I know, I know "Where the hell have you been?!?!" After the end of August I fell off the face of the earth. Having our trailer broken into while living on the road was difficult for me to cope with. I tried not to be jaded from the experience but for all my trying I remained scared and timid for the rest of our travels. The tour ended September 24th in San Antonio, TX as planned (well as rescheduled) and we spent a week with our friends Shainah and Orie in Austin in celebration. From there we traveled back to Kansas City to pick up our trailer before finally heading home to Indiana to see our puppy dog, Abbey Road.
The month of October was 'soul searching' month. Jobless, homeless and with no discernible direction I began asking myself for the first time in months, "What do I want?" As part of our summer traveling, Evan and I were suppose to find a city that we both loved and would want to live our next 4 years in, at least. The only players that rose above the rest were Boulder, CO and Asheville, NC. Then after a trip back to New York to clean out our storage unit which had flooded during hurricane Irene (if I have learned anything from the last 2 months it is do not get attached to material possessions), I added New York, NY back to the list.
From spending only a week in New York, I was reminded of all the tasty delights the Big Apple provides. First, all our friends are there which are all amazing people in their twenties and early thirties following dreams and spinning inspiring tales that I am not ready to give up following. Second, the food and culture in that 4 x 7 mile island is like no other I have seen. The delicious meals we had were almost too much to bare (I am salivating just thinking of them again). Third, the city is like a living creature which makes you feel a part of something bigger than yourself. You can walk the streets any time of the day and night and see life thriving. The backwoods of Indiana has life too, it just takes a lot of patient and persistent to watch it change or grow and now that it is winter everything is dying and all the animals and insects have deserted us. For someone with seasonal depression, the winter in NYC does not have that sense of the world dying because the streets are never bare and there are no insects to say farewell too!
For the other two cities on my list, I do love Boulder but for now it is too far away to fathom. North Carolina I could get on board with. Asheville is only 8 hours from my parents in Ohio and 8 hours from Evan's parents in Indiana. Plus, most of Evan's relatives and his brother live in NC so we would have family close which is something I value. I love that the city is at the foot of the Appalachian mountains, it makes such a beautiful scene and the downtown area is filled with interesting shops and delicious restaurants. Not to mention, Asheville has a great live music scene which is perfect for Evan as he continues to build his career. Sounds perfect right? Well then help me get a job there!
Now that we have whittled away where we want to live, I need to find a job to support us. Not that Evan is not a provider, he is and of lately he has been providing for the both of us. But I need a job to help build my career, to keep me busy and to be a source of reliable income to keep us sheltered and fed. That was another nagging question, "What kind of job do I want?" I was tormented the entire month rolling this question around in my head. I finally came up an answer on our trip home from NYC. I want to work on a college/university campus again. I love the atmosphere and I would love to continue my education through tuition remission. So I have been applying for jobs in both the NYC area and the Asheville area. If anyone reading this has an 'in' with any campuses don't be shy, contact me!
Alright, so I am getting out of bed in the morning and having my coffee to sit down at my computer and focus on job hunting in two distinct geographic areas. I am back on track and putting my plan to action! And with that, my emotions are in check and I am able to come back into the world with a smile on my face. I have the strength to meet the worlds challenges with optimism and am once again sleeping easy like a fool with full acknowledgement that the 'plan' could change any day. But for now, the plan is keeping me sane.
So I am officially back online! I am going to keep you all updated on my life as I try to definitely live it. If you want to write me my email address is emilyanngriffin@gmail.com
Thanks for all your love!!
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