Well, I did it.

I made a decision to quit my job, move directly across the country, find work, and a new job.
As I am sure that all of my friends and family know, I left the Bay Area in mid-July, previously never taking such as big step. My cousin and his girlfriend so graciously invited me to stay with them until I got settled. Since July 17th, I till the beginning of October I was welcome into their home with a comfortable couch to sleep on, closet space, and the best hospitality I could have asked for.

I am currently in my new place but originally wrote this draft on a Spirit Airlines flight coming from Oakland going to Chicago and continuing to La Guardia Airport. My parents were on vacation and were to fly in Tuesday at 6pm, and I flew in at 4pm. My intentions to fly back to the bay area were strictly confidential as I made it explicitly known not to tell my sister or parents I am flying in. My friend Emily graciously picked me up from the airport, and with food too! I came home, rang the doorbell and covered the peering hole on the door. My sister opens the door with a look of disbelief on her face, exclaiming she initially thought it was me when I rang the doorbell but quickly dismissed the idea. My dogs were happier to see Emily than they were me, but that changed over the next couple of days. My sister and I quickly discussed the way we can surprise our parents. We came to a consensus that when they came home, and the dogs would greet them outside, the door closing would be my signal to come out. As the door closed and I made my way to the stairs, I saw my mother, but she didn’t see me, continuing into the kitchen. My sister ran ahead videotaping the surprised yell that my dad shouted and the tearful hug my mother gave me.

I came home for 3 reasons.
1. Surprise and see my family
2. See as many friends as possible
3. Get my stuff

because…

I have accomplished the main task that I set for myself, find a job.
I am excited to say that October 4th was my first day as Associate Marketing Manager at CPA.com

(pause reading for excitement)

I have also found a place to live, a fantastic, excellent place to live in. Absolutely excellent. It’s beautiful, the best place to live. I am going to make living in Forest Hills great again. Just kidding. This is not a political post.
(boo Trump)
Let me know if you want to send me things!

So when I was announcing to my friends that I am embarking on this next step in life, they all called me ‘brave’. I knew it would be difficult, physically and mentally to make such a move. I was excited for the challenge. Alas theory is much different from practice. I had an interview set up for the next day after I arrived, and long story short, I abhor pyramid scheme companies. I will write a post about it a later time. I can say that I am lucky, as I found work starting from scratch in 2 months, but that did not come without hundreds of applications, numerous interviews, a letdown, and waiting. Honestly, waiting is the worst part of the job search. Waiting to hear back for an interview (if there even will be a response), a decision to be made, and for it to be communicated to you. Throughout this time I found it is really easy to get discouraged. People in my situation use depressed, and while it is debatable if depressed is the right word is to use it is really easy to get upset if you are on a couch all day applying to hundreds of jobs with no response. To this day I am still getting automated rejections from companies I applied to in July.

One thing I would change is the communication with applicants. We are accustomed to receiving an automated email confirming our application, and that is all we are conditioned to expect. If we are lucky, we receive a «wow your really experienced but not for us» email. I feel that some humanity is lost between the communication of employers and applicants. Maybe it’s just me.

I have applied for 100s of jobs. I went on 10s of interviews and came out on top. It took a bite out of my savings, and I am selling my car, but overall I am happy.