Tick, tick, tick...

Our time here grows shorter and the panic rises. So much to do while so much is being done for me. Movers will come and pack up not just my life, but the life I've created with someone else. They'll take everything from my beloved San Francisco and move it across the country to Madison, Wisconsin. A place where these things do not yet belong. Soon enough they will seem to meld into the new place and become part of it - just as I'm hoping we will. But I don't think that will ever truly happen.
My home is here. My family is here. I am here.

and the winner is....

Who knew? I was all set to go with a loft in an old tobacco factory. I ended up with a red brick bungalo on a corner in a lovely little neighborhood across the street from a catholic elementary school. Okay.. so the navy awning over the front door makes me throw up a little in my mouth, but the interior is more than I could ask for...

like the stairway and the craftsman-like panes on all the windows

or the sun porch off the front of the house

or the yummy fireplace with the built in bookcases

or the light fixtures... this is actually a shot from the living room into the dining room and that's the "den" at the far end that has a little half bath off of it

oh yeah... it has a groovy kitchen, too.
these are all shots of the main floor. it's got three bedrooms and a master bath on the second floor. the master bedroom has a deck off of it. oh! there's a downstairs, "finished basement" that we'll be converting into a guest bedroom with a full bath.
Yeah... Madison is gonna be okay.

Update!!!

She just called. We're on a "wait list" for the "loft of my dreams". I'm annoyed. The other places I liked seem to be full. I'm annoyed. She wants to show us a house. I'm intrigued.
She's coming to pick us up in 2 hours... annoyed again, but at least she's made contact.
I promise to update with photos later.

Panic

Sunday came and went with no word from the relo lady. I called and left messages with the VP or HR over the weekend assuming he'd be getting in touch with me today (it's MONDAY and we leave TOMORROW morning). Although we didn't spend any time with relo lady, we did spend the day with - get this - an old friend who lives in Madison and works for Lands' End. KEE-RAZY, right? The friend is from my days with the theater in San Mateo. He worked mostly on the technical staff and occaisionally took a turn or two on the boards with the rest of us. I found him during my interview day sorta'... his name came up during a random conversation in the cafe while I was having lunch with the VP of Employee Services. Anyhow, I gave him a call last week to let him know that we'd be moving to Madison and the kid almost died. We got together yesterday and spent the whole day from brunch to after dinner cocktails with him. It was great to catch up (he came out to me) and get a little inside scoop on LE.
The more time we spend here, the more we are liking it. The weather is absolutely gorgeous ( i KNOW, winter will be rough) and everyone is friendly and courteous. All of the restaurants we've been to have been great and while the "shopping" is limited at best, I think that will be fine. Like I've said before, Chicago is a 2 hr. drive and NYC is a 1.5 hr. flight away.
Let's hope we get a call from the relo lady tomorrow....

Day One; The Househunting trip begins

We were up at 4:30am and out the door by 6:30. Just getting settled in the hotel in Madison. It's 7:40pm Madison time. We're BEAT. This time we got an official smoking room. No view of the capitol building, but a lovely view of Lake Monona. Odd, it's bigger than the room we got when I flew in to interview. Has a couch and an additional TV. Really weird.
So the nice lady from the relo place has all but disappeared. I've left her two messages over the past two weeks and I haven't heard back from her... if I don't hear from her by Monday morning, I'm calling HR and raising HOLY HELL. I'm not about to do this without help. Seriously. The promised someone would be here to help us find a place and they need to deliver.
I'm feeling a bit nervous.

A'hunting we will go...

We're heading out this morning for Madison to find a place to live... wish us luck.
I'll post our options later...

