official
I feel so much lighter now after the past two years of being secretly on the job market, keeping it close to the vest, and realizing I needed to go where there was more opportunity.
That is not to say I'm not sad....I'm glad to leave workplace, but I"m sad to leave my town because it's a place I've lived 17 years--much longer than I ever imagined I would when I first moved here in my 20's assuming that after a quick stint getting my master's degree I'd be off to a big city like NY or Boston or DC or San Francisco or wherever.
But I would not change a thing. Charlottesville is a really special town for the history, the university (it has the charms of a college town), for it being a huge part of my family history (both of my parents were naturalized as U.S. Citizens at ceremonies held on July 4th at Monticello. (This is held every year, my parents each became citizens in different years during the early 1970's). It really is a special event.
Also, my friends.....and the fact that I earned two degrees here--my Master's degree in 2000, and then later after years of working, I went back to school in 2006 to start my PhD program, and graduate with that degree in 2010 August. There's everything to love about this place, from the natural beauty of the Blue Ridge mountains, to the local wineries that are starting to make it onto the nationally recognized map of good wines, the fresh food and local farm-to-table movement (because so much grows so well in virginia), good restaurants, the festival of the book, the film festival, the farmers market....the fact you can hop in your car and be to most places in about 20 minutes or less.....maybe half an hour at most.....
But I'm also excited to be in the DC area. I'm not looking forward to dealing with rush hour traffic and the highways. But I'm excited because it's a great city and one that is essentially home, because I grew up visiting DC so frequently that it's "familiar" territory. Though it has changed quite a bit from what it was when I was growing up in the 1970s, 1980's or even when I was in college and visited in the early-mid 1990's.
There is no shortage of things to see and do and explore in the DC area: good food/restaurants, shopping, sports, arts (National Symphony Orchestra, the Strathmore Performing Arts Center, Wolf Trap Farm, the Kennedy Center (where I saw Les Miserables in 1988, National Ballet, etc.), history, museums, the national zoo with the panda cub and pandas, the outdoors (Rock Creek park is a great place for biking, and the Potomac River is there).....
I remember seeing U2 in concert in DC, at RFK stadium right before going off to college, in August 1992--it was part of my sister's graduation gift for me when I finished high school and was ready to go off to college. That was awesome.
So I suspect it will be a place I'll enjoy. The job itself is in Bethesda, which, given how staggeringly expensive the area is, means I'll likely be living in the surrounding suburbs. I"ve thought about keeping my Virginia residency and commuting, since many people do this every day, from Fairfax County to Maryland....but that would make for me either HAVING to drive on the beltway every day to get to work, or it being a 1.5 hour metro commute by train. The Maryland suburbs of Montgomery County are my other option, and it'd be closer to drive in by car if need be (though there's a strong current from new workplace steering me towards taking the metro, as it's subsidized by workplace)......so I'll have to choose a place along the Metro up there.
All good things......
But first, I have wrist surgery tomorrow. You know I get nervous about anesthesia because for me it has not ever been a fun experience, but I am told this will be ok. It'll probably just be iv sedation and it'll be like taking a nap and then waking up and I won't remember it. I will be in pain though so I was prescribed some painkiller to get me through the post-op period. Most of all, I'm intimidated by the fact I can't use my right hand for two weeks at least, after the procedure.....and I have a lot to wrap up at work....which involves typing/writing....AND now, I have to pack my apartment and get ready to move....and to do that, I have to organize and sort through things I want to purge before the move.
And that's not to mention everyday living. My sister said to wear things that don't require buttoning.
Mom and Dad are back for their first visit here since moving away from Virginia and I'm thrilled to have them! This is going to be their last visit here before my move, and they timed it so they could help with the above, and take care of be after surgery. Did I tell you that I have the best parents ever? Well I do.
OK. More later. Probably when I can type again. In a nutshell, I'm super excited about the new job and a new chapter of my life and living in DC. Sad about leaving Charlottesville because it's an unforgettable chapter in my life, a special place for me and for my family, and an all around awesome town. There's another list that came out saying it's the happiest town, and it often is recognized as one of the best small cities in the US to live in, and one of the best college towns in the US. So I'm sad to leave it. And I'm not sad to leave my current job, b/c it's so poorly run from the top. BUT, I have many great coworkers and have made many friends there, and we have good people working there, and I will miss those friends/colleagues.
I think that's about it for now.
