Giving Thanks in Arizona

Well, my first (not so full) week at my new job was great, but I was glad for the holiday vacation.  I filled myself with so much anxiety about the job, that I didn’t let myself enjoy this major experience in my life.  In hindsight, everyone was overwhelmingly nice, helpful, and eager to make me feel comfortable.  So I’m excited to begin work tomorrow…  Well, not so excited to wake up at 5am, but what can I do about that?

It was hard being away from my family and friends for Thanksgiving, but using the webcam to chat with the family was a big help in staving off the homesickness.  So I had a not-so-traditional Thanksgiving dinner at the HomeTown Buffet.  Hey, at least I didn’t sit at home alone and cry into a turkey sandwich…

Among all the chores, errands, and Black Friday shopping, I did manage to drive up to Mt. Lemmon.  So many people here in Tucson told me that this mountain is amazing, and they were right.  First of all, I never expected it to be so cold up on the mountain.  I was freezing my butt off!  But I was so glad I took the trip because I was able to see a whole new side of Arizona.

At the bottom of the mountain, you have your typical desert landscape.  But as you drive up, it changes from sand and cacti to frost and pine trees.  It’s really amazing.  They even have a ski resort up there.  A ski resort in the desert?  Weird.

So check out my new photo album.  And as promised, I will soon upload pics of my new apartment…  I just have to clean up the place first…

Some Liquor with Your Groceries?

Since my new apartment is beginning to look more like a home and less like a storage facility, I decided to check out some of the local grocery stores to stock up on some essentials. 

I’m accustomed to living in a place with one major grocery chain.  Here in Tucson, there are many…  Safeway, Fry’s, Bashas, Trader Joe’s, AJ’s…  And those are only the ones I have recognized to be grocery stores.

I totally dig Trader Joe’s.  I’m all about being green, and this store stocks environmentally friendly and organic items.  And they encourage the use of canvas shopping bags…  they don’t even offer plastic bags!  [Most of you should know my hatred for the over consumption of plastic bags]

Unfortunately, they don’t sell all the basics, so I checked out AJ’s Fine Foods.  It’s a pretentious, little store offering a limited selection of foods, but a whole lot of crap (that shouldn’t even be in a grocery store).  I did find some yummy Japanese foods that I hadn’t seen in the States before, so I was pleased with that.

The weirdest thing about AJ’s is the huge basket of one-serving liquors at the end of the check-out line.  What’s up with that?  Do people often say, “Oh, great, I did forget to pick up my vodka today…” 

Maybe AJ’s is thinking, “Hey, on your way out, why not have one for the road?”  Remind me to be extra careful when driving through that area…

I Almost Forgot about the Cowboys…

So apparently, I live in a place where cowboys (and cowgirls) can park their horse and get a bite to eat…

I wonder if one can valet a horse…

Today was filled with awesome shopping.  Truly awesome.  My place is going to be freaking outstanding when I’m done with it.  So I’m waiting until then to take pictures.

I totally love my apartment.  It is the perfect size.  Every morning, I’m in awe when I see the mountains in the background.  And every afternoon, I feel like I’m in a movie when I see the bunnies and humming birds in front of my patio.

I can’t wait to take a hike up into the mountains…  But I promised myself I would finish unpacking and cleaning before I start work on Monday…  Don’t have much time.

I Need Somewhere to Sit

This morning I spent two hours getting lost around town…  I was looking for my bank (I’m bad at finding addresses).  I did find some stores I’ll check out later, so it wasn’t a total waste of time.

Early this afternoon, my furniture was delivered.  I was so excited to finally get some furniture in the house, so I could stop eating on the floor.  Unfortunately, the dining table arrived with a giant crack down the center of it…  So tomorrow I’m going to have to get the furniture store to pick it up and send me a new one…  [sigh]

I did enjoy eavesdropping on the delivery guys’ conversation, though.  They were talking about meeting girls on myspace.  Who uses myspace to date?  Well, I guess a lot of people…  Well, I wouldn’t…  Anyway…

Tucson’s okay…  The people here are really different from those in Florida.  The most obvious (to me) is the apparent lack of fashionability.  For example, I was eating in a trendy, little cafe when a bunch of young people came in, covered in mud.  I mean covered, caked on, head-to-toe, filthy.  I don’t know what they had been doing, but they walked in and sat down like it was normal.  And no one stared.  Call me crazy, but I would never walk into a restaurant while covered in mud.

People don’t seem very affectionate either.  Not that I’m the most affectionate person in the world (far from it), but I’m accustomed to seeing couples holding hands and being all smoochy-smoochy.  Here in Tucson, young couples have a pack of kids at their heels, and they just seem ‘over it’.

Again, Tucson’s okay…  It’s growing on me.  I’m still in awe of the mountains, so hopefully that will continue to keep me in good spirits.

I miss home.

Think Outside of the Box

Today, the movers delivered my things from Florida. As box after box came through the door, I was wondering… How do I have so much stuff? And who’s going to help me unpack everything? And why are those boxes crushed?

Unfortunately, quite a few of my things were damaged during the move. Upon inspecting a completely pulverized box (containing my computer monitors), I was wondering if the truck ran over it before delivery… Or maybe the movers ran out of space in the truck, so they just smashed some boxes to fit…

It’s really beyond my comprehension how a large company claiming to be professional movers could pack a box full of electronics, label it ‘fragile’, then smash it flat. Or why they would stack a 100lb box of books on top of a 10lb box labeled ‘keepsakes’. Or how the hell my bicycle basket was ripped off and left mangled and dangling from the front.

