The life

Hey, folks. Sorry I have been MIA here lately. Oddly enough, when I am not writing, writing is one of the things I think about most. With my strange professional situation at the moment, I know that right now is one of THE perfect opportunities to start writing more. But much like the beginning of my relationship with running, the idea of sitting down to write a page a day sounds daunting, difficult and downright unfun. But I will eventually make a promise to myself to sit down and write each day. I'm just not quite ready to make the leap yet.

In the meantime, I will blog when inspired and share a quick update on the life of the Bradys in Ohio. Things here are going well. We are enjoying the fall - the crisp weather, the harvest moon, the leaves, the pumpkins - it is all wonderfully autumnal.

Mike is working hard - midterms have now been handed back, and he is on the last half of his first semester teaching. I am constantly amazed at the dedication he has to his work and his students. It is impressive and noble how he really wants his students to learn, to have fun, to understand and to be part of something bigger than themselves. It is lovely to see someone doing something that they care so much about and have so much skill in doing. I am very proud of him.

As for me, I'm still in a serious professional limbo. Working at the Inn part time - haven't been bartending at all, but that is supposed to change in the next week or so. I consult on Tuesdays. Tuesdays are my day to trek into the big city of Columbus. The journey to and fro has introduced me to the world of books on CD. I just finished my first one and checked out my second today. I should probably switch to the Rosetta Stone Spanish DVDs - it would probably be more beneficial.

Other than our work, not too much to report. We are making new friends here in Granville, and we still adore our home. We're getting prepped for Thanksgiving - Mike's Mom is coming up from Florida - by doing some home repairs and various projects.

I wish I had something more substantial to share at the moment, but that's it for now. More soon, I promise!

You sure about that?

I'm working a double shift today, so I only have a few quick seconds to post before I get ready for work. Just wanted to share a random observation.

I just love how many people often react to me telling them I am a vegetarian by saying, "Aren't you sick a lot?"

For the record, in the worst cold/flu season we have had in quite a while, I have already managed to stay healthy through my husband having a cold, avoided the flu bug despite working in a restaurant and handling people's dirty dishes and stayed in a house with three sick people for three days and am still healthy.

I also realize that by saying this, I should get sick in a matter of days. But that's Murphy's Law, not a downside of vegetarianism.

Another week down...

Wow - we have been in Granville two months now. Sometimes it feels like two days, but sometimes it already feels like two years. We were in Columbus with our good friend Ed, who visited from Atlanta, and we ran into someone we know on the bustling N. High Street during the Art Crawl. We have been here long enough to run into friends in a city 25 miles away. I guess that's saying something.

I am fully "trained" on the workings of the bar at the Inn now. This week will mark my first evening working the bar - alone - albeit the lesser busy upstairs bar servicing the restaurant rather than the Tavern downstairs. I have finally learned the ropes as a server at a fine dining establishment. It has taken several screw ups, but I think I have it down now. Of course, I say that and later this week I will surely make the biggest error I have yet. One thing I have to say about this job is that it is hard work. In my ranks as server, I work with folks who have this as their only job - they work it full time, and it has to pay the bills. Making $3.15 an hour plus tips is a rough way to make a living. Even though people are still eating out, they are a bit less free with the tip. We are often lucky to pull 15% across the board when we settle out our numbers for the evening. I work with college students struggling to pay their living expenses and their tuition bills. I work with single moms who have two or more jobs, just trying to make ends meet. It's humbling to hear the stories of your co-workers. The mom with the autistic son. The single mom who found love with another of the servers. He's about to graduate and is full of promise. The Inn is a great place to be. I am enjoying it a lot. I don't get butterflies when I take a table anymore.

The consulting gig is also going well. I got feedback last week that they really like the work I have done so far. In fact, the company president said I "have a knack for the work." Fantastic. Hopefully a few more of these larger contracts come though and I could possibly have a full time gig as a consultant in a matter of months. My plan is to stay at the Inn at least through the holidays. It will slow there in January and February when the snow starts to pile up and people stay in for the evening. But I like the work - it keeps me busy and it sure does keep one's mind sharp. I've also stopped running completely. Who knows how many miles I clock on my feet during a 5 hour dinner shift. I'm too beat to walk upstairs when I get home, let alone strap on my running shoes and pound out 4 miles.

This weekend is a small break. Planned since late summer, we are having a Duke Poli Sci reunion of sorts at Put-in-Bay in Ohio. We've rented out an entire Inn and will reunite our group of friends that provided so much love, support and beer during our Duke days. I think we have a group of 8 or 10 coming together for two days of talking, drinking, napping - and probably Rock Band, too. After our visit to Toronto for APSA, it rejuvenated me to see our buddies. I am guessing that this weekend will do the same.

So stay put - I'll be back next week to recap our "Big Chill" adventure.

A full week under my belt.

I seem to be doing okay at this whole waitressing thing. They chopped my training from two weeks down to one. I believe I passed my server test on Saturday morning, so I am officially working for tips now. No more shadowing folks. Starting this Wednesday evening, I will be training behind the bar. You know, I really don't mind the work. You stay busy for 4 hours and the time flies by. The people I work with are nice and the innkeepers are very friendly. This will definitely work for a while!

