For about a week I knew that September 30th was going to be the day I was going to have to give my boss some bad news... That I was leaving Websense and heading to LA for a new job and to be with Jake. My boss is awesome and he knows the stress we've been dealing with for the last couple years going back and forth between LA & SD, but I wasn't sure what his or the company's reaction was going to be.
I spent a week pretty much freaking myself out... Was my boss going to be mad, was Websense going to walk me out right then and there, were they going to tell me to finish up the day and leave... I honestly was very clueless with what as going to happen so when the day finally arrived I was a wreck.
At about 2pm I decided it was time to make the call... It was quarter end so the last thing I wanted to do was stress out my boss and the sales team but I figured I couldn't wait any longer. So I took my cell phone and went on the balcony and called my boss and told him the news. To my surprise he took it really well but didn't want to let me go that easily, he asked what he could do to get me to stay or work remotely but at this point in my life I didn't think that would be a good decision for me. I told him that this was the hardest decision I have ever had to make and that I am sticking with it and going to make a big change... new job, new city, new place to live... Lots of "NEWS."
After I broke the news to him he asked that I stay with the company for another couple weeks to help with the transition of my accounts... I would work remotely for the first week in October because the entire Canada team was headed to meetings in Canada and I'd finish up at work Oct 14th as my last day.
So after all the "bad news" and a very stressful day I went home and much to mine and Jake's surprise we had gotten out apartment!!! It was official... I had accepted a new job, put in my 2 week at my old job and had gotten accepted to rent the apartment we wanted!
What a week... I'm really moving to Hermosa!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
House Hunting
House hunting... or should I say apartment hunting started a couple months ago. Jake and I would go on craigslist and look for places that looked good and then send them to one another. Finally about a month ago we decided to drive all over Hermosa and Manhattan and see what we could find by just driving. We had a list of about 25+ places for rent by this time but it seemed that there was always one thing that didn't fit... no parking, not good location, no garage, no laundry facility. We had some aspects that we felt pretty strongly about and if we didn't think the place fit then we were not going to settle.
The last weekend in September we decided to make some appointments to see places. The first place we saw was so cute. 2 bedroom, 1 bath, big deck, very clean and kept up and decent rent... only problem, only a 1 car garage. Unfortunately this wouldn't work for us because parking in Hermosa is AWFUL. The next two places we saw were right off pier ave/Monterey but were really cute, they were in a pretty big complex, had a great shared outdoor huge deck on top of the building that everyone shared but once again parking... there was a two car garage but my car would have never fit.
Lastly we rode by this place on Monterey... 1 block from Pier ave (2 blocks from the beach). Didn't look to great from the outside but the outside of places in Hermosa's can be very deceiving. We took a tour with the landlord EJ... The place was perfect for us- 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, big kitchen, decent size living room, wood paneled ceilings, lots of windows, in a complex of 4-6 other apartments and the best thing - 2 CAR SPACIOUS GARAGE & 2 PARKING SPOTS!!! We were sold, although we were reluctant to make a decision after only viewing 3 other places we figured that this was a offer we couldn't pass up. So we applied for the house and waited....
The last weekend in September we decided to make some appointments to see places. The first place we saw was so cute. 2 bedroom, 1 bath, big deck, very clean and kept up and decent rent... only problem, only a 1 car garage. Unfortunately this wouldn't work for us because parking in Hermosa is AWFUL. The next two places we saw were right off pier ave/Monterey but were really cute, they were in a pretty big complex, had a great shared outdoor huge deck on top of the building that everyone shared but once again parking... there was a two car garage but my car would have never fit.
Lastly we rode by this place on Monterey... 1 block from Pier ave (2 blocks from the beach). Didn't look to great from the outside but the outside of places in Hermosa's can be very deceiving. We took a tour with the landlord EJ... The place was perfect for us- 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, big kitchen, decent size living room, wood paneled ceilings, lots of windows, in a complex of 4-6 other apartments and the best thing - 2 CAR SPACIOUS GARAGE & 2 PARKING SPOTS!!! We were sold, although we were reluctant to make a decision after only viewing 3 other places we figured that this was a offer we couldn't pass up. So we applied for the house and waited....
