Two years ago I started my life back in New Jersey. Although it has been mostly a disappointment I don't regret the decision. If I was still in Seattle working at 5-spot, I would be making good money as a sous chef. I would be having my weekly fun doing Karaoke at places that are a lot more fun than the Karaoke places on the Jersey shore. I maybe would have a new girlfriend but that is speculative, I would continue to go to Mariner games at a regular basis, and my enjoyable routine of going to Caffe Ladro would be intact and enjoying life but I would be always pining for what was going on back here.
For one thing I would not be close to my nephew. I see him on a regular basis watching him grow for real. I get the opportunity to bond with him. I am not a stranger to him. I see my friends more, but not as much as I hoped. Part of the reason is that I never realized how far from the city the Jersey shore is. I grew up an hour away from Manhattan. It was New Jersey, but not the New Jersey that gets mocked. No, that New Jersey is here at the shore. So, access to the city is far and more of my friends had moved away from the area anyway.
I have been to Shea a few times, for the first time in 15 years. I had the opportunity to go to the Phillies new park which is great too. Someday, I hope to visit all the ballparks. I have a better chance here on the east coast to get many of them out of the way. I also look forward to seeing Citifield. Plus I was able to go to Cooperstown recently when Madame X was in Vegas. It was beautiful even in March. I look forward to the day a Mariner gets in, because that'll happen before a Met gets in.
I get to see my parents more, I don't know how long they'll be around but when Madame X's grandmother was dying, her uncle was in Hawaii and did not make it in time and I did not want that to happen to me. Now, when I save up money, I can go to different places instead of going back and forth from Seattle to New York. I plan on retiring to Seattle or Portland. No doubt I will be on the west coast but not in the desert.
The job market is better for graphic design is much better here. An though I still haven't gotten that job yet, I have with a little help form my friends built up a decent portfolio that continues to get better. It will happen. As it is, I will be working for TSA soon. Good money and many opportunities for a huge variety of advancements. I finally have my "fallback" job.
My cat, Spookie died about two weeks after I got back to New Jersey. My trip would have been more eventful if I didn't have him with me. I was concerned for his welfare but I probably traumatized him to death with the trip. He never adjusted to my parents place. I thought he would enjoy the company of my parents, particularly my dad, but within a week he had stopped eating. He developed an infection in his eye, staggered outside looking at frogs the last night of his life and died when I went to get my New Jersey license.
As far as my main reason for coming back, to start a lifetime relationship with Madame X?
Well, I have to remind myself that Crisis = Opportunity. So, the fact the relationship went sour was a good thing. I got my freedom back. I don't have to try to please someone who lacks the patience and vision on how good things were going. I was able to use the relationship as an excuse to move back. I did more in this relationship, a lot more than I did in my other longer relationship in Seattle. I learned that this is not enough for some people, and I'm better off with someone who was supportive like my previous girlfriend, but at least Madame X didn't cheat on me. Still I can't rely on women to make my life better even though in every relationship I've seen has a supportive female. I may or may not find someone better.
Either way lesson learned.
I am not locked into being stuck here at the Jersey shore. With my job at TSA I can more closer to the city when my lease is up, or even closer to my brother, whatever, I am free. I still don't like the weather, but I'm back and I'm here to stay.
No comments:
Post a Comment