I also happened to get a call from a firm I interviewed with back before Mike and I ever made the move to Ohio. They ended up not hiring for the position they interviewed me for way back in July. But they have a new project they said I would be "perfect" for. So, I will be meeting with them later this week. Things are looking up, folks. Things are looking up.

Protect our Insurance Companies (**ahem**)

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Life of the Unemployed

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.
- Semisonic, Closing Time

It's been a rough week. I have applied for well over 100 jobs since February of this year. More than half of those have been in the past month. I wake up in the morning, I get a cup of coffee, and I head to the computer. I have a four page Word document filled with links to job sites. Ohiomeansjobs.com, jobs.osu.edu, careerbuilder.com, ohio5.org/jobs, oano.org, idealist.org - you get the picture. I have over 35 links I check on a daily basis. I make it a rule to apply for at least one job a day. Most days I succeed. Last Friday I applied for 10 jobs in one day, so I gave myself a bit of a break this week. I was up for an amazing position at Ohio State. I had to put together a one hour presentation to give to the whole staff. I met with 10-15 folks over a 4.5 hour period. Four people were interviewed for the job. I got an e-mail two weeks later saying I wasn't getting the offer. I wrote back and asked if I could have feedback so I was better prepared in the future. No response. Thanks, assholes.

We've been in Ohio for about six weeks now. I love our house, and I love that my husband is finally getting to do what he loves. He comes home tired but excited and full of stories about each class day. It's fantastic to see him doing something he loves so much.

Yet during the day, I am normally in the house. I job hunt 2-3 hours each morning then take a break to have some lunch and watch an episode of something on Netflix for half an hour. I do a three mile run every other day then come home and shower. I do some laundry, some dishes, some house straightening. Then I wait for Mike to get home. Sometimes that seems like the longest hour or two of the day. The kitties and I snuggle. I sit outside and watch the deer.

Luckily I have managed to avoid the trap that is the couch and TV combo. I rarely turn the TV on during the day. The only time is if I got a chick flick Netflix movie in the mail I know Mike won't want to watch. I had a breakdown yesterday evening. I miss my friends, and I miss having any sort of goal to accomplish. I'm lonely during the day, and I feel I have nowhere to focus my energy each day. Anyway, I decided enough is enough.

I've sent off about 50 applications in the past four weeks. It will take those places some time to sift through and pick some people for interviews. I'm hoping a couple come my way. But in the meantime, I need a break. The feeling of checking my job-hunting e-mail address to see I have no messages is getting to be too much. I need to get out of the house. I am taking a three prong approach to this solution.

First, I started a volunteer job. I am an assistant coach for a group of 19 girls aged 7-9 outside Columbus through a program called "Girls on the Run." The program teaches young girls to "run, skip or walk" a 5K by the end of the 12 week program; it also teaches them that they can accomplish a goal and that they are beautiful and talented. It's esteem building. Running has done a lot for me. I still don't enjoy it much, but I have realized that the discipline combined with the confidence it has instilled in me has been absolutely life changing. For an hour and a half each Tuesday evening I work with the girls and I run with them. That's a bit interesting since I am an only child who actually gets really nervous around kids. I figure they will learn something and so will I.

Second, I've joined a dart league. I am now a full member of the Newark's city dart league. I used to play in college, and we have a board set up at home. Our buddy Erich plays in the league and invited Mike and I to play. Mike decided to take on an alternate role, but this Monday night I earned my spot as a full team member after helping cinch up a couple victories in the first league play of the season. It's a fun way to get out of the house and be a part of some healthy competition.

Lastly, and probably the most important in all of this, is that I decided to take on a part time job. In reality, I have been applying for part time jobs the past several weeks as well, yet none of them call me back. I can't manage to get a job as a bank teller. That makes me feel real good, lemme tell ya. Since I wanted a part time gig I thought I would look close to home. It would be nice to work somewhere I could walk to and from, a place where I could meet locals, and a place that would be fun. So, I set my sights back to my first experience with Granville. The Buxton Inn.

The Buxton is the hotel Mike and I stayed in when we visited to house hunt in Granville. Operating since 1812, the Buxton is Ohio's oldest continually operated inn in its original building. You can get the full scoop here: http://www.buxtoninn.com/history2.html. I happened to check their website, and it said they were hiring waitstaff and bartenders. I used to joke to all the folks in Durham that if I couldn't get a job in Ohio that I would learn to bartend or something similar. I said half jokingly, half seriously. But with the state of the economy and my utter failure in the job searching process, I decided to throw caution to the wind. So, starting Sunday morning I will be a part time employee at the Buxton. I told Ms. Orr, the owner, that I wanted to learn to bartend, to work in the restaurant and/or to work the front desk. She said she would love to have me there. I have a job now. In my new community at a storied "haunted" inn. Who knows where this will lead.

I'll keep you posted. And I'll let you know if I see any ghosts.

TORONTO

We had an awesome time in Toronto. It was great to reconnect with friends we haven't seen in a long time. And since we are still adjusting to Ohio life, it was nice to have the touchstone of so many special people around for a few days. We wandered, we drank, we ate, and we laughed - a lot. Here's the highlight real of the festivities!