Life and all that

Now that it's March I'm finally finding time and motivation to update this site. What's happened since October? Well, I was preparing to move to the New York City area, to break into New York publishing. But to move required LOTS of small matters being attended to.

The first was to make sure I still had a job when I got to the area. It wouldn't do any good to be a starving would-be editor, even if that would offer motivation for my job search! So, I had to arrange a transfer with FedEx, and find an appropriate situation. As I looked at FedEx's internal job site, I found a good opportunity in Clifton, New Jersey. I went through the process, and was hired as the evening Lead Production Coordinator (LPC) for the store. I arranged to begin work on January 4, 2010.

My old friend Lisa lives in New Jersey with her husband. I stayed with them, about an hour outside of New York City, when I visited the area on a scouting trip the last week of October. That trip went well, which persuaded me to go ahead and make the move, and arrange my transfer. In early December I began sending boxes of my books to Lisa's house. This process continued up through the morning I left Colorado, on December 30th! I ultimately sent 57(!) boxes to her house, and loaded my car up with everything else that would fit. I paid to have my bed hauled away, gave away my beloved blue leather recliner, and threw out many other items.

I was worried about how to move Ember, as she's too high strung to ride in the car for three days. But first, I had a more important concern. I was driving home from work late at night on December 8th when an idiot kid drove over some ice, lost control of his car, and knocked mine like a bumper car into the ditch on the side of Parker Road. My driver-side door was ruined, and I had to have a rental car through December 28th, when my car was finally fixed and ready for use. Fortunately, the kid's uncle or cousin had insurance, so I was eventually reimbursed for my expenses, but it took until late January for that to shake out.

No sedation I tried worked on Ember. My last resort was to use the U Ship It website, and through it, I found a guy who transported Ember to New Jersey for $450. Lisa and her familiy would be out of town when he arrived, so I had to arrange to keep her at a kennel near by. This too all worked out.

I hit the road on December 30th, and drove to my friend Russ's house in Columbia, Missouri. It was good to see Russ and Katie again, however briefly, and have a place to spend the night. I drove away the next morning, stopping outside St. Louis at a Pizza Hut for lunch. They had the $10 for-any-pizza special going, so I had half a large for lunch, and saved the rest for dinner. I arranged for a motel room in Columbus, Ohio and got there in the evening. It was New Year's Eve, so I watched the ball drop on TV, and went to sleep just after midnight. Two hours later, I woke up and was violently ill. Over the next five hours, I was sick again every thirty to fortyfive minutes, leaving me exhausted and dehydrated.

I should have pushed through all the way to Lisa's house on January 1st, but I was too tired. I had planned to stop in Bedford, Pennsylvania, to visit Patti Bonn at Aegis/Aberjona. Bedford was at the halfway point of my remaining drive, but getting there was all I could manage. I decided to take up Patti's offer of spending the night in her spare bedroom. We chatted pleasantly for a while on this occasion, our first face to face meeting after years of working together on book projects via phone and email! A good night's sleep had me ready to finish the trip on the 2nd.

I did indeed arrive at Lisa's house in the early afternoon of my fourth day on the road. That evening, I collected Ember from the kennel, much to her relief. She was so happy to see me, but had to stay in Lisa's basement, due to cat allergies in Lisa's family. I would visit Ember several times a day, in between working my new job and finding a place to live.

Craigslist seems to be the current best way of locating a place to rent. I spent a week at Lisa's, making a 45-minute commute to and from work, and checking on rentals on my days off. I found a place in Union City on Sunday, January 12th, and moved in that night. Ember was very happy to no longer be cooped up! Weekly trips back to Lisa's followed, for the next five or six weekends, until I at last had all my possessions in my room. That room overlooks the Manhattan skyline, and is just over the Lincoln Tunnel. In fact. I live atop a hill above the Weehauken little league baseball field, a landmark I rode past every day during my October visit to the area!

By mid-January I had a room of my own, a job, and a short commute to work. The reimbursement of my expenses for my car being hit seemed to be coming together, and I was gradually collecting my boxes of books into my room. My car needed an alignment before the accident, and it was supposed to be done as part of the repair. In fact, it was not done, and the long drive, in a weighed-down car, did my tires no favor.

As you might imagine, all of the above was extremely expensive. I held off getting new tires in order to increase my bank account first. There was plenty of other matters to keep me busy, such as updating my address with credit cards, banks, my cell phone carrier, and so on. I had new neighborhoods to explore, by where I live and by where I work. I also did some unpacking, though I'm typing this next to stacks of boxes. But at last, a week ago, the time was right, and I got my car an alignment and new tires.

That hurdle is in the past, and spring has sprung in the NYC area. The weather is warming up and daylight savings time means later daylight. The "settling-in phase" is declared over, and I announce its replacement by the "get a publishing job phase." Happy St. Patrick's Day, let the games begin!