Finding my way

Two weeks ago today I moved in to my new apartment in Lawrence Kansas. I have been so busy that it seems more like a month ago. Larry and Nick left on Monday after they made sure that the pictures were hung, drapes were up and that I know how to make all the electronics work. It's not that I am that slow, but they know that if I don't use something electronic, I will probably call them and have to ask "which button makes the DVD player work?" or "How do I switch to the Wii?". So they sat me down on the sofa and put me through my paces... "So Mom, say you are watching TV and then you think, I want to watch a DVD... which button are you going to push?" Thank goodness they came with me, and were patient enough to help me get everything where I want it!

I went with Larry to the Avis shop here in town and he rented as big a car as he could get because we had agreed that the desk I brought from home was just a bit too big for comfort in this little apartment. He and Nick took it apart and somehow got it into the back of the car, loaded up their belongings and drove home - all in one day. It was a very long drive, but they were trying to get across the country between snow storms.

I am getting settled in to my new job at the Writing Center. I had some computer issues (like you do) but I think those are pretty well sorted out at this point. The user name and passwords for the system at KU is pretty ridiculous however. When I described it to Nick he said something like, "Someone has delusions of grandeur. Who do they think they are, the Pentagon?" I find I waste a lot of time every day entering my user name and password over and over, every time I want to look at something different within the system.

I have been trying to get to know all of the current tutors - or, consultants as they call them here. I made 26 appointments, and I either sit down and just get to know them, or I have them tutor something I have written. I want to know each of them, not only as people, but also get to know their tutoring style. So far I am very impressed with the tutors I have gotten to know - both as just plain nice people, but also in their love for tutoring and their goals for their own educations. While just like a lot of other writing centers, many of the consultants are English majors, there are others with very diverse interests. (Linguistics, Film, etc.)

I am also on the books as co-instructor for Eng 400 - their 'tutor training' class. We met the class for the first time this past Tuesday, and next Tuesday I am teaching the class by myself, since my Director, Terese will be lecturing at Stanford. There are 26 students in the class, so I am looking forward to creating a lively group. And, I am looking forward to teaching my first class of native English speakers!

I love the fact that I am less than 3 miles from work, that it is easy to get to fun restaurants, shopping and services I may need. I am not so thrilled with having to walk up a very steep hill from the parking lot with snowy and icy sidewalks, but I am sure I will get used to that. Parking, like on many college campuses, is nightmarish... but I will adjust. I am also not thrilled about having my car parked out in front of my apartment where it gets cold at night and needs to be cleared of snow, ice and frost before I can leave for work. But again, I will adjust.

So far I am doing okay, finding my way around, getting to know people and my surroundings. I am not completely in create mode yet - I feel more like I am catching up. But it will come. I think it is going to be trickier to get the consultants to treat me as their peer than it was at UM Flint - because I am their boss, not a student sitting next to them in class... but that, too will come. I attended a "Professional Development" day at the Union on Wednesday. The Provost and others gave talks and we went to various sessions that caught our interest. I am excited about being a part of a 'writer's guild' where we will meet occasionally to support each other in our personal writing endeavors... but the highlight of the day, for me, was during the session on using social networking media for our jobs. During the presentation there was a slide which had a quote on it. It was the only quote, and it was from UM Flint!

Moving... again.

I hate moving. I don't mind the 'change' aspect of moving, it is all the decisions one has to make which are based upon sketchy information. For example, I knew there is a kitchen with a dishwasher, disposal, stove, fridge, etc... but I had no idea if there would be space on the counters or in the cupboards for my big kitchen maid mixer, nor if I would ever have need of it in the little apartment in Kansas. I think it is the guessing part that makes me the most uncomfortable with moving. Since I have done this (move to a fairly unknown place) many times, I planned, somewhat, for the possibilities. I am a list-maker and a planner. I am not particularly fond of big surprises, so I try to cover a myriad of possibilities. Some times this works out well, and other times it is just a crap shoot.

Fortunately, this time, it has all gone pretty well. Wednesday night we picked up the u-haul truck and Nick and his buddy loaded it all up. I apparently planned exactly the right amount of 'stuff' to completely fill not only the 10' truck, but also the trunk of the car! Thursday we drove to Anderson, Indiana (where we had lived for some 10 years) and spent a lovely evening with friends there. Other than a dense snow squall during the last hour of the drive out of Michigan everything went just fine. Friday, however, was a very long drive of about 10 hours to get to Lawrence Kansas. Saturday morning I got us breakfast at Mickey D's and we headed over to the new apartment. There was no one parked in front of my new place, so we backed the truck right up to the walk and Larry and Nick began to unload while I took pictures of the 'problem' areas inside. Nothing major, just nicks, dirt, chips and the like.

The apartment has a nice living space with a vaulted ceiling from which there is a fan and light fixture, and a fireplace at one end. The washer/dryer combo is in the closet which also houses the furnace and water heater. The kitchen is small but very workable with a fridge that is only a skosh bigger than the one I had in Istanbul. The bedroom is decent sized with a walk-in closet and the bathroom is what one can expect in an apartment. While I am here by myself this will be just fine, but it is a little crowded for three of us! My new boss, the lovely Terese, bought us lunch on move-in day, sending over three delicious pizzas! This delivery was followed by the arrival of two cable guys to get me all wired and hooked up and then one of the veteran tutors came to help unload the heavier furniture. Of course in this small space, the boys couldn't unload anything with the cable guys in the way, so we chatted and I unloaded boxes in the kitchen while we waited for them to finish up. It probably took all of 30 minutes to completely unload the truck.