So now I have to go through the trouble of filing a claim through the mover’s insurance to cover the damaged items… Just one more thing to do…

New Car

So today was the big day to buy a car… I had purchased a car from a dealer once before. And I was the big sucker who walked in and said, “I want to walk out of here with a car in under one hour.” Well, it happened… I walked out in under an hour with an (overpriced) car. [Life lesson]

So this time, I decided to play their game… I wanted a used ‘07 Honda Element AWD with very low mileage. I did tons of research and decided on a good price for the car. I walked into the dealership and told them I was interested in the car, but they had it considerably overpriced compared to others I had looked at. My first offer was $6,200 below their sticker price. After what seemed like an eternity of negotiating, we agreed on $5,300 below sticker (which was actually $300 less than the max I was willing to pay).

The dealer’s photo of my car (I’ll upload my own soon)

I did spend almost the entire day at the dealership, but I’m happy with the car and the deal. ADVICE: So for anyone considering buying a car… be armed with the vehicle history report, the Edmunds.com TMV, the Kelley Blue Book value, comparable sales in the area, and (most importantly) a firm number of what you are willing to pay.

So back to the progress of the move… My stuff from FL (including my desktop) will arrive tomorrow morning, followed by my new furniture on Tuesday. I’ll be sure to take some photos after that. I still don’t have my own internet (currently ‘borrowing’ a neighbor’s wireless). I’m hoping to get all the essentials done by the end of next week… because I start my new job on 11/19. [gulp]

So Much Shopping, So Little Time

Well, I made a game plan for shopping today… 1-bed; 2-furniture; 3-kitchen & bathroom stuff.  I managed to get all that done, and I ended up over $3000 poorer…  [yikes!]  I have millions more things to buy (including a car)… I sure hope my credit cards can hold out until next week…  Why do things cost so much?!?

I also decided to check out some Arizona eateries…  So far, I have been quite impressed.  There’s an awesome Japanese place called Yoshimatsu (with tons of Japanese kitsch on the walls); a great Mexican chain called Rubios (best bean burrito ever); and all-time favorites like Subway and Jamba Juice.  I wasn’t too thrilled with In-and-Out Burger, but you win some and lose some, right?

One thing I am thrilled with is my apartment.  I signed the lease after only seeing it online (not the brightest thing to do, I know).  But I was totally impressed.  It is in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains, with amazing mountain views.  It has huge windows everywhere (rare in FL).  And my little dog ran around the place over and over, checking the perimeter through the windows (it was really cute).

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the bunnies…  In the evening, the place is swarming with little, white-tailed bunnies.  It’s the cutest thing.  I feel like I’m in a Disney movie when I walk outside.

The only negative is that my apartment is quite far from big shopping centers.  So I have to drive over 30 minutes to get to Target (horrible, I know).  I guess I can’t complain, because I still haven’t seen any apartment complexes I like better.

So tomorrow’s big plan is to buy a car…  I’m not looking forward to it…  Wish me luck and good deals.

Home Sickness

After a long day of flying with my dog (and too many people poking their fingers at her carrier and doing the “aaaw, how cute” thing), I finally arrived in Tucson, Arizona.

I had a million things planned for the day, but it turned out my body had other plans…  I spent the whole evening with my head in a hotel toilet.  I’m not really sure what caused me to become so ill…  Could it be home sickness?

Whatever it was, it sure sucked.  So now I’m feeling better and blogging another day.  However, it’s hard for me to find wifi around here, so the posts may appear irregularly.  [Stay tuned]

Crates and Moving Trucks

I spent this morning watching packers and movers box my things and take them away. As I was watching one guy build a wooden crate around my dollhouses, I was just thinking, “How the hell am I supposed to take that apart when it gets to my new apartment?” Oh well, I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it…

And yes, folks, I do officially have a new address. The new place is a really nice 2/2 in the Catalina foothills. I decided on a little more space with the 2/2 because rent in Tucson is so cheap! [Eat your heart out, South Floridians!]

However, there was one thing I was not accustomed to… the concept of ‘dog rent’. The apartment manager told me, “There will be an additional $20.00 per month dog rent.” So I said, “But my dog doesn’t work… How is she supposed to pay rent?” [I don't think she found it as amusing as I did.]

In addition to new living arrangements, I still have about seventy-four million things to do before I leave NEXT WEEK… Crap. Why does time fly so fast when you don’t want it to?

As for my blog, since my desktop computer is en route to Tucson, I probably won’t be uploading any pictures anytime soon. But I will be keeping you all updated on the status of the move. [Stay tuned.]

Lucid Dream

I have been spending my days preparing for my upcoming move.  Packing, changing addresses, filling out expense reports, etc…

Today, I received an email from a friend which totally made me flash back to several months ago when I was a PhD student, spending my days studying, grading papers, and trying to scrape by on my (very) small salary.  At that time, I thought I had everything figured out for my life.

How did everything change so drastically in just a few months?

All of a sudden I find myself an adult professional, moving across the country for a dream job.  How did the meek, robotic student I once was evolve into a jet-setting, sought after, scientific professional?  And in just a few months…

I remember sitting on a train on my last day in Japan, wishing for some drastic change… wishing I didn’t have to go back to my trivial, mundane life…

Did it really happen?  Or did I experience some head injury and I’m in a coma, living in a dream (a la Vanilla Sky)?

I’m suddenly realizing that I haven’t really realized how much my life has and is about to change.  I feel like none of this is real…  How can I be leaving the people I love?  Am I really strong enough to start a completely new life in a completely different place?

Just under 3 weeks left…  I’d better wake up.