my moral standing is lying down

Ahahaha, I got laid off.

My last day is this coming Friday, though my boss let me know this past Friday. I went home a little early and told my roomies and quietly freaked out a little. Went to the gym. Then I relaxed because whatevs, I just had to figure out what I should do about it: look up California Unemployment, see if I'm eligible; look up jobs on Craigslist and other sites, start sending resumes out.

I did those things.

I can't even remember what the context was when I jokingly said "I should just move to Philly", but then the thought just got stuck in my mind. The more I thought about it, the more seriously appealing it became. Several weeks ago I'd decided that I was going to stay in LA for only another year before going back to NYC. Mostly because of Rich. So my thinking is: if I've got only a year to sow my wild wanderlust-oats, I need to make the best of it; if I was going to struggle with finding a job (for who knows how long) and maybe not be able to do things because of making only enough money to survive rather than go out and doing fun stuff, I'd rather spend a year doing that in a place I've never lived before, experiencing something completely new and different.

You probably think I'm crazy. I don't blame you; I kind of do, too. But I talked it out with a few people who've got good, rational heads on their shoulders, and I think this is actually going to work out.

I'll be going back to NYC first, for a couple of months, to work and save up some money for the cost of moving to Philly (rent/security/furniture/etc.) where I plan to live for about a year before returning. I'm ridiculously sad I'm going to miss all of the new friends I made here, though. And most especially, my two awesome roomies elipie and likeaglass. This past year just couldn't have been as fucking awesome as it was without them!

But I'm not gonna lie -- though it wasn't the motivating, or even the tipping factor -- it's a huge plus that Philly's only 2.5 hours away from Rich, and my family, and so many of my closest friends. (And also the NY Rangers.)

So here's the fun part: ROAD TRIP 2: EAST COAST BOOGALOO!

LOS ANGELES >> ALBUQUERQUE >> OKLAHOMA CITY >> ST LOUIS >> CHICAGO >> PITTSBURGH >> NYC

Have been here in LA for almost four weeks now. It's really, really different than NYC in a lot of little ways, but of course it's not quite as different as being in another country. ^_~

Still searching for a job, and not doing too much else since I'm trying not to spend money. The first week I was here I certainly spent enough: buying a bed and a bookcase, furniture for the living room, dishes for the kitchen, groceries, etc. And LOL, gas. Why is gas so expensive here? It's at least a dollar more than it was in Albuquerque; basically around the same as NYC, though probably something like $.10 more per gallon.

Traffic here is both just like everyone says (HORRIBLE), but also not really as bad as it's infamy implies? Like, it's worse than NYC traffic at times, but I've been in worse traffic in NYC too. I've learned that the traffic seems to be worst on the streets leading up to freeway entrances; not really on the freeway itself. Don't get me started on my rant about dumb California drivers and even worse signage.

It's been tons of fun so far with Eli and Acadia; living with fangirls is clearly a singular experience. Going to try to update more often and get back to actually reading my flist, considering the amount of free time I have right now. But it's a bit difficult as I'm a bit plagued by cabin fever and all I want to do is go out.

BTW, I've utterly succumbed to Words With Friends, so if you're into that, please feel free to start a game with me (username: osaraba).

Also! OMG THANK YOU to xlovebecomesher, leashy_bebes, and koyappi for the v-gifts!!! YOU GUYS ARE AWFULLY SWEET! <333