One More Week...

...until I quit my job (yeah, quitting on 8/4)
...to treasure time spent with friends
...to finish packing/selling stuff
...to eat all of the In-n-out that I can – luckily there’s one by Oakland airport!
...to enjoy the wide selection of fresh fruit in a regular supermarket (like my summertime favorite of Rainier cherries)

I can't believe what happened to July! Aah! I've sort of been pretending to pack for the past several weeks, but wasn't going to panic until after this pesky little work trip I took. So, I went from "ok, this meeting is at the end of July, I’ve got plenty of time" to "yeah, a week from Wednesday" to "holy crap, I'm going to Chicago tomorrow for four days".

I was going back and forth about going to this meeting (the other option being to quit on 7/25). I really didn't feel like traveling for the company anymore, and being out of town the last 4 days of July just seemed to be incredibly inconvenient. Then I had this guilt trip about not going to this meeting I’ve been working on and planning for months – especially since we had some major deliverables from that meeting, and this is my favorite team to work with. Remember, I sneakily applied to school so I only gave 2 weeks notice. Well, I'm really glad I went. It was the right thing (and the mature thing) to do, and I am leaving on a good note with my bosses. I earned major bonus points for going to this meeting once they realized that I had to move to AA shortly after returning.

While in Chicago, I also started to get a bit more acclimated to Midwestern summer weather. In California, summertime means the occasional heat wave (not the 110 degree crap we had recently), allergies, and forgetting where my umbrellas are. In the Midwest, summer = humidity, afternoon thunderstorms, and tornado warnings that can shut down the airport (poor stranded travelers on Thursday night) – all while it’s about 85 degrees outside. This is going to take some getting used to.

My Chicago trip was also the last major work related item – so I’m basically done. I mean, I’m working through this week to get $$ (one week’s working is more than a month’s rent). More importantly, being pretty much done with work makes the whole b-school trip more “real” to me. Now my purchasing habits have changed. I can’t fill up the tank because car shipping company won’t take my car with a full tank of gas. I went to the grocery store but while I was there, I reminded myself not to stock up on things on sale – or anything – if I’m not going to finish it in a week. Especially since I’m going out to dinner several times this week. So, instead of getting my normal weekly food, I got the aforementioned cherries, orange juice, milk, and crossaints.

So, in a little over a week, I need to see everything the bay area has to offer, say my final goodbyes, pack up, and go. I’m really excited, but I’m still a little in denial that I’m actually leaving. Maybe that’s why I’ve been pretending to pack. Or why I just bought my plane ticket (free southwest ticket). I’ve been in the bay area since I moved up for college 9 years ago. Maybe I’ll realize that I’m leaving after I start furniture shopping/setting up the apartment in Ann Arbor.

Finding a Place to Live

Wow, long time no blog. Time keeps flying! I mean, it seems like I was just in San Diego, but I realize that was two weeks ago. Most of what I've been working on has been related to finding a place to live.

I was seriously condidering the idea of choosing a place based on pictures and floorplans. I'm not looking for anything fancy (and if you saw my current apartment you'd realize I'm not living in luxury), but I need laundry in building, a parking space, early August availability (a lot were available 8/27), near a busline, decent storage/cabinet space, a full bathroom (right now I just have a shower), and ideally heat included in rent. Bonus points for air conditioning, a full-sized stove, and a dishwasher. I also didn't want to spend the entire alloted "housing" cost on a place.

I found a couple of places that had all of this, and one place that looked particularly cute, and I was convinced that I'd want to live there. But then I realized that I don't even like to buy shoes online (damned size 10 feet!), so I just coughed up the $400 and went to AA. I made a few other appointments at places, but had my #1 in my head and hoped it would work out.

Well, let's just say I'm sooooo glad I went. Pictures could be deceiving. Really deceiving. My original #1 just wasn't what I wanted, and I didn't get a good feeling. Then I went to see dump after dump. And don't get me started on "garden level" (actually basement level) apartments...If there's snow on the ground - a reality in AA, can you never see outside?!? At this point I was getting discouraged and then drove around looking for complexes. I happened to run into one that was having an open house. I convinced myself that I could live there if nothing else came up. Well, that little voice in the back of my head (the same one who told me to fly to AA) said "something's not right about this place". A quick Google search showed me that this isn't the safest apartment complex in the world.