"Karma" or "It Pays to be Nice"

As you all know, I'm changing jobs and moving to a far away place. My last day at my old job is this Friday. An e-mail went out last week and I've been truly touched by all of the calls and such that I've been getting from people. The good people have been nothing but supportive. The assholes have been, well, assholes. They're the ones who look down their noses and say, "How can you move THERE???" To which I sooooooo want to respond, "I don't know... how can you think those shoes look good on you?" Or, "I don't know... how can you think that people don't notice everytime you get a new botox injection?" Or, "I don't know... how can you continue to use a charge card to pay for your groceries so you can make your rent?"
Anyhow, thankfully I have managed to avoid an excess of assholes. One thing that has taken me by surprise is how many people have said, "You soooo deserve this!" DeSERVE? Did these people actually notice that I've been slaving away at this place for the past almost six years? Nice.
Back to my original thought. YES, I have original thoughts.
So about a year ago, one of the IT guys ran into me while I was having a smoke in the courtyard. I said Hi and he sat down next to me and we started chatting. he was having some problems with a co worker and asked for my advice. I figured I had nothing to lose so I was very frank with him and let him know what I thought. I ran into the same IT guy yesterday and we did the "I'm outta here" chat. THEN, then!!!! He said, "Do you need anything for your computer?"
"Mo, we just talked about this. I'm LEAVING on Friday."
"Not THAT computer. YOUR computer!"
"Mine? Really?"
"Of course. What do you want?"
"Anything?"
"Anything you want."
"Um... Photoshop? Illustrator? Quark? InDesign?"
"Bring in your laptop tomorrow and I'll load you up."
It pays to be nice. I'm just sayin'.

It's official...

Looks like we'll be the newest additions to the population of Madison, Wisconsin. We flew out to Madison last Sunday, I interviewed with Lands' End on Monday, they offered me the position of Director of Visual Merchandising on Tuesday and I accepted on Friday. My first day of work with them will be August 13th, 2007.
Pretty crazy, huh? ME in Wisconsin. Suffice to say, the offer was too good to pass up. Aside from the fact that they are doubling what I make out here, the cost of living in Madison is FIFTY PERCENT less than San Francisco (I checked it out on some Cost of Living Camparison website). The math boggles my coddled mind. Let's all just agree that we'll be sitting pretty in Madison.
Our trip there was pretty quick, but we were able to get a bit of a feel for the place. A relocation guy drove us around and showed us several beautiful condos. NONE of which was more than 250 thousand dollars. Amazing. The plan is to rent for a year or two, save some money and then buy something. The signing bonus they gave me along with my annual bonuses should put us in pretty good shape after a year and great shape after two. On top of that, the place is kinda' lovely. It's a college town (University of Wisconsin) and has that kind of vatality to it. It's also the State Capitol, so it's dressed out pretty nicely. Downtown Madison, while not being New York or San Francisco is groovy. Apparently there's been a revitalization of sorts in the Downtown area and people are moving back into the city proper. Tons of new consstruction going on and there are plenty of living options for the more "urban" types who've found themselves transplanted to the midwest.
I've got my eye on a place called, Tobacco Lofts at Findorff Yards. Check it out:
http://uli.com/Residential_TobaccoRow.aspx
it's the loft I've always dreamed of, but in this dream, I can afford it. Two bedrooms and two bathrooms for between 1500 and 2000 a month, depending on the floorplan. I have a feeling we're gonna be going with the largest floorplan they've got avaiable. I mean, if I'm gonna move to freakin' Wisconsin, I may as well be living in as comfortable a place as possible. If for some reason we can't get in (the relocation lady has ASSURED me that she'll get us in despite the fact that when Mike spoke to them, they said there was nothing available), we've got about 4 other places that are pretty incredible as options.
The fact that Madison doesn't have a Gimme Shoes, Neiman's, Saks, Bloomingdale's or Barney's will be torturous, but in the long run, will be good for me. Also, the office is "denim friendly" so that makes things much easier - i can't even begin to tell you how many times i've said to myself as I've been getting dreessed in the morning, "I wish I could just wear jeans!". On top of that, these people have seen none of my wardrobe. Virtually, my wardrobe is brand spanking new. It's like a miracle.
A miracle. Yeah... I could use one of those right about now.
Wish us luck!!! (oh... and save the "cheese" jokes.... they're a bit obvious).

Madison, Wisconsin????

Um... definite possibility. Stay tuned...