so sad I forgot my leftovers). We then went home and watched ‘We are the Millers’. It had some good parts but I found myself glad I didn’t waste my movie theater gift card money on it.

The next day Ellie took me to Michaels Arts & Crafts and told me Merry Christmas and that I had $30 to spend on whatever craft supplies I wanted. $30!!!! I picked out card making supplies because I miss making those and look forward to getting some crafting energy out of me.

Monday I left for Savannah bright and early. I woke up at 5am, showered, repacked the car, and headed for Fairfax, VA as I was making a pit stop at an O&P facility to spend the morning with my friend who graduated in the class above me. She is there doing her orthotics residency and I was able to see patients with her, discuss journal articles, and make modifications to devices. I was even given a device by the residency director and told to go fit it on the patient…by myself!!! It was really refreshing to be in an environment that was full of excitement and willingness to teach. The residency director treated me like I was one of her own and even sent me home with some foam legs that are an excellent learning tool. I may email Santiago and tell him to get some for the class.

After that I started the drive down south. Worst.drive.everrrr. It was the same road the whole way down. The whole way! No thank you. It was pretty uneventful except for the stopping at a fast food joint called Bojangles. I was very hesitant to eat at a place called Bojangles but I figured if I was going to fit in I’d better do it. it wasn’t good…I don’t think I’ll be eating at Bojangles again. It was like a KFC, I think, but there was no flavor. Maybe it’s just because I don’t like fast food much…but I feel like if I was at KFC I wouldn’t have left completely disappointed. I did see a sign for a KFC buffet while on the road. A KFC buffet! I may have to try that out while I’m down here.

I finally get to Savannah and…well…let’s just say I moved again in less than 24 hours. The person I moved in with smoked in the house. He said he would stop and didn’t mind going outside as it would help him stop but he didn’t until the day before I came. I figured a cleaning and some air would fix the problem but I was way wrong. The years and years of smoking have created such a buildup of tar on everything. It was beyond my cleaning capabilities. I enjoy my health and am very careful about what I breathe in and there was no way I was going to breathe that shit in for four months. I took to the internet and saw a room available immediately on craigslist. I went to check it out and moved in a few hours later. It’s still not ideal but it’s better than where I was. The guy I moved out from felt really bad and understood. I lied and said I had another offer to rent previously and that it was still available so I was going there. People live differently; I just am having trouble finding someone who shares the same values in living as I have. Everyone is super nice though.

I packed the car back up and unpacked it again. I’m exhausted. I was up for 22 hours on Monday and didn’t eat for 25 hours Tuesday. I am all out of sorts and need to get regulated. I just wanted to get settled and somewhere somewhat comfortable though.

I don’t need a lot; I’m fairly simple and can adapt well…I’m just having trouble adapting here for some reason. Maybe that comes with older age? I don’t know. It’s probably also the fact that when you move somewhere different you at least want to feel comfortable. But when you’re stuck in a city where you know no one, don’t know what’s around, and don’t feel comfortable to relax it’s like a smash to the face. And thinking about my two classmates whose parents are paying their $900 rent didn’t help. If I had $900 for rent I could have one of those nice furnished apt for short term leases. But I don’t. And I get tired of people just saying ‘you’ll figure it out; you always do’. Uh, yeah, because I don’t have a choice. But it gets super exhausting always having to scheme here and investigate there and worry all of the time about it. The only comfort is knowing I wouldn’t accept help if it smacked me in the face anyway. My biggest flaw is that I’m too independent for my own good. Anyway, I know it’ll get better when I start work, have a scheduled routine, and make some friends. Until then I’ll just keep getting things here and there that will help me feel more comfortable…like slippers. Fun zebra slippers.

Last night I took myself to River St to try to salvage some of the day. I ended up eating at Barracuda Bobs and let me tell you: they make THE best bacon I have ever eaten. I got a bbq burger and usually I get the bacon on the side because it usually always tastes like poo and is soggy but I’m glad I forgot to ask. I don’t know how they cook it but it’s so amazing I can’t even describe it. I will probably pitch the idea of bacon night to them…bring a taste of Pgh to Savannah! If you’re ever at Barracuda Bobs, get something with bacon. And if you’re in Pgh, you go the Shiloh Grill Tuesdays at 7pm for bacon night (or the Harris Grill but Shiloh is way better even though it’s the same company). Bacon! Mmmm!

I also stopped at the River Street Candy Shoppe and got a pecan turtle and the praline that they are famous for. I don’t really even know what a praline is but it was one of the top 5 candies I have ever eaten. They have so many treats! I think I will treat myself to one piece each weekend.

After dinner and candy I went to Wet Willies which is bar that serves 20 types of booze slushies. They have karaoke EVERY Mon, Tues, and Wed. Yes! It wasn’t very happening unfortunately. The bartender said it was because of the cold but usually there is a pretty good crowd. I will try it out next week as well.

