Hey nerds! I'm back!
Yesterday I was having a lovely brunch with my friend Erica. We were playing catch-up and I was regaling her with stories of my new hometown when she interrupted and exclaimed, "That's your thing! Start blogging again about all the cool people you meet in California!"
And you know what? I'M GONNA.
But first, do you guys wanna hear how I got to sunny SoCal? It's a long and winding road, but then again, so is every damn road I travel...
About eight years ago my friend Casey (she of the Casey with Laser Eyes fame) got a list from her dad. See, he was trying to convince her to come home from SoKo to pursue a grad degree in pharmacology, so he sent her a list of the top ten professional jobs with the best outlook/job satisfaction/pay/blah blah blah. Casey had no interest in being a pharmacist (that undergrad in French definitely prepared her for it, amiright?!), but she did find a few professional avenues that piqued her interest. One of them was speech language pathology, which, as luck would have it, also piqued MY interest.
Fast forward a year, to 2011. I was preparing to come back to the States in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression. My job outlook was shitty, but I just couldn't yet wrap my head around grad school. The cost alone was mind boggling (not to mention the idea of going back to school after the age of 30...), so I came home and took a safe job with the Boise School District. And for those of you who've slogged through this blog you know I was miserable. That first year home was rough, but grad school was always in the back of my mind.
Fast forward another year, to 2012. I had fallen into a rhythm - work, home, bar, occasional (bad) sex, wash, rinse, repeat. Life was fine (not good), but I was still miserable. I was unwilling and unable to accept that this is what my life would look like. I was unprepared to spend the bulk of adulthood settling for mediocrity, but I felt stuck. I knew something had to change, but change requires momentum and I had zero. Lucky for me Erica (yes, that same Erica) knew just how to push me. "Let's study for the GED together!" she exclaimed. I begrudgingly accepted her offer for a GED study buddy, and so began my long, strange trip to grad school (and a beautiful friendship!)
Fast forward another year, to 2013. Life was marginally less awful and I was legit preparing to head back to school! Oh, and Erica got accepted to USC. She moved in the early summer and I made it a point to visit ASAP. And thus began my love affair with LA...
Lots of shit happened in the intervening five years. I started and finished a pre-pro year of school, applied to and was NOT accepted to any grad programs the first time around (this was frustrating and demoralizing and hella fucking expensive), and then finally, in 2015, I was accepted! No one needs a grad school play-by-play, but suffice it to say I hated every minute. The one thing I always looked forward to during those 2+ years were my annual trips to LA. The more I visited and explored, the more the city felt like a place I could actually live. I fell in love with the art and culture and food and people, and yes, the traffic.
And so, somewhere around 2016, I started telling people that my professional goals included living and working in Southern California. The first step to making a dream come true is to say it out loud to other people, so I figured this was one simple way I could manifest my dream. Also, it required very little effort on my part, so basically, it was perfect.
Fast forward one more year, to 2017. Graduation came and went. I chose to extend my program through the fall so I had ample time to finish up my portfolio, prepare for orals, and finish my externship. I cleared each hurdle with minimal effort and before I knew it, December was looming. So on a whim, while kicking back PBRs at my favorite college bar ON A MONDAY, I posted my resume and CV on Indeed. Within an hour I had more than ten hits.
Shit was happening. Fast.
Within a day I had five interviews set up for the following week, the week of December 18th. I did minimal research into most of the organizations (I'm nothing if not lazy), and one organization stood out to me. They were a nonprofit clinic based in Torrance, with offices in Long Beach and Inglewood, who serviced low SES clients in the South Bay. Everything about this organization was attractive to me - it was basically my dream job. And it just so happened they were my first interview on Monday morning, December 18th. KISMET!
The interview went well - we talked for nearly two hours, and at the end they inquired about traveling for a second interview. I was giddy! But I also knew not to get my hopes up - what were the chances that all the puzzle pieces would fall into place and THIS would be my new job? Slim to none, I reminded myself. And so I tried to go about my day.
And then they called me at the tail end of the business day. Reader, I almost died.
Mindy, you have excellent experience.
Mindy, you have heart and energy and skills.
Mindy, we think you would be an excellent match.
Mindy, we don't need a second interview.
Mindy, we want to offer you the job.
Mindy, when can you start?
Dudes. You all know I had a *really* hard time keeping it together over the course of that phone call, right?! My whole body was tense, my knees were weak, and I was legit holding back tears. What were the chances that all the puzzle pieces would fall into place and THIS would be my new job?! Pretty fucking high, apparently. And so, by the end of that week, I had negotiated pay, a sign-on bonus, and a start date of February 1.
Shit was happening. Fast.
In just four short weeks I had to quit my dumb pizza job, find a place to live, pack my shit, say good bye to friends and family, and move the fuck to Long Beach. And so I did just that.
I've been here a week and I'm already in love, y'all.
And that's the story of how I made it to SoCal. Next time: did you guys know that Manhattan Beach has the highest per capita income among men in LA County?!
