Eh...

I am a child holding a green balloon at an amusement park. It's a cloud free day and the smell of hot dogs and cotton candy lingers in the air. Each day, each job, each degree, and each relationship is a new ride that I anxiously wait in line for, thinking it will be the biggest and best…until the next one comes along. And on each ride, there are ups and downs.

In my non-metaphorical life, I hate roller coasters and I typically avoid amusement parks. Yet there is no escaping the ups and downs that go along with them, and yesterday was a definite down.

It's not that it was an awful day. It was just one that was busy and full of challenges and mistakes.

Life for me is moving at light speed these days and in a hop, skip, and a month, I went from teaching English in Japan to living in Worcester and diving head first into a busy new job. It's all going okay and I've even managed to find a friend that I really connect with and a new love interest. But, I'm feeling overwhelmed and tired.

I know that things will slow down as I continue to get more settled, but in the meantime, I need to remember that I'm not Superman. And if the lack of six-pack abs and the ability to fly doesn't remind me, hopefully I'll at least be able to pace myself a little better and apply the brakes on all of the pressure I have been putting on myself.

Here's to "glass half full" days and blind optimism. And here's to hoping that today will be one of them.

Worcester = Antartica

It is freezing here. I mean, seriously sersiously freezing.
I miss living in the desert where it was warm all year and I could wear my flip flops everyday.
And since I also miss living in Japan, here is a haiku about the cold:

Worcester is so cold
Icicles hang from my nose
Outside: I don't go

Okay, so I'm no Walt Whitman. But, normal words just can't express how cold it is here.

Other than turning into a Chris-cicle, things are good. I'm in the midst or RA training now and running on very little sleep (which begs the question of why I'm writing a blog now instead of going to bed)

I met my staff today and they all seem great. I'm very excited to work with them this semester, and the adreneline of meeting them will make up for the sleep I'm not getting during training.

Once things settle down after training, I really think I am going to be very happy here. In the mean time, I just need to keep reminding myself to take it day by day.

Okay, now I'm off to bed. Today was truly a roller coaster of highs and lows (mostly from being so tired), but it ended on a really high note. So here's hoping that tomorrow is a good one.

Introducing Will

So in yesterday's blog, I mentioned how big and relatively empty my apartment is and that I feel a little lonely in it.

Well, a few minutes ago, I discovered that I am not alone here afterall. I have a MOUSE in my house :(

His name is Will and he is a cute little grey mouse with tiny little ears. Is he a boy mouse? Your guess is as good as mine. But he made his first appearance while I was watching Will & Grace, so it seemed appropriate.

I've also decided that he grew up in Massachusetts, is a Democrat, and is hopefully an only child.

Does anyone know how to get rid of mice in a humane way? It seems so cruel to get those old traps that break their necks.

Worcester or bust!

Moving sucks! There's no other way to say it... It just sucks.

Late Tuesday night, I arrived here in Worcester and spent the next day unpacking and doing my best to get settled as quickly as possible. The apartment itself is amazing. It's a 3 bedroom, with 2 porches, hardwood floors, a faux fireplace, and tons and tons of closets. It's overwhelmingly big for one person, so I'm definately going to have to get a pet or a butler or something so that it doesn't feel so lonely.

I already started my new job on Thursday, and we had a 2 day overnight retreat at an amazing bed and breakfast in Newport, RI. I'd never been to a bed and breakfast before, and I must say that as far as first days at a job go, this was a pretty luxurious and enjoyable one.

I really like my coworkers and supervisors, and I think that I will get along and become friends with them very easily. Clark, my new university, is very different from the department I'm coming from at UNLV, so it is going to take a lot of getting used to. It's not different in a bad way, just in a different way.

Things are moving super fast.

I was doing really well readjusting and getting over the jetlag and culture shock while I was spending the holidays at home with my family. And it was definately nice to be taken care of by somebody else for a change. But once Tuesday came, I was suddenly faced with moving to a new place, getting settled, and starting a stressful new job in a matter of days.

