Category: Denver

We've been in Denver one week.  As I noted in a previous post, I'd forgotten just how stressful this kind of move can be.  Fortunately, at least as far as central Denver and Aurora are concerned, we're starting to learn our way around, and that's reducing he stress level considerably. For most tasks, I don't even need to resort to GPS navigation. Illif turns into Evans as you go west and connects with the I-25.  Havana turns into Hampden as you go south and does the same. Parker turns into Leetsdale as you go northwest and terminates at Colorado Blvd. to the north and turns into Route 83 (taking you out of Denver) to the south. Yale is south of Illif; Colfax, 6th, and Mississippi are north. Quebec and Monaco are west of Havana, and Chambers is to the east. Colorado Blvd. is to be avoided at all costs if you're in any kind of hurry to get anywhere.

I spent a couple hours at the storage unit this morning.  I realized the other day that there was all sorts of stuff stacked on top of the boxes that contain my 600+ vinyl record albums and with temps heading into the 90s later this week I needed to get them out from under that weight lest I end up with 600+ unplayable, oval LPs.

I think we're going to plan on settling in Aurora.  It's central to any of the five schools that Ben may be assigned to, and getting around from this location seems to be pretty easy.  There are a plethora of apartment possibilities available, all of which match the list of amenities that we enjoyed at my place in Phoenix.

Now I just have to find a job. Preferably not healthcare related. Been there, done that. Over it.

I met with two headhunters yesterday.  I'm meeting with a third tomorrow, and while I was busy rearranging the storage unit this morning, I got a call from a fourth who is submitting me on for a gig at a major telecom company.  The opportunity at NREL that I'd interviewed for went to another candidate from a different agency, and after learning yesterday that most of the available opportunities right now are healthcare related and offering significantly less money than I need sent me into a deep depression.  But it's a new day and things will get better.

Fortunately my finances are in good enough shape that I do not have to jump on the first offer that comes my way.  On the other hand, it would be nice to start working so I don't have to deplete the money that I've put away.

Of one thing I am certain: there is a company in Denver looking for someone exactly like me. It's just a matter of making the connection.

I had forgotten how stressful and disorienting a move to a new city in a different state can be.  The last time I moved somewhere totally new to me was 1986, when I relocated to San Francisco.  After six months I was still having such a hard time adjusting to life there that I was almost ready to pack it up and return to Phoenix.  There was no way I was going to do that, but I finally had to post an affirmation on my refrigerator that read, "San Francisco is my home. I love the City and The City loves me back."  It must have worked, because I stayed sixteen years, and to this day—while I could never return permanently—I still consider San Francisco Home, as home with a capital H.

The Good

• Ben is with me.  He is keeping me sane and grounded during this transition.  His patience is amazing.

• Denver is beautiful.  It still amazes me to look to the west and see snow on the mountains. We haven't had a chance to do much exploring yet, but I cannot wait to start. It was 85 degrees today and we had light showers.  It was 102 and sunny in Phoenix. Do the math.
• We got a local address where mail can be forwarded.  The Post Office had some pretty strict residency requirements for getting a box, so we went with one at a UPS store (at an exorbitant rate, I might add) instead.
• I got a call from a new recruiter today, and I'm meeting with her in person next week.
• I had my first Pinkberry last night.  I'm not a huge fan of frozen desserts, but I have to admit it was pretty damn good.

The Bad

• The extended stay hotel we're staying at has definitely seen better days.  The rooms are small, the kitchenettes are a joke, and while it seems clean enough it just has that skeevy feel about it that does not inspire a great deal of confidence.  I've stayed at Motel 6s that were classier.  We definitely do NOT leave our Macs in the room unattended.  We're only committed to a week at a time so it's not like we're trapped there or anything; we're still debating whether or not we want to find a different place and pay more.

