The move

I decided to only take what would fit in my car. A few things contributed to that decision. First I wanted as fresh a new start as possible. I gave up the furniture and other things like that in divorce negotiations. I didn't really want them anyway. I wasn't in love with them. So mostly cloths and a few bare essential kitchen and bathroom items made it in my car. The other reason was that I didn't have a hitch on my car and I didn't want to pay the money to have it installed. I have a small storage unit in Vegas but most of my worldly possessions fit in my small SUV.

I left first thing on Friday morning and I was so excited when the compass in my car said E for east. I knew I would be seeing that a lot over the next week.

The worst weather I saw was a thunderstorm in New Mexico. I was very fortunate to have such beautiful weather except for a few hours on Friday.

First stop was in Lubbock, TX to stay the night with my cousin Amanda and her fiance Taylor. They tried to take me out for a night on the town but how much trouble can you get in during the summer in a college town... but we had fun!

On the road again

I could kick myself for not taking more pictures in Texas. I got to see my Aunt Laurie and my cousin Anthony who is growing like a weed. I spent some time with my Uncle Malcolm and Aunt Jennifer and their two kids that totally remind me of my niece and nephew. I had to remind myself that they were my cousins. And best of all I got to spend some quality time with my grandparents that I don't get to see very often. Luckily I'll be back in October for Amanda's wedding.

I kept noticing the scenery getting progressively greener as I moved across the country. This is somewhere in Oklahoma. This was definitely the most irritating state. Not only do they have weird freeway exits on the left hand side of the freeway but if you want the privilege of driving on their construction littered freeway...you have to PAY FOR IT. Re-diculous!

I got to St. Louis at 5:30 so of course I was stuck in traffic. But the good news is I got a decent picture of the Arch without having to stop :)

My route took me along the coast of Lake Erie through upstate New York and it was beautiful. The green went right up to the water in most places and the beach was small rocks instead of sand.

By the last day I was getting pretty impatient with semi trucks and their lack of movage to the right lane when I would like to pass them. FEDEX is the WORST!! I will only ship UPS because fedex has the most obnoxious drivers. The right lane is for traveling. The left lane is for passing. driving next to someone for 30 miles is not passing them.

And this is what 3,200 miles worth of bugs looks like.

And my very warm welcome from Janice and the dogs, Bear and Moose.

comming soon.....

I have pictures. I have many things to blog about, but the internet in my basement apartment isn't set up yet so i have to go to starbucks to get internet. I drove down here but they are closed so i'm sitting in my car to tell the blogging world that i will post but right now my battery is almost dead without an outlet nearby. Tomorrow. Hopefully.

BOSTON HERE I COME!

I had applied to a few schools that I wanted to go to. I really should have just applied to Gallaudet because that's the only school I was willing to pack up stuff and move to. I didn't get in and that was heart breaking and I really didn't want to tell anyone. Then a series of circumstances in the Las Vegas Interpreter market happened and getting National Interpreter Certification (NIC) became a matter of survival. So i bit the bullet and took the test. Worst case scenario is that I failed but then I would know what the test was like and be better prepared to study for the next attempt. The test had a 40% failure rate among people who had been working for YEARS and here I come not even graduated from an ITP, with 5 semesters worth of language classes and... I PASSED. That piece of paper flung open the door to so many professional opportunities that I still haven't realized them all yet.

So now that I knew I was not going to Gallaudet but I had Certification I began looking into places I just wanted to live. Being near an Ocean was at the top of the list and followed places like Califonia, Florida, or BOSTON. Further down on the list were just cool cities like New York and Chicago. I even applied to a Video Relay call center in NYC. Boston has always been a place I wanted to live. I talked with an interpreter friend who packed up everything and moved to Vegas from Texas. She suggested I contact local interpreters in the area through the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). So I did, using an email identical to the one she used to contact Vegas terps I asked questions about the area the atmosphere and the work volume. The more responses I got the more I felt good about the city.

I contacted the Massachusetts (I guess I need to learn to spell that without spellcheck) Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing MCDHH. I received a contract in the mail and was so nervous I waited 3 weeks to sign it and send it back. Then it took until now but I got it. My contract approval notice. In a couple weeks I'll be loading up my car and moving across the country to sleep on the couch of another interpreter that I met at TerpExpo in Irvine, CA. Then I'll go to an orientation and begin work at a new job, in a new city, with a new marital status.

This is my journey and you're welcome to watch me do it.

This is my new blog to go along with my new life. In a couple of weeks my divorce will be final and I'll be starting a new life with a new job in a new city. There are a lot of people in my life who are not happy with the decisions I am making. To them I say: That is unfortunate but I hope the love that we share is unconditional. My spiritual well-being is between me and Heavenly Father. I am learning to keep private things to myself. Just because a question is asked, doesn't mean I am obligated to answer it. Just because I don't answer it, doesn't mean I don't care about you enough to share.