Winds of Change
Wednesday, February 16th, 2011 06:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
radiumgirl So Owen got the job in Kalamazoo. It looks like I'll be moving to Michigan by the end of the year. I have mixed thoughts on this.
On one hand: OMG REAL JOB. And it's pretty much exactly what Owen wants to do. I'm incredibly happy for him. He's excited. He even surprised me on Valentines Day by bringing over a bunch of apartment listings and said that even though I won't be joining him for a couple of months, he wanted my input anyway.
The rabid loathing I have for my temping gig reached new heights on Monday when I was tasked with booking hotel rooms for the trainers when they go to LA to run classes. I was under the impression that's what the secretary was for. I know she kinda sucks at her job, but hey, boss man hired her, and I have a fucking masters degree.
Of course, I'm still going to be there until September or October, so all of the grumbling and swearing happened in my head.
I also googled Kalamazoo and it looks like a fun town. Bell Brewery makes some kind of beer that Owen squealed over and there's an air and space museum. The Verve Pipe is from Kalamazoo. I can take the train to Chicago in an hour and it's thirty bucks round trip. If there's some sort of special for daily commuters, I'm definitely going to look into finding a job that pertains to my fucking field. I mean, it's Chicago. It's like the Manhattan of the midwest.
Ahem.
I'm also starting to put together a PhD application for WMU. I'm very nervous because I didn't realize how competitive their program is. They also don't like to take candidates that don't have MAs or MFAs in English. My BA is in English, but the MA is in Adult Education. The website didn't say that they wouldn't take people from different fields, but I feel like I'm already going into this with a strike against me. I'm actually going to run up to IUP next week and meet with Dr. K, aka: Barb, and try to figure out if I should apply to the PhD program or the MFA program and how I can convey to the powers that be that my MA was acquired out of fear and that my passions lie in English and I'm really quite brilliant if you ask Barb.
Also? Letters of recommendation.
And I have to take the GREs. Eew. Do not want.
So, I guess I'm excited too, but at the same time, when I think about moving, I'm also a little nauseous. Michigan? Really? It's six hours by car, nine by train, and getting a flight there is more complicated than you'd think because Pittsburgh International Airport lost all their HUBs and basically fails at getting you anywhere. I didn't bother looking into Greyhound after I saw Amtrak's route.
Also? It's cold there. It was forty degrees here yesterday and amazing. I checked the weather for Kalamazoo for shits and gigs and it was twelve. Twelve degrees. I wept.
And then there's the "but all my friends are here" argument, which is kinda lame, but I love my friends. I like to keep Rooney, Gabe, and Squishy in mind when that argument starts to take over because they live in Cincinnati, St. Louis, and KOREA, respectively, and if Squishy can just up and move to the other side of the world after graduation, surely I can handle six hours.
I'm sure there will be more angst on this later. This is your warning.
So, to rip off Chbosky: This is my life. And I'm both happy and sad, and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.
On one hand: OMG REAL JOB. And it's pretty much exactly what Owen wants to do. I'm incredibly happy for him. He's excited. He even surprised me on Valentines Day by bringing over a bunch of apartment listings and said that even though I won't be joining him for a couple of months, he wanted my input anyway.
The rabid loathing I have for my temping gig reached new heights on Monday when I was tasked with booking hotel rooms for the trainers when they go to LA to run classes. I was under the impression that's what the secretary was for. I know she kinda sucks at her job, but hey, boss man hired her, and I have a fucking masters degree.
Of course, I'm still going to be there until September or October, so all of the grumbling and swearing happened in my head.
I also googled Kalamazoo and it looks like a fun town. Bell Brewery makes some kind of beer that Owen squealed over and there's an air and space museum. The Verve Pipe is from Kalamazoo. I can take the train to Chicago in an hour and it's thirty bucks round trip. If there's some sort of special for daily commuters, I'm definitely going to look into finding a job that pertains to my fucking field. I mean, it's Chicago. It's like the Manhattan of the midwest.
Ahem.