• The traffic in Denver is horrible just about any time of day.  It's easily as crazy as what I remember of the Bay Area, and although I've yet to see any of the abject stupidity that marked Arizona drivers, on the whole they don't seem to be an especially courteous lot either. There also is no logic whatsoever behind left turn signals. Sometimes they're before the traffic direction, sometimes after, and other times during.
• I got a call from one of the headhunters that I'd been working with regarding a job while we were driving up here. Unfortunately the top rate they were willing to pay was way below the minimum I need to live (never mind the amount I was making at my last job), and I'd have to pay for my own health insurance. No thanks, I'm not that desperate yet.  I've only been out of work less than a week.

The Ugly

• I swear I left my brain in the apartment in Phoenix.  After so carefully putting everything I thought I might need until we got permanently settled into separate boxes that would not go into storage, I stupidly packed away into storage both my Social Security card and my birth certificate.  It's been so long since I've had to look for a job I completely forgot that I would at the least need the Social Security card to get employed. Yesterday afternoon, after having the movers unload the truck and stack everything so meticulously in our storage unit, we had to tear back into their work in order to at least find my birth certificate so I could order a replacement Social Security card.  And wouldn't you know it, when I went to the SS office today, they didn't even need it.  I'll have a new card in two weeks, and in the meantime they provided me with some official paperwork telling prospective employers that the card is being replaced.
• Even with navigation on my cell phone, I am still getting lost, going in the wrong direction, and having to make some moves in traffic that I am amazed have not resulted in a vehicular mishap.  In short, I'm driving like an out-of-state asshole because I haven't got a clue where I'm going half the time.
• The internet at the hotel sucks.  I mean seriously sucks.  It's worse than being on dialup. And if that's not bad enough, for some reason my Verizon broadband card is acting all wonky as well.  I get five bars (better than I ever got in my office at work), but the connection speed is only marginally faster than the wireless at the hotel. I do NOT understand it.  We're heading to the Verizon store tomorrow to have it checked out and if it comes back with a clean bill of health we're going to be spending a lot of our free time at Starbucks or Peets over the next few weeks.
• Ben is an official student at DU today and bought Office 2011 Mac (something we've been putting off getting) at the university bookstore.  He was going to purchase the Home and Student edition which provided three licenses, but the girl at the counter said, "Oh, you don't need that, you need 2011 Standard."  Ben asked about the number of licenses included with it, and she told him it was two. So instead of paying $139 for the Home and Student, he picked up the Standard version for $89 and thought he'd gotten a great deal.  That was, until we got back to the room and after successfully installing it on his Mac tried to load it on mine.  "Invalid Registration Number." Fuck. Me.  Since it's already been opened and activated we can't return it, so now we have to shell out another $89 for a second copy of Standard—that we didn't even need to begin with because neither of us uses Outlook!

But even with all the negativity the past couple days, almost by magic, while we were shopping at Target today, I ran across this and took it as a message from the Universe.  Things will get better.  These are just growing pains. I just hate this feeling of being unsettled and having to live out of boxes…

UPDATE: I am a dork.  I must've been fat-fingering the Office serial number.  Ben tried putting it in tonight and it worked just fine. D'oh!

…for this move to be over!

I apologize if that last post was a little snarky, but longtime readers of this blog know that's not out of character for this author.

Anyhow, on a more positive note, Ben and I have two more days before everything is packed up and we hit the road.  While my experience with previous moves tell me to calm down, I still can't help looking around the apartment and wondering how all this stuff is going to fit into a 16-foot truck.  (I've done it before, so I know it's possible, but I'm still nervous.)

Our To-Do list remains long, although the most pressing item—breaking down the aquarium and transferring all the fish to my sister—was finished yesterday.  If we were moving directly into another apartment and not into a hotel, I would've moved the fish with us (been there, done that), but that wasn't in the cards this time.  I will miss the Clown Loaches; they've always been my favorites and have tripled their size since I got them, but I know they've gone to a good (and much larger) home and will be fine.

The goal today is to return the cable equipment to Cox and get all the remaining loose items boxed up. If we get that done, we might actually have a little bit of a breather tomorrow before everything happens on Monday.

Ben says goodbye to Ugly Betty.