Work, Work, Work

Hi Porkers! It's been a bit since I've posted, but I have good reasons. On January 2, I started a new job, and I've been spending time learning my new position. I took a job with a national health insurance company, and have been getting into the new work routine. But first, a little background for you.

I have the opportunity to buy my grandparent's house in my hometown of Orono, Maine. My grandfather passed away in 2002, and my grandmother one year before him. In the time since their deaths, my dad and his brothers/sisters have kept the house, and they have let family members live there. Now, they are ready to let the house go, and were ready to put it on the market, when I stepped in. As a family member, I can buy the house for $50,000! That's right. $50,000. Now, it needs some work done to it, first and foremost a foundation needs to be installed under the entire house.

I currently live in Philadelphia, so moving back to Maine will be a big deal. I've been rooted in Philly since March of 1995 (coming up on 12 years), so I have settled in quite nicely to the area. I have made a lot of friends within Philadelphia and its suburbs, including many close people from the Lehigh Valley (Allentown, PA) area. It will not be easy to leave here. But the decision to move back to Maine was easy. Philadelphia is a city without a direction. The mayor and city council spend their time bickering, the corruption within City Hall is pretty much out of control, the taxes are close to the highest in the nation, the highway system is a wreck and can't accomodate the number of people who drive, and worst of all, the murder rate for Philly was over 404 people last year, and already in this new year of 2007, at least 15 people have been killed (as of this post, which was written on January 17). I always knew that I'd head back to Maine someday, and now is the right time. I'm buying the house in May, and will be moving back in early July once the foundation has been put in and I can move into the house.

Which brings me back to my new job. It is located in Center City Philadelphia, about 2.5 miles from my house. No more public transportation as I have been walking to and from work each day. (Combined with my strict dieting for the new year, combined with the walking, I have lost 13 pounds so far!!) By being closer to home, I've also been able to claim back about 2 hours of my day that I no longer have to use for traveling.

Now, my old job was awesome. Although I had to take public transportation daily to and from the job (45-55 minutes each way!!), I really loved the work I did with my previous employer. And best of all, the people I worked with there were phenomenal. I had a great time working with all of them, and found my leaving that job to be the hardest job change I've ever gone through. I actually left a job I liked for the first time in my professional career. The biggest reason why I had to leave the old job in order to begin the new one is this: with the new job, when I move back to Maine, I can do this job from home. FROM HOME! IN MAINE! So, now I will be going back to Maine with a job instead of moving back and having to go look for one.

As I look forward to my impending move back to Maine, I do it with some sadness. I have many close friends in the Philly area, and leaving their presence will be difficult. There are so many people who have made my time in Philly so appreciated that I know I'll be a blubbering baby when it comes time to leave.

The good news, of course, is that they'll all have a place to stay when they come up to Maine on their next visit!