Now that I'm actually here in Houston (well, the Woodlands for now), it's time to put some of the things I've been saying (okay, complaining) that I've wanted to do but couldn't due to my location into action.
Thursday (my last day at the Bee-Pic) was much more emotional than I thought it would be. That place was so amazing to me over the last year, and I know I already mentioned that in my previous post, but it's so true it bears repeating. When the girls up front (in the advertising department—editorial is in the back) found out I was leaving, they rushed out to buy a card, have everyone sign it, and whipped up a dessert on the fly. All that for me, someone who'd been there a year when some of them have been working there for 30. It was pretty overwhelming. I'll definitely miss them always. There were tears.
So then Friday, I moved into my grandmother's house in the Woodlands. That was also overwhelming, mainly because I'm not used to having so much family readily available for help. All the times I've moved before, it's pretty much just been me and my mom and dad. The help was awesome, but it was just weird. Plus, the idea of living with my grandmother temporarily seemed great when it was hypothetical, but when I was actually moving in, I started second guessing it. I think this is normal; anytime I've ever moved anywhere, I've second guessed it initially. Making such a big change is always anxiety-ridden, no matter how much you want it. Besides, this really is a temporary arrangement that should only last through the summer. And it will give me time to save up some money and get to know Houston better before I find my own place. I reeeeally hope I can find a roommate, though. I don't think I have a prayer of being able to afford living alone here like I did in Beeville. Nor do I want to in a big, somewhat strange city. But all that will work itself out in time.
I just hate these first couple of days when you move somewhere, before you begin doing what you came there to do. When you don't really know what to do with yourself because you don't know very many people, you have no routine, no regular hang-out spots, no idea of where to go or what to do. All you can do is wait to get into the swing of things. It's probably the only time I look forward to Monday.
But anyway, I do have several projects and things I want to get started. Which is the hard part. Now that I have taken a new job in a major urban area, I feel like I have a real opportunity for my career to really take off. And while I feel like I'm living the dream, a.k.a. going after my dream, I have to wonder/mildly plan for the what if. As in what if it doesn't happen and I'm still only making $30,000 in ten years while not being able to save anything for the future. Eventually, my car is going to wear out and if that happened tomorrow, no way could I afford a new one. And the kicker there is that in my career, I have to have a car. But I have decided not to borrow trouble anymore, in any way.
The point of all of that was that outside of the office, I need to take it up a notch. I've never been an overachiever in the slightest, but at least I have a brain. And when I really want something, I find a way to make it happen. So anyway, the point is that my goal now is to write something everyday. It can be journaling (which will probably be what I mostly do at first), creative writing for fun like poetry, more serious creative writing such as working on some sort of mess I could turn into a book one day, writing features I can try to sell to magazines, or other freelance work I find (I'm trying to get a gig as a contributor for a local magazine, but it's probably a looooong shot). I know I need my main focus/priority to be my full-time job, but how awesome would it be if I could supplement my income by doing other stuff on the side? Hopefully I can find some way to get that started in a meaningful way. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes.
As far as my personal life goes, I'm about to join a swim team, something I've wanted to do for a long time but didn't have one close to me, so I'm pretty excited about that. I would also like to find a way to maybe do some volunteering? We'll see. Plus I'm just excited about all the stuff to do I'm going to have access to now. I'm just going to be trying to make some friends and come out of seclusion.
In any case, I'm ready to get started. With all of it.
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