JeSSi_ELLeN’s blog

Okay, okay, I owe an apology or two… So I know I said I was going to update when I was out in NJ although I failed to do so :(  Also, I have been slacking since I got back from NJ on October 28, 2008. Here is a re-cap of my adventures out East. Much love!

So my job in NJ lasted from 6/30-10/17, almost 4 months that they at least guaranteed me. In the end, I put my notice in a smidge early so I could get back home.

1)       I missed Seattle like crazy

2)       Worried about finding a job too late for 4^th quarter if I didn’t get back until late Nov or Dec…not to mention I didn’t want to drive home in the winter

3)       My sister Brina was having knee surgery for the 2^nd time and could use some help

4)       I also wanted to be able to vote in time, I wasn’t registered in NJ

The job definitely taught me new skills in my field and I thought this would be one of the major reasons why I moved across the country. Boy, was I sure wrong! This experience ended up being more about me learning about myself , closing old chapters in my life and really recognizing how easy it is to take things you value for granted at times. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything else!

Learning to function around the abrasiveness of people in NJ was difficult. I am accustomed to smiling and saying “Hi”, “How are you doing?”, “Have a nice day!” to workers at the cash register, for example. Often I wasn’t acknowledged or they would look at me like I belonged in a Looney bin! In one of my rants to my friend Darren, his response couldn’t have shed better light on the subject:

“sounds like your getting a nice little dose of east coast. we americans are so silly when we think that all americans are alike... we are vastly different, i have learned that in my travels around the country. our television and media lead us to believe we are all the same and function as one... but have you stopped to think that the difference from seattle to new york is about the same or longer than the distance from london to moscow?”

Wow. Good point! This definitely helped me endure everything a little better. I still kept on doing what I was doing with strangers. I made sure to put myself out there as much as I could. I made some friends Lauren and Ed while hiking on a Sunday evening. We met up for some more hikes, BBQ's and they even babysat Simba when I was on my two trips back to Seattle! I was very fortunate and they are great people!

Let’s see, I learned the hard way when I was out there regarding public transportation. I was taking the bus to work in Wayne, NJ. Now, I lived in Hoboken, NJ … so I would have to go into NYC at the Port Authority in order to transfer out to Wayne 20+mi to work. On my way home the first night, it took me 4 hours to get home since I stood on the wrong side of the street to catch my bus. After another bus transfer, I ended up in a town called Paterson which by far is the scariest place I have been! Not really a good idea to wait for a train there. Once on the train that I had missed 45 minutes before…I got to Hoboken. I could then walk a mile home or wait for yet ANOTHER bus or take a cab. Getting home at 9pm definitely wasn’t my cup of tea, and Simba was really upset of course. Poor puppy!

So I ended up renting a car for a few weeks since I was tired of commuting at least 1.5 hrs in the morning and 2.5 hours in the evening, depending on traffic. Renting the car became pretty expensive even with company discount and my underage driving fee waived… so in August I came out to Seattle for my Cousin Michelle’s bachelorette party. On the way back to NJ instead of flying, I drove back with my good friend Jil from Sunday, August 24^th – Wednesday, August 27^th in my Passat. What an amazing adventure that was! The longest time both of us sleeping at the exact same time was 4 hours. We saw everything from Yellowstone National Park, Wildfires outside Cody, Wyoming…Mt. Rushmore, Wall Drug in Wall, SD…the Sears tower in Chicago and the joys of feeling like you were on a rollercoaster across Pennsylvania/New Jersey in order to get back in time for work that Thursday. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

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You can enjoy the rest at – Jil 'n Jessi's Jersey Trail

I will be typing up our hand written Journal from our road trip here Trip Blog. You can see how much humor we found in the tiniest things...  

Jil was able to stay until after Labor Day. All of my sightseeing of the area was done while she was visiting. She is from Seattle as well and actually used to work in the same building that I worked at in NJ! VERY small world :-) Jil misses the city so this was fun for her to show me around. And I got to play around more with my new Canon 40D camera.

