Gabi’s House Ocala- the Move Back to the Swamp

I met a guy one night after my friend Tim’s performance in a show at the Orlando (Christmas 2005) whose dad worked at an environmental firm. I e-mailed his dad and eventually met him, got some advice, and told him I’d be in touch after I finished my economics degree since I was planning to work in the environmental economics field. A year and a half later, I got in touch, pasted my resume onto the bottom of the message, and didn’t think too much of it. I asked him if he knew of any jobs or had any job search advice for me. I was willing to go somewhere in the Southeast (as far southwest as Austin, TX, which I hear is a really cool place) or the Pacific NW but didn’t want to stay in Baltimore/DC. My allergies were out of control, requiring serious meds, and I figured I needed a change now that my relationship was over, so it was a good time to go.

My contact replied to say that his firm happened to be hiring, and he’d already forwarded my resume. Here were the people to call and their numbers. Call them soon. I thought, whoa! I got my first interview e-mailing someone in my jammies. I am off to an excellent start!

This was the day before Memorial Day weekend began. I spent Memorial Day weekend in Boston, called the office Tuesday morning, and by Wednesday had a job offer in an unlikely place- Ocala, FL. Ocala is more or less the same town I grew up in 25 years ago, it just happens to be 100 miles north of my official home town, Lakeland. I went to the prom here in 1991 (and I wish I was still friends with that guy, because it is hard to meet people within 10 years of my age in Ocala). So, I went onto http://www.craigslist.org/ and found a place to stay in Ocala- 8 miles west of I-75, 10 miles away from my job. My roommate, who worked in both Ocala and Orlando, happened to be a realtor- and when I found out that I could actually afford a townhouse here in Ocala, that led to a major purchase of Ocala TownHouse, or OTH for short.

But back to the “country house.” Meg, the roommate, had it all furnished well, with satellite TV and everything- a nice situation to move into when you’re coming into a new town. She also had a record player with all of her records from the ‘70s and ‘80s, and I would play them often- mostly Beatles, Elton John and even ELO. Although the house was spacious and cool, and the woods nearby lovely, I did get lonely… But being *only* 100 miles or so from Tampa, I did get to reconnect with some friends, which has been a real sanity-saver.

Meg's dog is so cute. She looks like my old dog, Buddy, except she's smaller and has slightly different coloring. Still, it was like seeing a familar face when I met her.

I became emboldened by the local real estate (watch out for falling prices!) and went a-shopping with Meg. We found a place that was out of my price range, but we couldn't leave the office because they assigned this cute guy to show us around and, well, we are only human. Long story short... the price fell drastically, we made a deal, and then it was time to move again! First January, then June, then September was when the moving dates took place. Needless to say, I do not plan to move again for a while- AT LEAST 2 years.

Oh, and did I mention that the second I got back into Florida, the ex called me and was upset, asking me if this meant our relationship was *really* over. I replied, and I quote, "Whaaaat?" Then, being so darn amusing, I added that if he happened to realize that if his glamorous stint as a special agent police officer in DC doesn't work out, he can always move to Ocala and be a sheriff. And then I laughed. Here I was thinking that I had made some logical decision based on his behavior- you know, when you break up with someone and don't call them for 4 months, they ARE allowed to make independent decisions and move away from you- but apparently he was waiting in the wings all the time. Ay, carumba.