and in my copious free time

i have only (only!) two goals for this year:

1. get comfortable with putting myself out in the world, whether it be speaking in front of groups, or just chatting with a stranger in a bar.
2. find someplace new to live.
   

Small Midwestern College Town is great for most of its inhabitants ... there's always something cool on campus to see or do. but, for the single recent grads like me that want somewhere to hang out that /isn't/ crawling with students and young families, and that want a little variety, it's far from ideal. i can only eat at the same restaurants, see the same faces on the sidewalk, be on a first-name basis with bank tellers for oh-so-long before it DRIVES ME MAD.

the pros: i love both of my jobs. Day Job pays me less than it should given the work i do, but it's enough to make ends meet and allows me fantastic learning opportunities and a fairly flexible schedule. Night Job, working for a company i helped create, is fun and affords me different learning experiences than Day Job - plus it has the potential to go full-time, and is not tied to a location. it's entirely possible that at some point i will quit Day Job, move to a City of My Choosing, and go full-time with Night Job.

the cons: in order for Night to get to that point, however, i will need to work more hours and possibly travel, which will conflict with Day Job. to make matters more complex, Day Job is at an academic institution and i will soon have to sign on for the next school year. ... which means Night Job might not turn into Day Job for a whole 'nother year, if ever. and, i have a gut feeling that there are some changes coming down the pike that will make it harder, not easier, for me to continue having two jobs.

but i digress. the most important thing for me is goal #2. even goal #1 is primarily intended to allow me to be more employable, so i can focus first on finding a place i want to live, and then second on finding a job that i want in that place. i came to Small Midwestern College Town as a student without ever visiting the place, and though i've somehow stumbled into a world-class first job / support system / surrogate family / living situation, small-town living is not for me. not now, at least. is city living for me? i dunno, i've never tried it. so, i'm going to focus on spending the next twelve months visiting a dozen cities (Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh, Portland OR, San Jose, Seattle, Toronto plus two others TBD) so i can begin figuring out what's out there, what i want, and what i don't want.

i'll get to many of these places through the jobs, which will help keep expenses down. as for the rest of them? i'll just have to figure it out. wish me luck ...