retrospective – The Rambling New Yorker

Coming to an End

mpwrites — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 21:46:55 +0000

Four years ago I came to Cleveland, fresh out of graduate school. It was my first professional job and my first time living outside New York State. I had never been down South and really didn’t know what to expect. But I knew I had a job, an apartment, a Walmart nearby, and an internet connection. So if nothing else, I could get by with just the basic necessities.

Despite my initial concerns, I thrived. Cleveland turned out to be a great place to live. The people are friendly, living is cheap, and there is a good sense of community. I made friends through Delta State and through the local community garden. In my working life, I grew my professional skillset and made many interesting connections. Serving Delta State helped me find my passion for technology and gave me a direction for my career.

Yet for all the good times I’ve had living in the Delta there were always downsides. Cleveland is very isolated. It is far from home. And as someone who is always on the go, the slower pace of life doesn’t really suit me. From this outset this journey was an adventure for me, even though I was not always fully aware of the fact. And all adventures must end.

And thus my time in Cleveland will be coming to a close. On July 14, after many months of searching and applying, I accepted a position as a Systems Librarian at Skidmore College. Located on Saratoga Springs, NY the move will see me return to the Capital Region I left four years ago. My start date is set for early September. In order to give myself time to relocated I will begin the journey home in mid-August.

For those of you who have followed my blog from day 1, thank you very much. It has been a wonderful journey. With my return home, there will no longer be a need to maintain the Rambling New Yorker. It was always a chronicle of my journey to the land of the Blues. As that journey ends, so too must the story written on these pages. Therefore this post will be my last. In the coming weeks I will be archiving this blog as a static website and will turn my attention to relocating back to the land of sometimes winter. I wish all of you well on your journeys. This is the rambling New Yorker signing off.

One Year Later

Mike — Sun, 18 May 2014 23:09:00 +0000

This week marks the one year anniversary of my move to Cleveland. It’s also been a year since I started this blog. That so much time has past so quickly is amazing. Only 12 months ago I was a recent grad who had just accepted his first job. Now I’m a full time faculty member working in Library IT. Even in so short a time my life has changed greatly and is sure to continue to do so in the future.

However to a large degree it feels as if my course is set. One of the things about great change is that a lot of stuff happens at once. You don’t just move to a new city, you choose who you’re going to hang out with and how people will see you. But of course a lot of that happens unconsciously. Actions have consequences, often unintended ones.

For example last summer I made a point to go to trivia night every week. It is held Wednesdays at a local bar called Hey Joe’s. Without fail I lost every week usually by a lot. Seeing double digits was a real treat. Then one day somebody I’d met at a DSU event was there with his wife. They asked me to join them and we’ve been friends ever since. When school is in session, a lot of the people I know will hang out at Hey Joe’s and there have been some good times there. So going to Trivia Night has paid off in ways I did not anticipate.

And that is what makes life fun. You don’t know where you’re going only that you’re going somewhere. Things won’t be clear till after the fact, and maybe not even then, so you might as well enjoy the ride. That has been my general attitude to living in Mississippi. There’s no point in trying to understand where life will take me from here. It will take me somewhere. But for now I’m just going to enjoy the ride.

Speaking of which, there will be no blog post next week. I will be in Atlanta for Catapult Showcase, a contra dancing festival held every year to showcase up and coming acts. If you don’t know what that means then stay tuned!

Rambling Back Home

Mike — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 01:09:00 +0000

You may have noticed a distinct lack of posts to this blog recently. The reason is that, since December 20th I have been back in New York. Travelling home gave me the chance to visit family and old friends, see a movie or two, go out to eat, and simply have a good time. And while I didn’t travel into New York City, this holiday season has provided an opportunity to reflect on how different my home state really is from Mississippi.

First of all there are the people. New Yorkers are known for being pushy and aggressive. Before moving I took that for granted. But after six months of living in the South I have gotten used to a slower pace of life. The difference was immediately obvious upon getting off the plane. As I weaved my way through the crowds at LaGuardia Airport the energy and the way people rush about immediately struck me. Folks in Mississippi, and even the airport in Memphis, tend not to move any where fast unless there is an emergency. Personally I find that refreshing although there is something infectious about New York’s energy.

I’m also going to miss the stores up here. Ironically I did little shopping, having only a limited amount of money to spend. But it is incredibly refreshing to know that stores and shops can be counted on to be open past 5 PM and on Sundays. And the variety is great as well. You see the Delta is virtually devoid of chain stores and restaurants. Walmart is well represented and there’s some well known stores down in Greenville. But for a lot if things the only answer is Amazon.

And speaking of restaurants, the New York area simply has much better food. There’s pizza and bagels of course. But the incredible diversity means that nearly every cuisine is represented somewhere around here. My personal favorite is Indian food, something which exists no where in the Delta. Down there, food tends to be relatively homogeneous. You have your fast food chains and standard American fare. But a lot of stuff is deep fried, deep fried, deep fried. That’s not always a bad thing. For example I am a huge fan of deep fried steak. But there is no getting around the fact that some of the stereotypes surrounding Mississippi and food are actually true.

So living in Cleveland has required some sacrifices, albeit of things which are not really important to life. Like shopping and eating out. Still it has a great sense of community and people are very friendly. And the job is excellent. But there is a lot the area lacks. For now that is an acceptable trade off for personal and professional growth. The future, however, may very well be different.