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I made friends out there through my roommate, Bob. He was renting out his 2^nd bedroom to his 2bed/2bath apartment. Everyone was around my age, so it made everything easy! The room ended up being $1200 a month + utilities + TV/cable/internet. Not cheap but the experience was cool. Hoboken is actually where Frank Sinatra grew up! It’s a cute “city?” that is 1 square mile. Lots of great food up on Washington Street and directly across the Hudson River from New York City. Take Lincoln Tunnel with your car and pop out near Times Square or hop on the Subway on the south side of town through Holland Tunnel to come out where the World Trade Center used to stand. I severely miss the best Indian Food I’ve had in my life…or Grimaldi’s brick oven pizza with big slices of fresh mozzarella. Mmmm.. One thing I will NOT miss is my parking tickets. I swear they picked on because of an out of state license plate. They really just need to do a better job of painting yellow lines where you’re not allowed to park. I eventually gave up and rented a parking spot at the laundry mat on my block. Oh and Simba won’t miss not having any grass to go potty on. Even the dog park/run was all dirt and pebbles. Two paws down!!

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On my original post that I was moving... here were some goals of mine...

*Pay off all my debt - save & invest...be a minimalist while I am there.

-Well, I didn't come out as ahead as I would have liked, but I made work what I could and did get SOME stuff paid down although there were many expenses that I DIDN'T plan on...but you live and learn! :)

* Focus solely on work while also keeping my current fitness goals...1/2 marathon and more triathlons. Might even try to make the FULL marathon in NYC in November for a charity :) Ahh, that would be wonderful!

-Well I definitely worked! Although my workout regemine fell through the cracks unfortunately. I do have my first 1/2 marathon scheduled for June 27th, 2009 on my 25th birthday, check it out here: Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon

*I won't have my car so I will being using public transit or bike often.

- Please see above...LOL

*Buy a new camera and rent a car to explore many places on the East coast! I am soooo excited! Keep checking back here for updates!

- Yup! I got a new Canon 40D, it worked out perfectly for my drive to and from NJ, little road trips, adventures and my cousin's wedding.

*Coincidentally, my sister Amanda, her husband Servet and my 6 year old niece Safi live 13 miles from my work. They will help with my transition for the first 2-4 weeks. I get to see my niece start 1st grade. I can't wait <3

And...after all is said and done, I hope to buy my first house when I get back for me 'n Simba. As well as get that mini Australian Shepard we've been day dreamin' about...hehehe :) Can't wait to get my kitties back from my best friend's mom, Jean, who has been wonderful to watch them for me since last Fall!

- I am not in a position to buy a house YET but the time will come eventually. I will be moving into my own 1bedroom apartment on 2/1/09 in Woodinville. My best friend Kelly's family has been VERY gracious to let me stay with them on the interim.

Here are some additional photos from Pennsylvania and the Jersey Shore. I'll post another blog about my drive home from NJ. Thanks for reading and I'll answer any questions/comments :)

What's making you smile today?

Mmm...last day at AT&T today...how refreshing!! :P

Wow.

Mark June 20th, 2008 as the day that my life has completely changed.

As some of  you may know, I have been job searching for a few weeks. It amazes me that most of my bites have been out of state as well as being paid at much higher wage for contract positions. Through the job searches, I came in contact with a wonderful gentleman in Oklahoma by the name of Don. He is the Vice President for a recruiting/contract agency called ComNet Solutions. Don and I have built a great rapport with one another over the last few weeks. He has been eager to find me a position, his drive and dedication do not go unnoticed. He found a position for me in Bothell, WA as a Switch Technician/Engineer. He also stumbled upon the same position in Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, and Wayne, NJ. We decided to submit my resume for all of them.

Much to my surprise, I only heard back from the one in Wayne, NJ which is about 20 miles outside New York City. After a few emails back and forth, the hiring manager in NJ wanted to speak to me ASAP right as I was headed into an interview with Motorola about a mile from my current house. I made a point to have an interview Thursday immediately after the one with Motorola. This gentleman agreed to speak with me at 7:00pmEST his time which is well outside their regular hours. He was very eager to speak with me. The interview went very well, although it definitely wins the award for one of the easiest interviews in my life!! haha He let me know that I would hear something back yesterday and still had two more individuals to review as well. I was worried I wasn't going to hear back since it was fastly approaching after business hours on the East coast...about 3:00pmPST I got a call from Don...."You better start packing Girl!!!" I was at the dog park with Simba and I suddenly found myself being stared at by people since I was jumping up and down... I couldn't contain my excitement!

