As you know, I moved to Utah on September 30th. I have officially lived here for three months. A lot has happened in that time, some of it good, some of it not so good. Instead of boring you all with a detailed narrative of all of the goings-on of the past three months, I'll just list some of the things I've learned.
(DISCLAIMER: If you know me well, you know that I'm kind of snarky and sarcastic sometimes and such is the case with this post.)
- To quote the movie North and South (the British one, not the movie about the American Civil War), "I believe I've seen hell...and it's white. It's snow white." Okay, maybe that's a tad bit dramatic but I have come to the conclusion that snow is a natural disaster. I lived in Provo for five years and I hated the snow then. I hate it even more now that I have a car and I have to commute to work in it. Growing up in California, my winters were rainy and that's just the way I like it. Some say, "But Celia, Christmas isn't Christmas without snow," to which I reply, "Uh, Christ wasn't born on a snowy day so we don't need snow to celebrate his birthday." Others say, "But Celia, snow is so pretty!" Yeah, that may be the case for about 10 seconds until cars start driving in it and it turns brown and gray. Now, I recognize that snow can, in fact, be beautiful. I've seen the snow up in the mountains, untouched by human activity. Yes, that is beautiful. I know that all the snow that the Sierra Mountains are getting is great to help combat the drought going on in California. But it does nothing for the roads. And my car has never looked so bad. There is no way of keeping a car clean here! Okay, I've exhausted that topic. Let's move on.
- Embarrassing or not, I'll freely admit that I have become a pretty big fan of the band One Direction in the last three months. I started listening to some of their music before I moved out here and now, every time I hear one of their songs, it reminds me of home. Is it strange that a British boy band reminds of California somehow? Probably. But every time I'm homesick (which is a lot of the time), I listen to One Direction and I feel a little bit better. Judge me as you will.
- As referenced above, I found out that I am not as immune to homesickness as I thought I was. There have been a few times when I've been driving home from work or laying in bed at night and I just start crying. The San Francisco Bay Area is a crazy, expensive place but it's home. I miss going into the city every so often. I miss living near the ocean. I miss the weather. I miss my family. When I flew to Southern California for the Thanksgiving holiday, I had a short layover in Oakland. As I looked out the airplane window over the water and the Bay Bridge, I had to fight back a few tears. Man, I love that place. We went to a Warriors game a few weeks back when they played the Jazz in Salt Lake City. Even though Sara isn't much of a basketball fan, we were both screaming ourselves hoarse and obnoxiously cheering and clapping when the Warriors won. Bay Area pride was at stake! You can take the girl out of the Bay Area but you can't take the Bay Area out of the girl.
- My first Sunday in our new singles ward was...interesting. Sara was out of town for work so I crossed the threshold of the Utah singles ward all by my lonesome. Our new ward is HUGE, like 400 people huge. Coming from a very small singles ward back in California, to experience this ward for the first time was overwhelming to say the least. After church was over, I drove into the garage at home and just sat and breathed in and out for a while in my car. Now that we're no longer considered new to the ward, we've gotten a lot more comfortable with the number of people and have actually made some friends! I got a new calling as a Relief Society instructor and Sara's on the Activities Committee (no surprise there). Everyone is very nice and friendly. It's still a little overwhelming but I've enjoyed the experience so far.
- Miracles happen. I moved out here without a permanent job. We drove out to Utah on a Wednesday. I applied for three jobs in Salt Lake the following Friday. On Monday, I heard back from all three of them, set up three interviews, worked for Sara in the meantime, and was offered a job within the week. After having experienced long-term unemployment before, I was very happy and grateful to get my current work situation so quickly. While my job as the HR Paralegal at Primary Residential Mortgage is much more fast-paced and stressful than my old job, I've already learned so much and I'm gaining a lot of great experience there.
Happy New Year!
