Sorry if you've been checking my blog, anxiously awaiting my next update, only to find ... that my last post was 2 months ago. :(
Part of that is a combination of laziness and not having a lot to write about. Once I stopped travelling, the blog turned into a journal of deciding where to live and look for a job. The first part of that is (mostly) done -- or at least, the list has been narrowed a lot -- but the second part has barely begun, so I haven't written much about that. Not sure how much I'll write about my actual job search anyway. It'll get pretty dull reading "found one interesting job opportunity today ... sent a resume ... still no word from Potential Employer #14 ... etc." every time you check in.
Maybe I'll post the big stuff, like if I get actual interviews or something out of the ordinary occurs. Like last night, for example, the nice guy at the bodega around the corner offered me a job working at his shop. That was very nice of him, and out of the blue, but not what I'm really interested in, so it's worth a mention on the blog only because someone offered me a job based on my charming personality alone. /self-deprecating chortle/ Not because it's a real opportunity. Well, if I'm still unemployed two years from now it might be lol, but not right now.
Here's a short update, though: I'm renting a one-bedroom apartment in a cool neighborhood in Cleveland. One of the many neighborhoods my mom grew up in, in fact. The rent is reasonable and I can walk to a lot of places. Being Cleveland, some driving is still required, but that's not a big deal. Some people are mistaking me getting this apartment with me having definitively chosen Cleveland as the city in which I will live. It's not as permanent as that. Yes, I like Cleveland and if Cleveland is where I wind up, that should be totally fine with me. But I'm also on a month-to-month lease specifically so I can leave easily if an opportunity elsewhere comes along.
I got the apartment for a few reasons: One, as much as I like my mom and dad, living with them was getting a little old. Two, I knew I was dawdling about starting the next part of my life. I believed (and still do) that once I was out on my own and entirely responsible for myself once again, that I would get my butt in gear. And three, I wanted a space that was all my own so that when guests visit -- especially guests from out-of-town -- I'd have a nice little place to host them. Getting my own place definitely renewed my interest in ... well, in doing pretty much anything at all. I was really stagnating at mom and dad's. I'd stayed with them months longer than I originally planned/expected, so it's not surprising that I'd gotten a little too comfortable for my own good. But being on my own again makes me feel both more like an adult and more engaged with the world around me.
I still need to think about my long-term plan for this blog. I don't often read other peoples' personal blogs, but I've noticed an almost universal trend. Most personal blogs that are more than a few years old had the bulk of their entries at the start, then entries became more sporadic, and finally they tapered off altogether. My blog was easy to write when I was travelling, or planning for travel, or reviewing my 11 cities. Because I had something very focused to write about. Now, life is mundane again. At least on a daily basis. So I understand why so many people taper off in their blog writing. Unless they are writing about something specific that they do all the time (usually a hobby, and usually written as tutorials for other readers), people just run out of stuff to talk about. Or at least, stuff that would be of interest to anyone outside of their closest circle of friends.
But maybe I'm wrong: Does anyone find it interesting to learn the mundane details of other peoples' lives? Are any of you amused to know that I hid from some Jehovah's Witnesses who came to my door the other day? Anyone interested to learn that I'm taking drawing and painting classes as a new hobby? Or that living in a basement apartment means sharing one's space with about 25 spiders, and entails a constant battle of attrition against the dirt that follows me through the front door? See, reading those questions on a friend's blog would amuse and interest me once or twice. Reading them every week wouldn't. It's a large reason I'm not on Facebook; I'm just not that interested in every detail of everyone's life, and I don't presume that anyone at all is interested in the details of mine. Except mom and dad, of course, and I'm not even sure about dad.
Anyway, check this space every once in a while. I will add sporadic updates. Major travel, once I decide on a job/city. Maybe the most unusual events I experience. But in general, assume my life is satisfactory but exceptionally interesting, and don't expect a whole lot from me, at least for the near future.
