Bloom Where You’re Planted – Part Two
We arrived in Pittsburgh six months ago yesterday. I have suffered doubts about whether this was the right move during the last three months. I think at six months, the new is wearing off and the day-to-day living is taking it’s toll on me. When we moved, we made a few different lifestyle changes at the same time. In hindsight, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe the move was change enough. Nothing like shaking your whole routine up at once. Here’s a current list of the Pro’s and Con’s.
Pro’s
- Work – Rich is liking his job, he likes what he is doing and feels good about the work he is doing. I think he likes working with people, instead of all by his lonesome in a home office.
- Opportunity – There has been an opportunity for me to get some training for a new career. I suppose that existed in Idaho too, but it seems logical to get out of the house here and do it.
- Things to Do – We have been enjoying getting to know the area. The history of this landscape is pretty amazing. We get out quite a bit, but there is still a lot to do. It is fun to look forward to seeing new things.
- Nature – I see some signs of fall now, and I’m looking forward to seeing the trees change colors. The summer storms have been pretty awesome. We just don’t see rain storms like they have here in Idaho…very impressive.
Con’s
- Distance from Family – I miss my family. Enough said.
- Humidity – I was afraid of the humidity and with good reason. I didn’t think I’d like it, and sure enough, I don’t. Luckily, we haven’t had too many days that have been unbearable. But the worst night was also a night we were without power and I thought I was going to die. It wasn’t fun.
- Trash/Garbage/Grit – Still struggling with this one. When I visited Boise just a week ago, it was so nice to not see trash everywhere. It bugs me because I think it could be better. There seems to be a certain laziness here when it comes to picking up trash. I’ve seen people just throw trash out their car windows more times than I can count here. You just don’t see that in Idaho.
- Driving/Getting Around – I have done pretty well finding my way around here. However, when I was back in Idaho it reminded me how nice it is to know exactly where you are going, what roads will take you where and to not need a map or a phone to get you places. It’s a small thing, but huge.
- Routines – We are enjoying finding new things to do, it is true. But, at the same time there is so much comfort in going to your favorite restaurant, or hiking your favorite trail, or camping in your favorite spot. We don’t have favorites here yet and it makes me sad. It doesn’t feel like home without favorites.
- Noise – We live on a busy noisy street, there is remodeling construction going on near us that is noisy, and our squeaky floors drive me crazy.
- Work – Rich’s job is on the con list too because of the frustration with working with middle eastern companies and the pace at which they choose to work (slowly).
As you can see the Con’s and outweighing the Pro’s. However, we came here for a job and so that is the biggest factor here. With no job or no work, the Pro and Con list doesn’t matter — it’s all just a matter of trying to get by. So, that skews it a bit. And, I might be more negative than usual as I type this because I haven’t been sleeping well. Maybe if I felt refreshed, I could find a few more things to put in that “Pro” column.
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