The downside of moving across the country…
January 17th, 2012 | Rachel
… is that it is a total logistical hassle.
I have been so worried about my stuff not fitting in the U-Haul trailer (and a myriad of other moving-related matters) that I haven’t been able to sleep. Falling asleep isn’t the problem, but then I wake up five hours later with my mind racing with everything I need to do. Add on top of that the list of things I want to do and the people I want to see, and there just isn’t enough hours in the day. And add on top of that the incredibly loud hissing that comes out of the radiator in my bedroom every morning, and I have no hope of going back to sleep.
Fortunately, I have the unyielding support of my family, my friends and Steve, and everything is slowly but surely coming together.
Speaking of friends, these two criminals (pictured below) totally surprised me last week with a going-away party at one of my favorite happy hour bars in the city, Essex, along with about 25 of my favorite New Yorkers.
Davina and Carey, the masterminds behind my surprise going-away party
I’ll be posting a few more photos from that event (including some of me embracing the full California Girl persona in a long blonde wig) when I get them. I also had little going-away gatherings with my co-workers from the bakery and my church friends (the latter of which was sweetly organized by Arthur).
This final week I am having a little drop-in get-together at Arctica Bar that was planned well before I knew of the surprise party. After that, it’ll be time to pack up and head out of town.
I’m starting to get sad about leaving all of my friends. I knew that was going to be the part I miss the most, but it didn’t really hit me until the surprise party. I’m also starting to freak out a little about the fact that I am unemployed and will remain so for at least the next three weeks.
I’m excited to get on the road, though. Davina is joining me for the first leg, and we have a great itinerary of people we want to visit on our drive down. I’m also excited to spend some extended time with my family in Alabama while I wait for Steve to meet up with me. Finally, I am especially excited about seeing Steve on my birthday (January 31st), as it will have been six weeks since I last saw him.
I figured out the space issue with the trailer, by the way. I opted this morning for a last minute U-Box, which is a small container that will be delivered to my storage so I can load it up. Then they will ship it over to California and store it until I can come get it. It was quite a bit more expensive than renting the trailer (although considerably less than hiring a mover), but I think it is more than worth it due to the peace of mind it is already bringing me.
Stay tuned for those photos of me as a blonde. They actually aren’t as bad as I would have expected.
Another Chapter Comes To A Close
January 14th, 2012 | Rachel
Today marks my last day working at the Three Green Ducks (which, as many of you already know, is not the real name of the bakery). If you haven’t read about how I ended up with the job, here’s the back story.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been a paid member of the baking industry for almost six months now. Its even harder to believe that I haven’t done any substantial lawyer work (outside helping a few friends) in almost eight months.
I can’t say I’ve missed being a lawyer. I guess that is a good sign that I am onto something better suited for me. Don’t get me wrong, working as a corporate litigator was really interesting sometimes. I know I loved the job when I first started. I liked how mentally taxing it was. At the end of a great day of work, my brain would be exhausted from processing and analyzing so much information. When people asked what I did, I usually told them I was a professional problem solver. The client would come in with their million dollar problem, and the partner(s) would divide it up into multiple layers of very specific problems, which were then assigned to us associates to solve. As the case progressed, you got to see how your work product fit together with everyone else’s to solve the headlining problem. Of course that was usually just saving one giant corporation’s money from another giant corporation, but it was still an interesting intellectual exercise. It wasn’t something I could put my heart into.
In contrast, as I have mentioned before, I really believe in working at the bakery. I believe in the physical product itself, and I believe in what it means for the people who buy it. I believe that operating a bakery is a direct service to the community, and I believe it adds to people’s quality of life.
When I get sucked into wondering how my bakery will ever be as successful as the Three Green Ducks, I get overwhelmed and discouraged. However, when I start thinking about the individual components — the recipes, the presentation, the message I want to communicate to the customers — and why I want to start my own business, I get excited and energized.
My only complaint about working at the Three Green Ducks — and I hope none of my coworkers take offense to this — but after a few months I did start to feel like my brain was starting to melt. This shouldn’t come as any surprise. After all, I was hired to be a physical body behind the counter… not a brain.
There were little opportunities here and there to think creatively. I pointed out an inconsistency with the price of pie slices that led to a new pie-pricing scheme. I made a protective shield out of shopping bags and packing tape to protect a stack of cake boxes that would get dirty every time someone emptied the coffee grinds into a nearby trashcan. For a couple of months I tried to convince the Powers In Charge that putting everything in the cake case perpendicular to the window and leaving the case facing the window empty discouraged people walking by from stopping in. If the first thing someone sees when they peak in the window is an empty cake case, its unlikely they are going to investigate further. (The explanation I was given for not changing the placement of the cakes was that they didn’t sell as well when put in the case facing the window.) On slow days, I recalculated what I thought the price of certain products should be. For example, if you sell a 10″ cheesecake for $53 whole or cut it into slices that sell for $4 each (totaling $54 for a whole cake’s worth) even though it takes an employee a good 30 minutes to cut the slices, then you are making less money off of the slices and should keep more of the whole cakes in the case to sell.
Of course, it is easy for me to sit back at a distance and poke holes in my employer’s business model when I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes.
I’m excited to tackle these kinds of issues of my own, and I am looking forward to the intellectual challenge of creating and running a viable business. There’s really no end to the subjects I am going to have to learn: building codes, food safety regulations, employee issues, advertising, finances, business-related technology, in addition to the chemistry of baking in bulk.
