Big Changes

Today, I became Californianized. At approximately 4:30 PM Pacific Standard Time, I signed the DMV forms, took a quick picture, and surrendered my New York License. I find it funny that it took me two-plus years of living in New York before giving up my Connecticut identity and when I did, I did so only because I was now married. But upon moving to California, I switched identities within four days of becoming a resident. Yes, my friends I am now a Californian.

Ok.....hold on...back up a minute. I know what you're saying, You're two weeks late in posting a blog and you lead off with a story about the DMV! Well....hear me out...I feel that this story is the perfect introduction to the changes that I am embarking on and the new mindset that I am chasing.

The past two weeks have been crazy and a whirlwind of changes and things to do that I could not and did not expect upon making the decision to move out here. Let's see in short, we got a new apartment, went used car shopping (a truly horrible experience), bought a used car, began job searching, interviewed, moved in to a furniture-less home, slept on the floor the first night, bought an air mattress, saw my wife leave back to New York and our sole source of financial income, and began to discover a town and state foreign to me.

So to answer the quick questions, the town is Alameda, CA on the East Bay, the car is a 2002 Toyota Corolla, the apartment is a nice 1-bedroom in a beautiful complex right on the San Francisco Bay, and the job search....well....I'm not going to mention any specific names of places, I'll just say that things are going ok....and will hopefully go better now that I can fully commit time to networking.

All these things were changes and events I expected to make, but I guess I never thought about how major, time consuming, and slightly draining they actually ended up being. I'm not sure if I have ever made any decisions on this grand of a scale before. I figure choosing college is the closest, but even in that case I applied for multiple schools, had months to choose and had advisers and parents helping me with their knowledgeable suggestions. This has been just Mel and me, and now it is just I for the next few months. I am ready for what's coming next, but man have the past two weeks been crazy. Like I said, this has been a whirlwind. But, I guess that brings us to today and the surrendering of my New York State License. Even though this has been a lot to process all at once, this is a choice that I am ready to go for in full force. I can tell straight away from just two weeks here, that I love this area already. The vibe is clearly different from New York, anyone can tell you that, but it is still a great vibe. I enjoy seeing different people from all communities and races interact so casually (one reason why we chose this great town), I enjoying looking someone in the eye and saying hello (not turning the other way), and I'll be honest with you, I love the weather. There was a day last week when I walked outside and it was a bit chilly at around 50 degrees or so. I had to remind myself that it was FEBRUARY and then promptly received a call from my mom telling me that it was snowing about 7 inches in Connecticut.

So there you go......it took me two years to say I was a New Yorker.....it took me four days to say I'm a Californian. I'm not forgetting my roots, I am just ready to make this change. And here's another change I look forward to making.....not posting only every three weeks. Now that I am settled in and have an Internet connection, (a major hindrance in trying to post) I promise I will blog more frequently and keep you updated with all going on. Alright....rock and roll....and I'll will blog with you soon.

-Scott-