This morning was a new day, thank goodness. I woke up feeling like a steaming pile of poo. Probably from dehydration. I drank some apple cider vinegar and water and had a yogurt. I then decided to go for a run because I don’t have a yoga space set up yet. I reminded myself of when I ran the half marathon with a migraine and felt better afterwards and figured this would be a good way to see where exactly I live as well.

I moved closer to town which is really nice. The river is less than 2 miles away. As soon as I started off I found a super cute café, a yoga studio, and a health food store all within a few blocks. Yes! I stopped in the health food store to browse and saw many brands I enjoy of ACV, honey, tea, and bulk goods. That eased my little mind a bit. I truly began my run after that but stopped to take some pictures along the way. I just followed Bull Street all the way down and passed many Squares along the way. I took a picture of a few but there are so many! So many parks and trees here it truly is wonderful. I will have many picnics and naps under trees.

I love all of the Spanish Moss on trees. It gives a whole other dimension. There are trees everywhere here. EVERYWHERE!

As I ran a woman was looking at me oddly. As she neared me I yelled out a ‘good morning’ to which she responded ‘you sure are brave’! I guess I was getting odd looks for being outside in ‘this weather’. The great thing was, it was already 35 degrees here! And the sun was out! I just chuckled and kept on going but realized I only passed 3 other runners while I was out. They must be inside by a fire or something.

Another great thing was the fountain in Forsythe Park which had some ice on it. Last night at Baracuda Bobs a waitress was showing pictures of ice that was in between the cobblestone and this morning there were people all around taking ice photos of the fountain. The statues were frozen over with ice as well. There probably hasn’t been ice here in quite some time.

There were a few other mishaps along my way today but overall day #2 went much better. I plan to eat the second half of my subway sub and head down to The Coffee Fox for craft night. Yes, I am making myself eat before I have fun like I am 8 years old. But I still haven’t eaten or drank enough today and I don’t want to feel like this tomorrow. I will update you on the Coffee Fox tomorrow; that way I’ll be holding myself accountable to eat this sandwich!

And to end, I leave you with this which pretty much explains my life thus far: I now live with a man with a Mohawk who walks his kitten around the city on a leash.

What helps you get settled into a new town?

how minimalist can i go???

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Well, it’s time to move again this weekend…which I am secretly ecstatic about. Goodbye Oakland!!! More importantly, goodbye Oakland during Homecoming Weekend!

As I begin to gather my shit, I think to myself that I still have too much crap. When I had to move in August I did a major haul of my belongings and whittled them down to what seemed to be barely anything compared to what I had accumulated over 4 years of living on Mt. Washington. I made what seemed to be a zillion trips to the goodwill, dump, or friend’s houses to unload.

On moving day I will have approximately 8 boxes (they’re not all huge moving boxes…most are on the small to medium size), 2 suitcases (the small carry-on sizes), a 19inch box set tv (compliments of my old neighbor Juanita), 2 nightstands, 2 small pieces of bedroom furniature (so small I can move them myself; one was my grandma’s), a mattress (though I may just abandon that too), 3 paintings (all made my friends), and 4 hula hoops.

I feel like I can do better. Once I get to my new place I will go through the boxes again and hopefully discard at least one or two more boxes. I thought about doing that tonight but since I can’t move my car to drive to the goodwill thanks to this lovely city I decided it’d be less of a hassle to move it and wait to sort. I also have what seems to be a shit ton of school books and notes but that isn’t optional to get rid of…at least not until I pass my six board exams (the school stuff wasn’t counted in my amount of boxes but it’s a giant duffle bag and two small reusable bags).

And as far as moving to Savannah and wherever I have to go after that (which may or may not include another brief move to PGH in between) I have decided to get a hitch installed on my little car and only take with me what will fit in a 5X8 trailer. All of this will fit…but it’s just exhausting to keep moving. After Savannah I could potentially have another 4 moves if the worst case scenario plays out. And the majority of the boxes haven’t been touched in two months so clearly there aren’t things in there that I NEED…but are more sentimental items that I want. I previously got rid of the majority of my clothes but it’s hard to get rid of any more of them right now since I have to wear scrubs every day and cant gauge what I actually wear. I also don’t know what climate I will end up in.

Getting rid of the majority of my stuff has actually been quite delightful. When I need something I know where to find it, I don’t feel trapped, and I feel like I have a bit more control. All of those positives have taken away my desire to even go shopping and accumulate things that aren’t on the need list. It’s an amazing feeling and one that I have been happy to have found. The extra money that isn’t being wasted does wonders for my half marathon budget 🙂

What tricks and tips have you used to whittle down your belongings?