I'm also starting to put together a PhD application for WMU. I'm very nervous because I didn't realize how competitive their program is. They also don't like to take candidates that don't have MAs or MFAs in English. My BA is in English, but the MA is in Adult Education. The website didn't say that they wouldn't take people from different fields, but I feel like I'm already going into this with a strike against me. I'm actually going to run up to IUP next week and meet with Dr. K, aka: Barb, and try to figure out if I should apply to the PhD program or the MFA program and how I can convey to the powers that be that my MA was acquired out of fear and that my passions lie in English and I'm really quite brilliant if you ask Barb.
Also? Letters of recommendation.
And I have to take the GREs. Eew. Do not want.
So, I guess I'm excited too, but at the same time, when I think about moving, I'm also a little nauseous. Michigan? Really? It's six hours by car, nine by train, and getting a flight there is more complicated than you'd think because Pittsburgh International Airport lost all their HUBs and basically fails at getting you anywhere. I didn't bother looking into Greyhound after I saw Amtrak's route.
Also? It's cold there. It was forty degrees here yesterday and amazing. I checked the weather for Kalamazoo for shits and gigs and it was twelve. Twelve degrees. I wept.
And then there's the "but all my friends are here" argument, which is kinda lame, but I love my friends. I like to keep Rooney, Gabe, and Squishy in mind when that argument starts to take over because they live in Cincinnati, St. Louis, and KOREA, respectively, and if Squishy can just up and move to the other side of the world after graduation, surely I can handle six hours.
I'm sure there will be more angst on this later. This is your warning.
So, to rip off Chbosky: This is my life. And I'm both happy and sad, and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.
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Date: February 16th, 2011 02:27 pm (UTC)I lived in MI briefly and while looking for a possible more permanent location, Kalamazoo was where I picked on the map!
Okay, only because of the name. I liked going, "Kalamazooooooooo!"
A good friend of mine lives in between the thumb and palm of MI and it is flat, flat, flat. I did find a wee hill there once while driving aimlessly one day. The worst part about living in MI is having to drive through OH to visit, in my opinion. I have an unnatural loathing for the state. Sorry, Ohio. Maybe because it's always in the way of where I'm going. haha. (I visit Indiana a lot, too.)
Typically, at least in the Detroit/Flint/Brighten area, the temps are about the same as here. In fact, over the years compared to that area, we have gotten a lot more snow. Though, living closer to Chicago, I'm not sure.
Congrats! It'll be great!
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Date: February 16th, 2011 06:17 pm (UTC)Dude, the name "Kalamazoo" is ridiculous. I feel like all of the buildlings should be built out of candy and the waterways should flow with cocoa.
Although, I've already caught myself calling it "K-Zoo" for short.
Heh. Owen and I once got into a debate about Ohio and whether or not it should be loved or hated. he went to undergrad at a school in Cleveland, and I loved loved loved Cleveland and I loved visiting him there and for awhile, he was looking for jobs in The Cleve and I would have been thrilled. One day, I said, "Man, I love Ohio." and Owen said, "No, you love Cleveland."
"Yeah. Cleveland. Ohio."
"Cleveland is Cleveland and everything else is Ohio. You love Cleveland. I promise you, you will not be impressed with the rest of the state."
So...I guess I shall see. >.<
I DID manage to find some airfare that was only like, 150 round trip, which isn't bad when you do the math and figure out how much gas you'll be using on a drive out there though. So...maybe I can avoid cross-state trek for a bit? Maybe?
I'm really stoked about being so close to Chicago. Because I am a sad, dorky person, BEFORE I considered work and school in the windy city, my FIRST though was actually, "DUDE. THEY DO CONS IN CHICAGO."
Adulthood: clearly doing it wrong.
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Date: February 17th, 2011 11:09 am (UTC)Ooooh, I've gotta girl... in Kalamazoo-zoo-zoo-zoo-zoo
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Date: February 17th, 2011 11:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: February 17th, 2011 11:43 am (UTC)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3TyBfT-rqA
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Date: February 17th, 2011 01:09 pm (UTC)