We move away from the country in T - 8 days

Our apartment inspection is scheduled for June 30th and we'll be hitting the road right after that is done. Ivan has been down to NJ once to look for apartments and has picked out a few that he likes. We'll probably be in a hotel for a week or two while we find a place or wait for an opening.

The places he has been looking at are farther north than I thought, so we'll probably be fairly close to Philadelphia.

I still have so much packing to do. I've managed to pack up the printer and my paperback books... 2 boxes. That's it. I just don't have any motivation. My retail job has sucked the life out of me. I get home from there and want to just do nothing. On my days off, I want to veg out on the couch. I don't even want to turn on the tv or the computer. I'm an empty shell on my days off.

That's actually a bit of exaggeration, but I feel that with time, I could certainly become that hopeless. I really hope I'm able to find a veterinary clinic or a bartending position open when we move. Maybe I'll find a veterinary clinic with a bar in the back. Wouldn't that be awesome?

A tale of deli sandwiches, hunting and Canada... and fried ice cream

We went to a small local cafe last weekend. We were wanting to try out this nice fancy restaurant instead, but the restaurant was only open for dinner and we didn't want to hang around waiting for an hour an a half on it to open. So, we settled for the cafe. But, settling isn't really the right word because it ended up being pretty awesome.

The food was incredible. The quality was superb and the fresh taste of the sandwiches is enough to make my mouth water thinking about it right now. The prices were very reasonable and the amount of food received for the money spent was worth it. The Parisian decor made the atmosphere comfortable as well.

What impressed me even more than the food and the atmosphere, though, was the friendliness of the owners and staff. I guess they could tell pretty quickly we weren't "from around there" because the owner came out and asked us where we lived before and what we thought of the town. He told us how he started the business and the future renovations he planned. He told us about his trips to Canada and where the best touristy bars are located and where the coolest hotels are. It felt as though he was our own personal tour guide.

When we expressed a sense of disappointment at the lack of culture in this town, he explained that the people who end up being sent here (for work/military) and who stay do so because of the hunting environment. Upstate NY is fairly sparse in regards to big cities and covered instead with farmland, so what you're left with is hunting, boating and camping. It's a naturalist's dream, I suppose.

He also reinforced my discovery of there not being many available job opportunities. When I told him I had spent half my life working in the veterinary field and that I had wanted to find something similar when we moved here, he said that was a step up for most people around here, so there probably wouldn't be many job openings at places like that.

The owner of the cafe talked to us for about 30 minutes. I really enjoyed hearing a perspective of the town from someone who had lived there for most of his life. As we were finishing up our plates and getting ready to leave, one of the cooks brought out a bowl of fried ice cream for us. I'm not sure why we were chosen to get free dessert, but it just made the experience that much better overall.

If you're ever in upstate NY and visit a little city called Watertown, then please stop by Romalato's Delicatessen. You won't be disappointed.

Next Stop: New Jersey

We finally received word on what day we'll end up moving to the next location. The last few days of June will be our last days here. That means I have to start packing soon. I've got a few days off (lovely how part time employment does that to you) so I plan to start this week. Our pantry closet has become the catch-all for empty boxes and "stuff." It's like our own little mini storage unit. It's a mess, really.

I'm not too terribly excited about going to NJ. I guess I'm more resigned. I'm looking forward to meeting new people but I hate having to learn where everything is all over again. I'm terrible with directions and being in a new place always makes me a little nervous at first.

I'm scouting out apartments right now. The location we're being sent to has one of the highest crime rates in the state so I've been looking for bordering towns that have lower statistics. It's hard to do just using a map online. I wish I knew someone who lived in the area and could give me some advice about the best places to live.

We will be fairly close to the Philadelphia airport, which is nice. Southwest flies to Philly, so that means better rates on tickets to Nashville and I just prefer flying with Southwest instead of other airlines.

And this is where 1/2 of the traveling twosome gets a little stir crazy

The weather is getting nicer. When it gets in the 70's, it's downright hot. I'd love to be out enjoying the town and the surrounding cities, now that the wind isn't making my bones ache from the cold. I have to make up excuses, though, to be able to get out of work on a weekend. Only the chosen ones get to have weekends off. I have yet to see anything outside of the local mall, the interstate, and my classroom in Syracuse.

