#15 - Living the Dream

Tomorrow will be 3 weeks since I've arrived in Las Vegas. We ended up taking a different route than originally planned. We just put the address of my apartment here in Las Vegas into the GPS and trusted her to get us there. We took a southern route and traveled through something like a 11 different states over the 5 day trip.

Once here it was a surreal feeling. What I had wished for had become a reality. I knew that I made this wish come true though and was thankful for the support of all of the people who let me know I could do it.

View from my parking lot.

I felt settled in at home fairly quickly but still needed a desk to set up my computer. That arrived last week and that is when I truly felt like I was at home. It's been a wonderful 3 weeks and living with S. is everything that I imagined it would be and more.

I've been searching for jobs but so far have gotten no responses. In order to keep busy I've set up 2 volunteer opportunities that I'll cover in a later post. I look forward to starting those and think that while looking for full-time work in my field I'll get a part-time job of some kind. We'll see.

Either way there are a lot of opportunities here in Las Vegas. I just have to find the right one for me.

#14 - Planning the Route

Still so much to do before the move, but I'm looking ahead and plotting out the route that we'll take to Las Vegas. Shipping my car was causing me concern, so I was thrilled when my Dad offered to drive my car while I drive the 12' rental truck. He's retired and living in New Mexico so in addition to helping with the move we'll have a good opportunity to spend some time together.

Right now I'm thinking this will be our route:

Day 1: New Jersey to Cleveland, Ohio (473 miles).

Cleveland is a good 7 hours or so so it's a good first stop. We'll also get to see The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Day 2: Cleveland to Davenport, Iowa (502 miles).

8 hours seems to be as much as I want us to drive.

Day 3: Davenport to Mitchell, South Dakota (503 miles).

Possibly a bit out of the way but we can't be so close to Mount Rushmore and not go see it.

Day 4: Mitchell to Mount Rushmore (298 miles).

Day 5: Mount Rushmore to Green River, Wyoming (459 miles).

Went with Green River because it is almost the halfway point between Mount Rushmore and Las Vegas.

Day 6: Green River to Las Vegas (563 miles)!

Taking an extra day than I would like but this seems like a manageable schedule and one that won't be too hard on us.

What do you think?

#13 - Waiting and Worrying

This time next month I'll be loading up a truck and preparing to head out to Las Vegas. It's exciting to think that I'll be able to spend every day with S., but I'm still really, really scared. When I move next month I'll be leaving the place that I've called home the longest. I've been in my current house 15 years and I really assumed that I'd be here another 15. Funny how life is... I'll also be leaving a company that I've been involved with since 2003. This thought terrifies me.

Since entering the workforce after college I've never been without a job. I've had a couple days here or there between jobs but I've always had something lined up. The idea that I'm leaving a perfectly good job is the only real aspect of this whole move that bothers me. At the same time though I'm sure that not doing something because of a job would also fill me with immense regret in the future.

The only thing I can do at this point is believe in myself and more importantly believe in the skill set that I've built up over my career. Beyond that thought though I wonder if I'm selling myself short here. I'm moving to Las Vegas, the place where people go to reinvent themselves. What I really need to do is focus on what I can do and how that can be incorporated into a field that I've never worked in.

I hope I can look back a year from now and say that I was worrying for nothing. Here's to hoping.

Next: Planning the Route