So lets get to the nitty gritty. I'll be working as a Switch Technician which is the central office that controls the cell phone towers in a given region. It is a 4-6 month contract with possible extension. I will be bringing alot of my skills from both Alltel & AT&T but also have such a great opportunity to expand my knowledge with learning wiring of the network....you know, that magic curtain in the "Oz" of cell phone land. I'll be learning how to use wiring tools, isolating call failures, test and integrate new circuits (carries cell phone calls traffic), help with new cell phone tower builds, maintain software and firmware...you get the idea. May sound nerdy, but my dream job. Exactly what I would use my Electrical Engineering degree for. Although, with this job I probably wouldn't even need to go to college unless I really just wanted the piece of paper. It also opens the door for any other job within my field...the sky is the limit at this point! :) I am also enthralled at the money I will be making...almost 3x per hour...calculates to about $20K more in 6 months vs. working for a year at my current job. *gasp*

Given all that...here are my goals and highlights of this opportunity:

Pay off all my debt - save & invest...be a minimalist while I am there.

Focus solely on work while also keeping my current fitness goals...1/2 marathon and more triathlons. Might even try to make the FULL marathon in NYC in November for a charity :) Ahh, that would be wonderful!

I won't have my car so I will being using public transit or bike often.

Buy a new camera and rent a car to explore many places on the East coast! I am soooo excited! Keep checking back here for updates!

Coincidentally, my sister Amanda, her husband Servet and my 6 year old niece Safi live 13 miles from my work. They will help with my transition for the first 2-4 weeks. I get to see my niece start 1st grade. I can't wait <3

And...after all is said and done, I hope to buy my first house when I get back for me 'n Simba. As well as get that mini Australian Shepard we've been day dreamin' about...hehehe :) Can't wait to get my kitties back from my best friend's mom, Jean, who has been wonderful to watch them for me since last Fall!

I've got lots to do...sell, pack, put in storage...last day of work is Wednesday!

Please check MySpace or Facebook for my birthday celebration/going away party (on my actual birthday)....

Friday, June 27th! The big 2-4. Hope to see you then!

I will be going standby to New York City on Saturday, June 28th late in the evening or early am Sunday, June 29th. I start work on June 30th...what a whirlwind. But, I'm loving it at the same time.

Life, is Grand!

Love,

JeSSi

What did you learn in kindergarten that you wish you did a better job of applying to the way you live your life today?

hahahaah Thinking boys are gross! :P  Or maybe taking a nap every afternoon. Wait...I already do that most days.. lol

I do like this one though from Robert Fulghum:

"Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some."

Soo...my co-worker Jonathan introduced me to this site! Not sure how we stumbled upon the topic but I recall saying What! NO MYSPACE!? *gasp* ... "No, I have Vox" he says with this confident smirk. I was pleasantly suprised by this site, Blogger.com lost my interest pretty quick!  "K..You sent an invitation....ok cool."

Done.. & Done.

I've been meaning to write something here the last two days but have been swamped of course, by life but more importantly with my grueling job searches (primarily)  and recovering from my first triathlon in Elma, WA on 6/15/08.  Don't worry..I'll have a post dedicated specifically to that event! Along with the ups and downs :)

Things I am looking forward to on this site...

*Documenting my journey this Summer and Fall towards my goal of the Seattle 1/2 marathon (13.1miles) at the end of November. I have numerous races planned..5K (3.1 mi), 8K (4.9mi) & 10K (6.2mi) as well as more Triathlons.

*My many adventures in hiking. Recently for six weeks straight I had a hike a week that I would go on during my Saturday or Sunday for the week (which is Thursday & Friday) . Really use this time to delve into my love for photography.  :) Its my happy place, with me, my pup Simba and nature!

*Help to get to know myself better and sharing this journey with anyone who may find it interesting! hahaha

*And any other random moments in my life. I feel that I am at a big turning point on my journey and can't wait to see what's in store for me down the road! w00 h00

PS. I am thoroughly disappointed that out of all my Gmail contacts that I only found one friend :( I need to recruit more people to this site! ;)

Until next time...

~JeSSi