I'm handling it okay, and I'm sure that I'll be much better once I get trained at work and finish getting settled in my apartment. But in the mean time, it would definately be nice if things would slow down a little. (Seeing as how winter training starts Wednesday night and opening is next weekend, I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon haha)

Definately aside from getting settled at home and at work, a high priority is making friends and developing a social/support network here. I really need that right now. (along with a serious shopping spree at IKEA to finish decorating)

Well, I'd better get back to setting up my apartment. Just wanted to give everyone an update.
Wish me luck with everything.

my new job!

So, drum roll please....
....
....

I have accepted an Area Coordinator position at Clark University in Worcester, MA. It's gonna be cold there, especially after living in the desert for the past 2 years. But the staff are great, job is great, apartment is amazing, and students are great. All in all, I think I will be very happy there, and I am very excited to start in 1.5 weeks!

Thanks to everyone that has been really supportive of my job search. It has meant a lot to me.

I'm at home now and it is weird. I haven't been here in so many years, that I feel a little out of place. It's a strange feeling. And it's not really affording me a lot of privacy or support to work through my culture shock, which is still pretty bad.

On a less happy note, I have forgotten over the years just how racist and culturally incentive my family is. Having just moved back from another country a little over a week ago, hearing derogatory comments about just about every race, religion, or background, (including gay people) is not really tickling my fancy. If nothing else, it makes me really proud that I have turned out so well and am such a diversity celebrator. Apparently giving them Crash last
Christmas did nothing to curb their racisim. Boo!

But, I have a JOB!!! So, who cares...I'll challenge their stereotypes another time. haha

Chris

2 job offers, and I'm Time Magazine's person of the year!

In the past 8 days, I have:

been on 8 planes, been on 4 trains, been in 12 cities in 10 states and 2 countries, had final day long interviews with 4 schools and 1 short second round interview, slept in 5 different hotels, and had some serious jet lag and culture shock after returning from living in another country....

And now....after all is said and done, I received not one, but two job offers yesterday. With the possibility of a 3rd today. What a relief! And I am very excited about the opportunity to work at one, possbily 2 of them. I will have a final job answer tomorrow morning.

I am finally done with all of this interview madness and traveling. I am at my parents' house and I can also finally stop lugging around suitcases with everything I own around the country. I just feel so happy and so relieved.

Of course, I'm sure that after a few days of living at home until my new job starts in 2 weeks, I will start to go nuts, but for now, I am a very happy guy.

This is going to be a good Christmas!

Chris

Another update from the road

Hi y'all.

Well, I am in New York City this morning! I just had my final interview for a great job here. I had an interview yesterday, and I am leaving for the airport in a half hour or so to fly to my last interview. Finally, after a full day interview tomorrow, I get to fly home to spend the holidays with my family.

FYI, to all of y'all out there who are really misinformed, I'm not going to be working at UNLV. Although I love UNLV, that's not an option right now and I'm not sure where y'll got that from haha.

I think I've been doing a great job at all of my interviews so far, but unfortunately, I get the feeling that none of the schools are going to be ready to make offers before Christmas. Honestly, although I've been interviewing well, some of the schools so far have not tickled my fancy, so I'm getting a little concerned. In fact, there is one job that I am pretty sure that I would turn down if offered, based on the on-campus interview. Res. Life is not just a job; it's a support network, a lifestyle, and a place to live as well. So it's so important that the department/school is a good fit. If it's not, you could be really miserable.

The scary part is that there is the chance that I won't get an offer from one of the good ones. If that happens, (and I'm trying to be positive and optimistic) I'm not really sure what I will do. I haven't really thought that far ahead. There won't be so many jobs available until the spring probably, and with these interviews and travel home really eating through my savings, it's a pretty scary thought.

On a positive note, I'm doing sllightly better with the culture shock now (to the point where my every thought isn't about going back to Japan...now it's only every other thought) and I'm slowly getting over the jet lag. (Though the really loud people having sex in the next hotel room last night didn't really help me catch up on my sleep haha) Even so, I'm still really excited to be going home and getting to sleep and rest, and most importantly, not travel and interview and where a suit everyday!

Well, I am off to Boston. Wish me luck on my last interview, and keep your fingers crossed that I get a good offer soon.