So, this Sunday, I'm driving into Syracuse early so that I can at least see a little bit of that city. I've been here 3 months, it's about time I see what kind of place this is.

I got lost in it when I was taking classes there. I was on my lunch break and ended up taking a wrong turn. It was fun to drive alongside the river and just explore it. I ended up having to turn on my phone's navigator once I started nearing the end of my hour lunch break. It was cool, though, to have that short break and just drive for a while.

I thought I might be able to take a couple trips to TN. I have three free plane tickets. I'm using one of them for the Superman Celebration in June. The other two were going to be used for a trip in May and then for my family reunion in July. It's not looking like I'll be able to go on anything except for the June trip, though. I guess I'll just stick it out up here, bored out of my mind... Maybe I should learn to play Ivan's PS3, so that we can actually do something together.

It's hard not having any friends. I don't really want to get too close to the people I work with, because I'll be moving soon. I don't know, really, that they even want to be friends with me. Most of them seem so distant and aloof. It's not really what I'm used to. I'm used to having girls nights out with coworkers and potlucks and chips and salsa fights. It's just different here, and not really in a good way.

Most people say that I'm a really friendly person. I can hold a conversation with anyone about almost anything. I'm probably the most easy going person there. I come in, do my job without complaint, and keep a smile on my face. I suppose that's just not enough to get into their inner circle, whatever that circle may be.

Maybe I'll be able to make friends and actually have some sort of life when I get to NJ and start bartending. I'm sure drunk people are friendly, right? ;)

Marriott Marquis... here I come!

Dragon Con is coming up soon. It's down to about 4 months left. Now is when the heavy planning starts...

Changes to existing costumes
New costumes or upgrades
Intense workout sessions
Roommate planning
Photoshoot planning
Panel worksheet printing

And not to mention the last minute tanning/hair dying that will have to happen the week before. It's so much fun though. That week I get to spend in a completely different environment is worth all the trouble. It's a week like no other.

A couple people I work with up here have heard about D*C. I'm surprised, because I wasn't expecting to find geeks up here in the country. But, I guess they're everywhere. It's a nice surprise.

I'm jonesing for another trip to Nashville. I've got some plans in the works. I might just be making 2 trips back home before we have to start packing up again for the next move.

Temps in the 60's? Is this a cruel joke?

It's beginning to warm up around here, finally. I didn't think it would actually get above a Tennessee spring temperature up here in the tundra, but apparently it does. Forecast is for the high 60's this weekend. Up here, anything above 50 feels absolutely amazing when the sun is shining. I'm not sure why a low temperature feels warmer here, but it does.

My sister and her husband and children visited me a few weeks ago. We had a great time and went to Niagara Falls and into Canada for a few days. We spent a night in Toronto. It's a really neat city. I hope someday to go back there and also to visit Montreal. Even the road trip part wasn't too bad... except for the karaoke!

Niagara Falls was the only real vacation destination my mother ever went to as a child. It felt like she was there with me on this trip. I would have given anything to have been able to share this moment with her, but it still felt special knowing I was somewhere she had really loved being.

Is that melting snow I see?

It's finally starting to warm up just a little bit here. I don't think we'll have any more negative temperatures at least. The snow from early January is starting to melt, even though it's still snowing off and on... nothing more than a few inches at a time. That's certainly good news, because I don't like to be stranded at work and I really don't want to have to shell out $6 for a cab ride home.

I'm about to resume my diet/exercise routine. I got the all clear from my doctor in January that I was able to start working out again. I was just being lazy. Now my pants are starting to fit too tight, so I'm going to have to. I'm not about to go out and buy new jeans because I'm too lazy to lose 10lbs.

I got to go back home for almost a week last week. It was nice to see my friends again. I'm so lonely up here. We don't really know many people and there's not a lot of places to go to make friends except for the bars. Neither of us really want to pick up friends in bars. I'm hoping springtime comes soon, so that we can get out of this town and go explore the state.

There was an inventory at work today. It was sheer madness. The inventory team from HQ arrived and whirled through the store like a hurricane. They left product all mixed up and messy. It's going to take us days to make it normal looking again. We had to go behind them and recheck their counts. I'm so sick of counting. There is one more day of it tomorrow. I asked for a job to keep me busy and this one is definitely doing it. :)