So it's been an extremely long time since I've been on OD. I've been doing enough writing elsewhere, but not enough here. So to break things down:

Job search (until now) had been hell. No interviews, no calls or emails, nothing. I reevaulated myself and discovered something that I was not willing to admit. A turn of events that I will mention later changed everything for me.

Bullshit ass internship never turned to anything more. Politics, racism, yadda yadda yadda, I left in June, but not before that turn of events.

Started freelance sportswriting in March, which is going well. Also started something else in March...

My family has had a rough, plain awful 2005 thus far. Family deaths all around and almost lost another one when the NYC cop/soldier in Iraq was killed earlier this week. My brother-in-law was driving the tank and didn't hear the shot that killed the soldier in the front passenger seat. Yet, our family has endured more than I've ever come to know.

Oh, the turn of events. Oh, March 25. I won't tell you her name, but it's been one hell of a relationship thus far. Pure love between us... if I wasn't such a neurotic, mistake-prone perfectionist Cancer. I also won't tell the story of how we met, but she opened a gateway to a different world.

I've grown tired and borderline hatred for my hometown, but shortly after I left my internship, I packed my bags and spent two weeks with my lady... in California. She lives there, yes, but I visited another friend for a few days. Soon after that, I decided that I'll be moving out there for good. It IS a professional decision, I just know and feel that there is more for me out west than here in this so-called Capital of the World. But, yes, I love her beyond understanding. I see long-term and more. I see so much and so does she. I'm hoping to be gone by next month, but I have to get a job first... which the search for one is going much better than ever. No, no interviews yet, but I've been networking more and more... contacting former professors, advisors and deans... I've contacted a few alums about the search and industry questions, and I'll be talking with one extensively next week... meeting with career advisors next week... people are putting out feelers now that I've announced my decision to move.

I'm very happy about how things are turning out, even if from time to time, I'm trying too hard for this wonderful woman or to be noticed professionally. My mother made a point yesterday. It seems as if now, my heart is into this search. I got comfy in a place that wasn't for me (fuckin' PR is a bitch if your heart isn't in it), and I became jaded as all hell. I am genuinely tired for a city that doesn't take care of its own AT ALL. Now that I want to start in CA, it's just easier because I give a damn. Everyone around me is supportive of this, but more importantly, I want this more than anything. I'd love to come back to NYC, but I have to leave again to make this life happen. And I'll have someone along for the ride.

California Dreamin'