So a decision has been made, and now plans need to be finalized. I’m staying in the islands. Seems to be some work out there, though I have not found it yet, but the good news is that I’m pretty sure I qualify to be professionally licensed while back home I still needed one more year of experience. That certainly calms one of my biggest worries about moving down here. Also, my parents are starting to get over the fact that I now plan on living down here, and have agreed that my brother renting my place back home would be the best option (though he’ll only be paying slightly more then 1/3 of my mortgage in rent), he still has yet to find a job now that he’s graduated college. Hopefully he’ll broaden his search beyond using his studio art major to find a job.
So this weekend, a fraternity brother and three other friends are coming to visit. They are stopping by to see us for one night before heading to a campsite on another island close by for the rest of the week. I’m pretty excited about this for a couple reasons. First, it will be nice to see some friends, and second, its giving me a reason to cook. Though its nothing I haven’t made before, I haven’t bought chicken down here yet. So we’ll make some jerk chicken, peas (red beans and rice), and some fried plantains and sweet potatoes. I like to think this will be better then what they’d get at one of the local bars, and certainly a lot cheaper.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Holiday
So today the free internet was closed for the holiday, so are most of my potential employers. So today was like an extra day of vacation for me. So I woke up at 6:30 with C to make her breakfast before work, conviced her to lotion my back so I’d have atleast some sunscreen on my back today and found myself on the beach by 8:30. It’s a lot cooler today then it was yesterday, and I also took the day off from running up this ridiculous hill, so that helped. I was a little surprised to be really the only person down on the beach, especially since there are hotel rooms right up on the beach, but I guess its the off season right now. I finished my book by 9:30, so I had a more time to think while I sat at the beach.
I’m starting to sway more strongly to the opinion to say f*ck it, rent my place back home, and take my chances with the job that may or may not be open in the fall. I’ve seen a few listings for wait staff and bartenders at some local hotels. With my savings, rent, and either unemployment or whatever I’d make as a bartender/waiter, C and I should be able to get by for a while down here. And if/when I do get the other job, we’ll have more money to do some fun stuff/stow away in an a savings account. Doing something like this would definitely be something out of the ordinary for me, but I am really starting to see this as a life experience I simply can’t pass up. Not to mention the strain me living several plane flights away and neither C or I having any vacation from our jobs for 6 months. Then, in the back of my mind, I think about my friend Chris, who C drunkenly suggested to one night should move down to the islands with us. The day after she suggested that, I had to sit down and think about whether or not that would be a good idea or bad idea, and the positives simply outweighed the negatives. Chris has never really left hometown, even going to a college in town. I’ve said for awhile that he needs to get out of town for his own good, and not many opportunities like this have come his way. I’d feel bad if I don’t stay down here just for him, though I know he’d understand.
Sorry this is scattered, but what I have been really battling with down here is whether just leaving everything at home would be completely irresponsible. Financially, there is almost no question it would be irresponsible. I would be leaving an area with a cheaper cost of living, a car I bought not more then 3 months ago, a mortgage, and a larger job market. Down here, the cost of living is sky high, I’ll have to repay a very generous interest free loan from the government, face taxes on my rent “revenue” (because the housing market sucks right now, and I would lose a ton if I sold), and then there’s the whole cost of moving down here. But, this potential job in the fall could be a very good experience and would send my career in a the direction I want it to go, rather then where the company at home would send me down (much like the former employer). All of this is weighing on my mind, but I’m starting to wonder if maybe it would be very irresponsible to not move down here. Since I’ve been old enough to really remember, I have never really lived further than an hour from my parents. College was an hour away, and my place is 20 minutes away, into the city. I tell C all the time that one of the things I love most about her, is her ability to push me to try new things. Without her, I’d probably be in my old routine of going to the gym, either watching tv or grabbing drinks with my neighbors, then in the fall, goto class or rugby practice after work. Weekends would be the same friends, going to the same bars. I enjoy that, but there’s more to life then that. Here, I’ll be meeting new people, trying new things every day. And theres the whole emotional issue. Neither C or I will have vacation for 6 months, maybe even longer for me depending when I start work. Outside of a friend’s wedding in August, we would not see each other for half a year. We’ve been together for a little over a year now, and that was long distance, though we were able to see each other almost every weekend. Now this would be 6 months with out seeing each other at all. So in the terms I tend to think in (numbers), how much is this life experience and being able to see C as much as I want vs. none at all worth to me. The more I think about it, the more I think I’d “give up” to stay down here. This is certainly not an easy decision, but I can’t imagine being able to live back home and not wondering what if and missing C like crazy. Is money worth being miserable? Sure it will be nice to have for the future, but what if I can’t handle that.