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The Search
The search began about 4-5 months ago... I started looking on Career Builder/Monster and any other place jobs were posted. I talked to some friends who knew people in the area for help too. I'd spend countless hours a night online trying to find something and most of the time my night ended in tears talking to Jake on the phone that it was hopeless and I was never going to find anything.
But in late Aug everything changed... I became friendly with Jakes buddy Brad's girlfriend Renchell. She introduced me to a friend of hers that worked for a company in Gardena (about 15 mins from Hermosa). After speaking with her friend on the phone and then meeting up for an informal interview I was positive that I wanted this job and to work for him. By the end of Septemeber I had a job offer!!!
Me and Renchell
But in late Aug everything changed... I became friendly with Jakes buddy Brad's girlfriend Renchell. She introduced me to a friend of hers that worked for a company in Gardena (about 15 mins from Hermosa). After speaking with her friend on the phone and then meeting up for an informal interview I was positive that I wanted this job and to work for him. By the end of Septemeber I had a job offer!!!
Background...
Almost 2.5 years ago I met a very special guy, my Jakey (aka Jake)... We went out with a few mutual friends and had some good conversations and i left thinking, he's a really cool, cute and great guy. About a month later we hung out again with a few friends and really hit it off. From there our relationship grew stronger and stronger but the only problem... Jake was about to move to LA. We decided that although the distance wasn't ideal making the relationship work was way worth it!
Jake lives in Hermosa Beach (south LA) and I live in Pacific Beach (San Diego)... Our weeks usually consisted of phone calls/text messages etc Mon-Friday, then Friday evening one of us would make the 2-3 hr drive to see the other person and we'd spend every waking moment of the weekend together and then say our sad goodbyes on Sunday evening. We are lucky enough to get to see each other just about every weekend... but it's still been hard not getting to spend more time together.
About a 9 months after we started dating Jake started looking for a job back in San Diego... We both went to SDSU and Jake loves San Diego as much as I do. Unfortunately after a year of looking in a very bad San Diego market (Jake is an Aerospace Engineer and there is not a lot of opportunity in SD) I made the decision that I'd start my search to move near Jake.
After about 2 visits a month to Hermosa it really began to grow on me... the beautiful beaches, the strand, the people, etc. And i really enjoyed making the trip up here. So after knowing how hard it'd be for Jake to find a job in SD i decided to start looking in the Hermosa area for a job
And that's where my story starts :)
This is a picture of us from the weekend when we really hit it off :)
Jake lives in Hermosa Beach (south LA) and I live in Pacific Beach (San Diego)... Our weeks usually consisted of phone calls/text messages etc Mon-Friday, then Friday evening one of us would make the 2-3 hr drive to see the other person and we'd spend every waking moment of the weekend together and then say our sad goodbyes on Sunday evening. We are lucky enough to get to see each other just about every weekend... but it's still been hard not getting to spend more time together.
About a 9 months after we started dating Jake started looking for a job back in San Diego... We both went to SDSU and Jake loves San Diego as much as I do. Unfortunately after a year of looking in a very bad San Diego market (Jake is an Aerospace Engineer and there is not a lot of opportunity in SD) I made the decision that I'd start my search to move near Jake.
After about 2 visits a month to Hermosa it really began to grow on me... the beautiful beaches, the strand, the people, etc. And i really enjoyed making the trip up here. So after knowing how hard it'd be for Jake to find a job in SD i decided to start looking in the Hermosa area for a job
And that's where my story starts :)
My new project
So it's official I'm moving to Hermosa Beach. This blog will be about my new adventure and my move up to LA (Hermosa)... Enjoy :)
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