Adventures in NOLA land.
The dust has settled. That "dust" being the passing of both the SuperBowl and Mardi Gras returning the city of New Orleans to its old familiar self. More or less. Though you can still see beads dangling from the massive oak trees lining St. Charles, signs of a city shutting down so natives and tourists alike could revel in debauchery in the streets is becoming ancient history. Until next year anyway. It's been a good, albeit, short week on the job and as I rev up for the start of week 3 tomorrow, I'm taking stock of how things are going thus far. A recent card from a friend encouraged me to soak up the entire transition experience, good and bad, for in due time, it too will pass and the dust of my transition will soon settle. Though I'm not certain that timeframe is anytime too soon.
I posted on Facebook that I was learning to not sweat the small stuff this week after after my running jacket was swiped from the gym, I dropped and subsequently broke my travel coffee mug getting out of the car (luckily, it was empty!), and I learned a hard lesson that one should never park too close to a soccer field after I came out of work to find a rather large dent the exact size of a soccer ball in my passenger side door. Guess leaving a note was too much to ask for from college students? I'm trying to focus on the good at the moment like the fact that I am finding my new job to be a really good fit for me, that I am getting to see my parents and siblings way more than a vacation would allow for, and that while my apartment hunt has not yielded any great finds, it's exciting to see new places and envision what a little TLC can do to a place.
That being said, I have learned a thing or two about the wonderful world of apartment hunting in a city where everyone wants to live in the same location and is looking for the same PBR-budget apartment with champagne-taste amenities. Staples such as a dishwasher, washer/dryer, and central A/C are rarities to find all in one place. Unless you have a champagne budget. I've also learned that rental agencies/owners here in the city like to fudge the truth a bit, put up pictures that in no way match the property being rented, and are not always the most attentive to the details, the things that matter. A colleague told me she saw 32, yes, 32 apartments in the city before she found the one now. WHAT!? Who has that kind of time? Not this guy. In the last week, I've seen 6 and all were no thank you's except for one that rented 10 minutes before I got there. Thus another lesson: if you want something, you need to move quickly! So I've put some more irons in the fire and we'll see if anything bites this week. Here's hoping!
In the meantime, it's been a solid weekend. Dinner with Dad Friday night at Mr. Ed's, a trip to Baton Rouge to see my brother and his wife and spend the afternoon/evening with them, and checking out a new church this evening followed by dinner with Katie and possibly Brian. I can't complain...
Cheers.
I posted on Facebook that I was learning to not sweat the small stuff this week after after my running jacket was swiped from the gym, I dropped and subsequently broke my travel coffee mug getting out of the car (luckily, it was empty!), and I learned a hard lesson that one should never park too close to a soccer field after I came out of work to find a rather large dent the exact size of a soccer ball in my passenger side door. Guess leaving a note was too much to ask for from college students? I'm trying to focus on the good at the moment like the fact that I am finding my new job to be a really good fit for me, that I am getting to see my parents and siblings way more than a vacation would allow for, and that while my apartment hunt has not yielded any great finds, it's exciting to see new places and envision what a little TLC can do to a place.
That being said, I have learned a thing or two about the wonderful world of apartment hunting in a city where everyone wants to live in the same location and is looking for the same PBR-budget apartment with champagne-taste amenities. Staples such as a dishwasher, washer/dryer, and central A/C are rarities to find all in one place. Unless you have a champagne budget. I've also learned that rental agencies/owners here in the city like to fudge the truth a bit, put up pictures that in no way match the property being rented, and are not always the most attentive to the details, the things that matter. A colleague told me she saw 32, yes, 32 apartments in the city before she found the one now. WHAT!? Who has that kind of time? Not this guy. In the last week, I've seen 6 and all were no thank you's except for one that rented 10 minutes before I got there. Thus another lesson: if you want something, you need to move quickly! So I've put some more irons in the fire and we'll see if anything bites this week. Here's hoping!
In the meantime, it's been a solid weekend. Dinner with Dad Friday night at Mr. Ed's, a trip to Baton Rouge to see my brother and his wife and spend the afternoon/evening with them, and checking out a new church this evening followed by dinner with Katie and possibly Brian. I can't complain...
Cheers.
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