New City, New Outlook, New Me
I sat the other day, staring at the Craigslist advertisements for jobs, thinking about how long it's been since I've had all of this time on my hands. I have so much time to myself right now, I should be writing. I should be editing the books I've written. I should be working though, honestly. Alas, I'm doing none of the above.
It started last year - toward the beginning of December. If you'll recall, I received a new position at the bank that was going to save me from being laid off with the added benefit of more money and the ability to work from home some. Six months into the position, I realized facing the prospect of a layoff would've been preferable to my new working environment. To make a long story short, I parted ways with the bank and with that left behind six years of financial industry work I'm happy to say is over. I've always said I wasn't cut out to work in that world - I'm not a overly materialistic person, and most everything about that world is the polar opposite of that philosophy.
With my new found unemployment, I began exploring what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I love writing. I knew I wouldn't be in Chicago forever. And Mike and I knew our resale store wasn't going to stay in that space for very much longer at all (we were having a lot of problems with our commercial landlord). We made the decision to use my savings, 401k and retirement cash-out money to make a cross-country move to Providence, RI. While it's no Chicago, no Boston, or no NYC, it's a great home base that's affordable, has great people and is close to everything we love.
Since arriving in Providence, we've made a new circle of friends, reunited with old friends, and begun making a new life. I've begun the great search for a new corporate gig (outside the financial industry) while exploring other areas (like ghost writing and the such) while I'm not working. Who knows, if ghost writing takes off, I may not get a new corporate gig at all (here's to hoping on that, though the prospects of that happening in this economy are nil).
While the job hunt may be an ongoing effort, I've decided to begin focusing on writing and editing again while I have the time. And perhaps I'll post a few pictures here and there of our journeys and the such. I miss blogging, and think it's high time I got back into practice.
It started last year - toward the beginning of December. If you'll recall, I received a new position at the bank that was going to save me from being laid off with the added benefit of more money and the ability to work from home some. Six months into the position, I realized facing the prospect of a layoff would've been preferable to my new working environment. To make a long story short, I parted ways with the bank and with that left behind six years of financial industry work I'm happy to say is over. I've always said I wasn't cut out to work in that world - I'm not a overly materialistic person, and most everything about that world is the polar opposite of that philosophy.
With my new found unemployment, I began exploring what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I love writing. I knew I wouldn't be in Chicago forever. And Mike and I knew our resale store wasn't going to stay in that space for very much longer at all (we were having a lot of problems with our commercial landlord). We made the decision to use my savings, 401k and retirement cash-out money to make a cross-country move to Providence, RI. While it's no Chicago, no Boston, or no NYC, it's a great home base that's affordable, has great people and is close to everything we love.
Since arriving in Providence, we've made a new circle of friends, reunited with old friends, and begun making a new life. I've begun the great search for a new corporate gig (outside the financial industry) while exploring other areas (like ghost writing and the such) while I'm not working. Who knows, if ghost writing takes off, I may not get a new corporate gig at all (here's to hoping on that, though the prospects of that happening in this economy are nil).
While the job hunt may be an ongoing effort, I've decided to begin focusing on writing and editing again while I have the time. And perhaps I'll post a few pictures here and there of our journeys and the such. I miss blogging, and think it's high time I got back into practice.