How did being able to buy a house in a buyers market turn into a bad thing? This decision would be a lot easier if I rented. Since this will be posted after writing, hope the Fourth was good for whoever managed to make it through my ramblings.
I’m starting to sway more strongly to the opinion to say f*ck it, rent my place back home, and take my chances with the job that may or may not be open in the fall. I’ve seen a few listings for wait staff and bartenders at some local hotels. With my savings, rent, and either unemployment or whatever I’d make as a bartender/waiter, C and I should be able to get by for a while down here. And if/when I do get the other job, we’ll have more money to do some fun stuff/stow away in an a savings account. Doing something like this would definitely be something out of the ordinary for me, but I am really starting to see this as a life experience I simply can’t pass up. Not to mention the strain me living several plane flights away and neither C or I having any vacation from our jobs for 6 months. Then, in the back of my mind, I think about my friend Chris, who C drunkenly suggested to one night should move down to the islands with us. The day after she suggested that, I had to sit down and think about whether or not that would be a good idea or bad idea, and the positives simply outweighed the negatives. Chris has never really left hometown, even going to a college in town. I’ve said for awhile that he needs to get out of town for his own good, and not many opportunities like this have come his way. I’d feel bad if I don’t stay down here just for him, though I know he’d understand.
Sorry this is scattered, but what I have been really battling with down here is whether just leaving everything at home would be completely irresponsible. Financially, there is almost no question it would be irresponsible. I would be leaving an area with a cheaper cost of living, a car I bought not more then 3 months ago, a mortgage, and a larger job market. Down here, the cost of living is sky high, I’ll have to repay a very generous interest free loan from the government, face taxes on my rent “revenue” (because the housing market sucks right now, and I would lose a ton if I sold), and then there’s the whole cost of moving down here. But, this potential job in the fall could be a very good experience and would send my career in a the direction I want it to go, rather then where the company at home would send me down (much like the former employer). All of this is weighing on my mind, but I’m starting to wonder if maybe it would be very irresponsible to not move down here. Since I’ve been old enough to really remember, I have never really lived further than an hour from my parents. College was an hour away, and my place is 20 minutes away, into the city. I tell C all the time that one of the things I love most about her, is her ability to push me to try new things. Without her, I’d probably be in my old routine of going to the gym, either watching tv or grabbing drinks with my neighbors, then in the fall, goto class or rugby practice after work. Weekends would be the same friends, going to the same bars. I enjoy that, but there’s more to life then that. Here, I’ll be meeting new people, trying new things every day. And theres the whole emotional issue. Neither C or I will have vacation for 6 months, maybe even longer for me depending when I start work. Outside of a friend’s wedding in August, we would not see each other for half a year. We’ve been together for a little over a year now, and that was long distance, though we were able to see each other almost every weekend. Now this would be 6 months with out seeing each other at all. So in the terms I tend to think in (numbers), how much is this life experience and being able to see C as much as I want vs. none at all worth to me. The more I think about it, the more I think I’d “give up” to stay down here. This is certainly not an easy decision, but I can’t imagine being able to live back home and not wondering what if and missing C like crazy. Is money worth being miserable? Sure it will be nice to have for the future, but what if I can’t handle that.
How did being able to buy a house in a buyers market turn into a bad thing? This decision would be a lot easier if I rented. Since this will be posted after writing, hope the Fourth was good for whoever managed to make it through my ramblings.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Day 2
Another day down here, another day I spent in the AC infront of the computer. Between compiling lists of companies that are hiring or I would cold call, perfecting my resume, and updating pictures on various photo sites, I’m finding my days as a fake productive. I get a few things done, but several are slowed just by the internet connection and the fact that I only a set amount of time each day with free internet. Between the last two days, I’ve spent between 5 and 8 hours on the computer trying to upload pictures from our trip down here and C’s last few days in states. There have been several attempted loads that have failed. So this is making me feel very unproductive. On the bright side of things, the job hunt is going well. On top of the potential work down here that came from my flight down here, a friend/former coworker forwarded my information and appears to be another job lead back home. As my dad keeps reminding me, my field is highly sought after. This is good news, and may supply leverage?? if people like me are in as high demand as I’ve come to understand.
So with time to think lately, I have come to the opinion that in the long run, I probably better off not working for the company that laid me off. I really enjoyed working for the company that hired me, but they were resistant to change within the company, and their sale was really the best for the company to keep from ultimately going under. We were told this new larger company was going to provide us was a lot of opportunity and resources. All I really saw was a lot of red tape from bureaucracy and mismanagement. The work mentality went from worrying about the final product to worrying about billing and accounting. I, and I imagine several others who were laid off were probably wronged by ineffective superiors. I’m going to stop my ramblings right now, I’m sure more will follow later. Also, C keeps reminding me she misses her bed she left at home. I miss that bed to, but I don’t think I want to go home.
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