Day: March 31, 2003

Moving home wouldn’t really be a problem. My mother, I think, would prefer it, especially since my sister has recently talked about teaching in Maryland, and not New York, upon graduation. Most of the publishing industry is centered in New York, so, for the type of job I’m looking for, moving back home (or somewhere nearby) might be the best option. But the idea of working in New York City doesn’t necessarily appeal to me, and, however much I know I could get used to it again, I’m not sure if moving back is the right choice, or the one I want to make.

Most of my friends, I think, are in Pennsylvania. If I leave State College, though, I don’t want it to be for another city in the same state. However much the idea scares me, I am looking for real change. California certainly fits that bill (and it’s certainly warmer than central PA), but I don’t know anyone there well enough to impose on them. (I mean, I’d like to think of people like you, and IMiss, and Generik, and lil’amish as friends, but it’s not as if I’ve ever actually met any of you.) My sense of geography is also hazy enough that, without looking at a map, I wouldn’t be able to say which cities are southern Cal. and which northern or where one is located with respect to another. I mentioned San Francisco because it’s one of the few cities there I’ve visited that I remember well (except, possibly, for Hollywood), it seems like an interesting place, and weather-wise it’s reportedly very mild. My friend Sharon lives in Austin, and we keep talking around the idea of me visiting. There was plenty I liked about the city the last time I was there; I chose not to move then, I think, out of a number of concerns: worry about a job, the distance I’d have to move, their unbelievably hot summer weather, and the fact that, while I like Sharon and her husband (as well as the friends of hers that I’ve met), she remains the only person in the city I know well.

The scarcity of jobs everywhere is, you’re right, a real issue. The truth is, while I don’t think I’m unemployable by any means, nobody’s beating down my door to hire me. I have a four-year-old degree and not a terrifically vast wealth of practical experience on which to draw. This is another reason why moving back to New York might be a better option. There are many more entry-level jobs in publishing available there. While they might not pay as much as I might like (given the higher cost of living in NY), the option of moving in with my parents temporarily does exist.

Right now, my chief worry is not “should I move?” so much as “do I have to move this year?” It might be better if I renew my lease and then spend the time between now and next July looking for work and housing elsewhere. That, however, might necessitate another year at my current job — quite honestly my chief reason for wanting to move.

In this past Friday’s Daily Collegian, James S. Young and Lindsay Glace cited nearly all of the current crop of USG candidates, even those who did not make themselves available for comment. However, they neglected to mention one very important and very visible candidate — write-in vote Chef/Helga. While it might be tempting to dismiss a candidate whose platform and appearance are so obviously silly, shouldn’t the students of the University be allowed to make that choice for themselves? If, as Young and Glace write, “students are usually seen as apathetic to Undergraduate Student Government” and are often dissatisfied with what they see as that government’s empty promises, why isn’t the Collegian reporting on a candidate whose main goal is to breathe new life into the election process and generate student interest? When confronted with the inherent silliness of the system, it’s refreshing to discover a candidate who is silliness personified. If the Daily Collegian truly prides itself on giving a voice to the students, it should let Chef’s silly Swedish voice be heard.

My current lease runs out in late July. I’ve already been sent a renewal notice. My rent won’t be going up more than a few dollars, and the rental office is offering other incentives (like a local gym membership) if people stay. I like my apartment, and I like where I live. When I first moved, I though it was a shame that I might only stay a year. It felt like the sort of place where I could live longer than that. It alone, however, is not reason enough to keep me here. I’m not sure I could handle another Pennsylvania winter.

My job is not a reason to stay either. I recently applied for a writer/editor position in another department, but I haven’t heard anything back yet, and I don’t know when (or if) I will. And the possibility of another job is not reason enough to stay. If I move, though, especially somewhere largely unfamiliar, can I be guaranteed anything better? The idea of moving anywhere without some kind of financial security seems like a very bad idea, but I haven’t seen much posted on job boards or online want ads for which I qualify in the cities that interest me. Scheduling interviews long-distance can be difficult. I don’t know when I’ll be able to visit these places.

Visiting these places also isn’t necessarily cheap. I could probably afford airfare, for instance, to Austin or San Francisco, but I doubt I could afford both. Certainly, these trips would have to be months apart, since right now about half my monthly paycheck goes to pay my rent. I also have to keep in mind the cost of moving, which itself is not insubstantial. I don’t want to let worry about the cost keep me here, immobilized, but I recognize that it will take more planning than seeing a city that looks nice in a book and hopping on a plane.

I would also like some sort of closure with the Monty Python Society, if only because I still have a lot of club material (old newsletters, videos, props, etc.) I need to give them before I leave. (The club no longer has an office where I can store them.) I don’t need to make a big deal about my leaving, but I’d like to let them know. If I plan to move at the end of my current lease in July, this could be difficult; they themselves will be gone at the end of the semester in early May. This isn’t insurmountable — I can always give them the material and say I might not be coming back — but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t an issue.