I had no expectations when I went to the last apartment viewing. However, it immediately felt like home. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was nice! It's a little farther away from campus than I thought I wanted to be, but it's so worth it to not live in a dump.

Can we move the beach to Ann Arbor?

One of the things I wanted to do was to get some pictures of the Pacific before I left. People do travel from all over to see the ocean, but it is something I have taken for granted. Plus, I don't like Northern California beaches so I don't get around to going very often. It's strange how the knowledge that you are leaving all of a sudden makes you want to hurry up and go see things. I know this isn't the last chance I'll ever get to see these things, but I guess I want little reminders of "home".



I was out of town this past weekend and took these pictures. We went on a little "hike" at Torrey Pines and I took these pictures from the trail. Views like these made me realize exactly why people come from all over to see California. Friends kept saying "you know, you'll really miss this when you're freezing in Ann Arbor". Which is true, however I also miss scenery like this when it's pouring rain during the California "winter" and I don't want to go outside.



After the hike, I felt like walking barefoot on the beach. I really had a lot of fun playing in the sand and acting like a total tourist. In a way, it kind of was, since it has been a long time since I have actually been to the beach. The beach was really soothing and I realize that I like being near water. In fact, Chicago is one of my absolute favorite cities. And one thing I liked the most about Chicago was the fact that Lake Michigan reminded me of the beach.



I'm not sure if I am going to return to California after business school, but I do know that I can't be in a landlocked state. I don't need an ocean, but a bay, really big lake, river, etc. I just need the ability to drive less than two hours to someplace where I can sit, relax, and read. Or, I can just live near really pretty water and use my MBA to market and distribute postcards. :)



While out of town, I also saw the movie 'The Devil Wears Prada'. I remember reading it a couple of years ago and thinking that it was just a funny book. But after MBA preparations (and two more years at the workplace), I'm seeing this in an entirely different light. I wonder if this is the fashion version of that book "Monkey Business". There are SO many lessons that I can easily see from that movie (believe it or not) but I'll save that for a later post. It did make me wonder if this is the way that a job "a million MBA's would kill for" would work out.

I've also spent a lot of time watching soccer. I'm not even going to get into that whole Zidane head-butt thing, but it is sad that his career ended on a red card. Unfortunately, that will always be associated with him. It also shows what can happen to a team when their leader is absent (and by this I mean physically absent).

I LOVE Craigslist

OK, shortly after my whiney post, I posted just a few items on CL: my IKEA dresser and nightstand, my slightly nicer small desk and tv stand, my small dining room set, and my bedroom TV and stereo.

And in less than 24 hours, I sold my dresser and nightstand, (they kind of matched), my small desk, and bedroom TV. Score! Now I just have to sell the big items - bed, couch, TV, coffee table, and the smaller things (kitchen appliances, odds 'n' ends). I'm not looking to make a ton of money off of stuff but $$ is better than nothing. Plus, I'm going to stash the cash in a separate wallet I don't use so I can have some extra cash when I move.

I don't know why, but for some reason I was having cold feet about posting my stuff on Craigslist. It really felt like I'm starting to close a chapter of my life. Or maybe it's not as symbolic - I now have to either hang up my clothes or live out of boxes/suitcases for the next month and a half.

I still love Craigslist though.

Packing Sucks

Warning: I'm about to start whining.

That's all. I REALLY hate packing. How is it possible for me to have acquired so much crap if I live in such a small apartment? I've moved before, but usually it's across town. This time, I have to decide what stays and what goes. I was originally going to get rid of everything, but there are some things I just can't part with. Like the sweet martini glass I got from my friend as one of my bridesmaid presents (there's an Appletini story behind that).

So, I'm a mini-pack rat. I'm going to try and limit the amount of stuff I ship across the country. Really I am.

B-school resolution: I will not acquire crap, I will be good and only purchase (or acquire) things I need. If I don't see myself using it, I will get rid of it.

Now let's check in 2 years to see if that still holds true. Ha ha.