I’m sure I will continue to reflect on all of the things I learned while working at the Three Green Ducks. It was very enriching experience, and I felt like I had a lot of sincere ‘goodbyes’ today.
Ok, where were we?
January 9th, 2012 | Rachel
Operation West Coast is officially in motion.
My last day at Three Green Ducks is this Friday. Yes, kind of sad.
My dad (who is on break from his adventures in Afghanistan) is driving up in my new sweet ride (his old minivan) next Tuesday.
If all goes as planned, I’m renting a uHaul trailer a couple of days later and loading it up with the few pieces of furniture I am keeping plus as many boxes as will fit.
My friend Davina is then graciously driving with me down to Auburn, Alabama starting next Friday where I’ll hang out for a couple of weeks while Steve flies back from the ship and gets his own affairs in order.
Finally, at the end of January, Steve and I will drive to California and start that whole new chapter of life.
Piece of cake, right?
{Thankful November} 30: You!
January 5th, 2012 | Rachel
Join me in the comments or on your own blog as I give thanks every day this month.
Thanks for celebrating the season of Thanksgiving with me (since I have managed to stretch it into two months). After this, I will get back to the regularly scheduled program of updating you on the Big Move and my developing business plans. Did I mention I have a logo picked out?
It is going to be an exciting year, to say the least, and I am so thankful you are going to share the journey with me. If you haven’t already, scroll to the bottom of this page and subscribe to my emails. Otherwise, keep checking back and leave me a comment whenever you feel so inclined.
As a recap, here are the things I have been specifically thankful for during my Thankful November:
1. The Basics
2. My Family
4. Pie
5. Coffee
6. Sleep
7. Information
8. Progress
9. My Bike
10. My Guitar
11. Productivity
12. Days Off
13. City Sounds
14. Down Comforters
16. NYC Public Transportation System
17. Fall Leaves
19. Friends
20. Socks
21. Smells
22. Education
23. Discomfort
24. Steve
25. Thanksgiving… And Other People- And Food-Focused Holidays
26. A Great Haircut
27. Shoes
28. Grandmothers
29. New York
30. YOU!
{Thankful November} 29: New York
January 5th, 2012 | Rachel
Join me in the comments or on your own blog as I give thanks every day this month.
View from the roof of my first apartment building in New York City
Dear New York City,
As you may have heard, I am leaving you in a few short weeks. I assure you this isn’t due to anything you have done.
I never planned on living in this self-acclaimed “center of the universe.” I was interviewing for summer law firm jobs during law school — mostly because everyone else was doing it — and a classmate suggested I interview with the New York office of a particular firm. I did the interview, got the summer job, and eventually got a full time job with the same New York office after I graduated. It was an opportunity too good to refuse, so when I returned from my travels in southeast Asia and Italy after taking the New York state bar exam, I packed my bags and moved to the big city.
Even then, I didn’t think I was going to stay very long. My plan at that point was actually to move back to North Carolina after a few years. Did I want to move back to North Carolina? No way, but I didn’t truly consider a future in New York City until my reason for moving to North Carolina — a relationship — ended.
Only then did I start to see the city for the ocean of possibilities that it is. There is literally something for everyone here. I don’t care who you are or who you want to be, there is a place for you in New York. I don’t think any city in the world can compare to the diversity of this city. Not only that, but at any given time there are a hundred interesting activities to do. At times there are too many things to do because I find it impossible to do the necessary boring things like laundry and grocery shopping.
I know New Yorkers get a bad rap for being rude. In truth, it is more focus than anything else that causes people here to steam forward at full speed with seemingly little regard for those around them. People actually go to great lengths to speed around others rather than other them. If there is a reason for someone to shift their focus outward, they will. I’ve never seen someone ask for directions and be turned away or ignored. I’ve also been on the subway several times where someone dropped something as they were leaving — keys, a glove, a Metrocard — and had several people jump up to hand them the dropped item before the subway doors closed. I find it kind of amazing that people get along as well as they do considering the constant close contact we have with each other.
So why am I leaving, you ask?
There’s not much about you, New York, that I can point to. Your rent is a little high (and by a little, I mean obscenely, and your real estate brokers are some of the worst people I’ve ever had the curse of doing business with). Weather-wise, you get a little too cold during the winter and too hot during the summer (and this is coming from someone who spent every summer as a kid in either Alabama or South Carolina). Also, although I don’t consider New Yorkers rude for the most part, it sure is nice to be around friendly strangers every now and then.
None of those things are dealbreakers, though.
In truth, I’m leaving because I am starting to realize that the opportunities and life I want are better found elsewhere. I want to settle down a little and plant some roots in a community where I can be involved. I want to start a business, something that would be cost-prohibited in New York City. I want to be able to ride my bike to the beach or pack up my car and go camping. I want the air to be a little fresher, the noise to be a little softer, and the pace of life to be a little slower. I also want a yard with a big dog.
None of these things reflect negatively upon you, New York, and I hope you won’t take my move personally. I am thankful for the many lessons you have taught me: to be a little tougher, a little more confident, a little more open-minded, a little more adventurous. I hope I can take the best parts of you with me when I leave. I am most thankful for the incredible friendships you have given me, and fortunately those are portable too.
I am so thankful for the four years I’ve spent here. I can honestly say I am a better person for it. Whether it is only for six months, six years, or even sixteen years, I think anyone who has a dream of living in New York City should come give it a try. This is the city where dreams are made, even if those dreams ultimately lead elsewhere.
Thank you, New York. This isn’t the last you’ll see of me.
Passing through Grand Central Station on my way to work as a summer associate
