Sting's song started playing in my head as I hear my husband's casual words, "The interview's scheduled for next week." At the time, the possibility of leaving my native Southern California for the other side of the continent seemed an exciting, but uncertain idea. Really uncertain. Waiting for the outcome of the interview process took so long that I started to feel like I was caught in an endless loop at Rocky Horror Picture Show, screaming "Say it! SAY IT!!" at Tim Curry's leering, lipsticked face. I'm a compulsive planner, I mean nearly to the point of OCD. So between trying to figure out contingency plans for two coasts, I had one half of my brain on the East coast, and one still here in Los Angeles. It was an understatement that I was not doing too well in terms of concentration in either location. Really. I kept finding groceries put away in the oddest places (toothpaste in the fridge, anyone? I promise it's EXTRA minty fresh!) and my husband soon learned that all bets were off when it came to asking me where ANYTHING was. After a few missplaced items of a crucial nature, I soon testily informed him that I had enough trouble keeping track of my own UNDERWEAR (and that only because I had my lingerie drawers clearly labelled) so I hereby refused to be held accountable for any bits and pieces he left lying around the apartment, drat it!
But it happened! After a series of byzantine phone and in-person interviews with questions that made me think of "Harry Potter goes to CalTech" (seriously. I'm smarter than your average idiot- I once actually fooled a whole panel of real-live science professors into giving me a MASTERS.) but this stuff? The questions my darling had to answer just to have the privilege of applying in the first place were along the lines of
"Mr. Spock and Scotty get drunk and reprogram the trivia computer in the Enterprise Forward Lounge."..(wait..is referencing Harry Potter, Cal Tech and Star Trek all in the same paragraph mixing my geek metaphors?). So later, and after much Annnnticipa.......TION...(Thanks, Rocky! Oops! another one!) my husband, The Mathemagician, actually signed on with BigBrains Inc.in Manhattan. My anticipation was over, but my stress level, and excitement ratcheted up to a whole new level. WE ARE MOVING!!!
And now, a few weeks later, it feels like our June 30th move date is streaming towards us like the ground towards a skydiver at terminal velocity.
Packing, finding an apartment (more on THAT later) making plans to move our lives....there's so much to do!
I'm excited, but nervous. I've never lived anywhere but Southern California. I've lived through earthquakes, firestorms, riots, floods, and hours-long traffic jams caused by high speed chases. But actual snow, subways and living without a car- now THAT's going to be a challenge!
So, to keep my friends in Los Angeles posted as I take on this new adventure (and quite possibly amuse the heck out of my East coast family members) I have started this blog.
Will Calafia and the Mathemagician negotiate the loony bin of New York brokers and get an apartment BEFORE they move? (Or will Calafia's well-known temper prompt her to offer up a menu of "Broker Tartar" if left alone with one of those daft and devious buggers in a dark alley?). How much is enough alcohol to offer your surrounding plane passengers if the sedation you gave your (very) vocal Siamese cat starts to wear off mid-flight? How many mini-vodka bottles is is possible to smuggle through airport security, anyhow?
And, dear Lord have mercy, what happens when we GET there????
Stay tuned!