Next on my priority list was to purchase as many of the necessities as possible before I went to sleep, so that meant a trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond and Target. These kinds of stores are probably a whole three miles from the apartment. (I love small towns!) After picking up some of the more important items, (silverware, glasses, a coffee pot and some food) we stopped at Applebee's for some supper and went back to pass out. Sunday was filled with more unpacking, returning the u-haul and purchases. Top on my list was bookshelves so I can unload the boxes of books. The good news.... there is a World Market which has lovely bookcases - on sale! The bad news.... we probably should have waited to return the u-haul until after I had bought them! But, with the long box hanging way out the back of the trunk, and the smaller box in the back seat and Nick laying across it we managed to get them home!

We went for a little tour of the campus, so Larry and Nick could see where I would be spending most of my time. It is as lovely as I remembered. There is a shopping center with a very large grocery store and a brew house/restaurant just down the street. We ate at the brew house and then stopped at the grocery store for TP and kleenex. Terese called while we were there - she was at the apartment with baked goods for us! She left them by the door for us - yummy muffins! By the time we got home I was exhausted, and fell asleep on the sofa at about 8:00. I moved to the bed at about 10:30 and slept like the dead until my usual wake-up time, 5:30am. So today I will finish as much of the unpacking as I can, send the boys to Home Depot for the little hardware supplies we need, hopefully get to see Terese, and go downtown to explore. For all that I hate moving, now that the hard part has passed, I am excited to learn about my new home, the community, the campus, my colleagues and students and settle in to the next chapter of my life.

Auf Wiedersehen

I woke up at 5:30 this morning, like I do most mornings. But today is different, today is a special day. Today begins the next chapter of my life, I will say auf wiedersehen to my home of 15 years and start my journey to Kansas. I am a jumble of emotion this morning as I drink my first cuppa joe. If I sit still and look around me, I have to fight away the tears. I didn't know it would be this hard... Yesterday we went and picked up a little u-haul truck. (Which, by the way, was outrageously expensive - almost $900.00 to take it just over 900 miles!)Then Nick and one of his friends loaded it up - it is very full!

There are a few odds and ends about the house I will try to cram in here and there; a lamp or two, these pictures and maybe that vase... but it is really difficult for me to choose which parts of the home I worked so long and hard to create, to destroy - not that I am actually destroying anything - it is just that when you find the perfect place for something, it is hard to take it away. Parts of the house now look incomplete to me.

On the other hand, today we will drive down to Anderson, Indiana where we lived for ten years before we moved to Michigan. I cried when we left there, and I survived the experience. When we left Indiana I left a wonderful circle of friends and a house that I loved. And while I cannot go back to that house, tonight I will, once again, spend the evening with some of those friends. It will be fun to see how the town has changed since we last visited there - about ten years ago - and great to see our friends!

And then tomorrow we will head west and arrive in Lawrence. I feel an odd sense of calm about this part. It is difficult to properly express how this move feels; exciting and yet at the same time serene - it just feels right. I know that I am going to have a pretty tough learning curve for a while... as I get to know my new colleagues, the campus, the town, and settle in to my new tiny apartment. But I have certainty that I will be more than fine there, I am needed and will flourish and grow like the sunflowers in Kansas.

I just have to get through this first part... the leaving part, and then it will all be okay. I keep reminding myself what my Dad would say, "you live in the world, but you can't control it" and repeating my usual mantra, "its not just life, it's an adventure - don't forget to pack the sense of humor". I will have a box of tissues handy in the car as I say "auf wiedersehen" to Michigan, because I am pretty sure I will need it! I will see you again...

1-1-11

New Years day once again... and that means that I have been doing a bit of reflecting on the past year, and thinking about the next one. I took a look back at my resolution post from last year and saw the irony in that decision. It appears as though my first thought last year - which was to persevere - is the one that stuck. I made it through 2010, and that was about it. With all the overwhelming sorrows of 2010 behind me I have decided it will remain at the top of my list for the worst year ever. So then I had to look toward this new year and all its new opportunities.

In the next few weeks I will be moving from Michigan to Kansas. I will be leaving behind the comfort in familiarity, my home of 15 years, my network of wonderful friends and, last but most important, my family. There is an element of sadness connected to leaving which threatens to overshadow my excitement with the changes I am facing. I poured my heart into creating the home where my children both came of age, to make it a warm and welcoming place where everyone would feel welcome and safe. So many wonderful memories - birthdays, snow days, holidays, friends, laughter, dancing, music, and tons of food! So it is bittersweet to be leaving - and I seem to come easily to tears.

On the other hand, I am so excited to have the opportunity to move to this wonderful little town and work at a job that I know I will love. I accepted and signed the job offer on the 30th, so it is all official and I will be the Assistant Director of the Writing Center at the University of Kansas beginning on January 19th, 2011. In some ways it feels like all the other things I have done in the past have been in preparation for this new career. Really, this is my third or fourth career, but the one I plan to do for the rest of my working life. I am excited and at the same time, overwhelmed. I have to find a place to live, pack up whatever I am taking with me, go to Lawrence, move in, unpack and then start.

So I have been thinking about the "one word resolution" for this year. The first thought that popped into my mind was 'change'. But change is inevitable, no matter what we think, so I tossed that word aside. I have decided upon 'create' for my word for 2011. This year I will create a new life in many ways: a new home, a new job, a new network of friends, a new community, new relationships, and new goals. I will have to find a new grocery store, new doctor and dentist, maybe a new choir, and definitely a new routine for my life. I am excited about the changes and optimistic that I can 'create' this new chapter in my life in ways that will bring back my sense of adventure and joy. Happy New Year - and Welcome 2011! I will create this year, may you flourish and prosper in 2011!