Life Updates Part 1

So it’s been almost a year since I’ve posted a blog entry. I am so sorry, I never expected to be on hiatus for this long. In fact, I never ever planned a hiatus.  I can’t even really tell you how I let the ball drop.  I feel like I just blinked and February turned into December.  It really happened so quickly but I am glad to be back in this space.  A lot has happened in 2016.  I guess I’ll start with my move to Chicago …

In February 2015 I applied to the Illinois bar.  Bar applications are the worse! There are so many hoops to go through and a lot of money to pay.  Luckily, I had been barred over 5 years in Florida so I didn’t have to sit for the Illinois Bar Exam.  I just had to pay a lot of money to waive in.  And it was all worth it.  My body can’t take the stress of sitting for another bar.  It took about 8 months for me to be approved and in October 2015 I was sworn into the Illinois Bar.

My next goal was to get a job in Chicago.  Oh, I guess I should tell ya’ll that I chose Chicago because my boyfriend lived there.  Back to the story.

So initially I was just going to wait for the Cook County Public Defender’s Office to open up applications.  I spoke to people who worked at that office and they told me that applications should become available in early 2016.  Man, that didn’t happen and applications still haven’t opened up.  I then decided to apply for a host of other legal gigs.  I finally secured two interviews in Chicago the week of my birthday (in June) and got an offer from one of the jobs on the spot. 

The next day after the job interviews, my boyfriend and I flew out to Portland, OR to celebrate my #JesusBirthday!  My 33rd birthday trip consisted of a week trip to Portland, Seattle and Vancouver.  That trip was so awesome.  The Pacific NW is so darn beautiful, I just love the west coast.  I really felt that 33 was going to be an awesome year.  Days before my 33rd birthday I negotiated my salary, accepted a job, quit my job and started making plans to move to Chicago in less then 30 days.  It was very emotional, I was extremely happy that I was starting a new chapter but I also was very sad because I was closing one.

So my trip came to a close and we flew back into Chicago on a Sunday morning and my flight to Miami was on the following day in the afternoon.  I needed to secure housing in Chicago before I left for Miami.  While on the Pacific NW trip we were looking for apartments and trying to schedule viewings but it wasn’t working out for us.  Nothing was available for us to see on Sunday but we continued our search online with hopes that we would be able to check out a few places on Monday before I left.  Monday rolled around and we saw 2 places, one was very expensive but very nice however they didn’t have anything available until August and I was moving in July.  The other spot was in the hood (manageable hood), lots of space, reasonably priced and available for move-in in July but I didn’t really like the layout. It was just weird. They basically made two units one and the space wasn’t cohesive and I could imagine how high the gas bill would be for the unit.  Anyways, boyfriend and I go to Sweet Maple (his favorite brunch spot) and we’re eating and he starts looking for places on Craigslist and he spots this condo for rent in South Shore.  The unit is renovated, has central air, washer and dryer, hardwood floors and the location is spot on.  He calls and finds out that it’s still available and we can see it before I leave.  So we head over there and look at the space and I tell the woman, we want this, take it off the market. LOL. Can I tell you that they lowered the application fee and the rent for us.  We didn’t even ask.  Thirty-three was really showing out!

I returned back to Miami and in a scramble attempted to get rid of tons of stuff. I was able to successfully move with 2 check in bags and one carry one. I had my car shipped to Chicago and filled her up with my shoes and other things that weren’t pliable. I left all my furniture behind and I gave so much stuff away.  I was happy to have a reason to part with things that no longer served a purpose in my life. On July 2, 2016 I flew into my new city. It still felt a bit surreal. People asked me how I was adjusting and I told them it felt like I was just there visiting my boyfriend and that I would return back to Miami in a few days. But July turned into December and I’m still here.  Lol.  Some days I do get homesick and wish I could go home more often but overall, I don’t have any regrets with my decision to move.

So after July came August. And August came with a surprise of its own.  In August my boyfriend was invited to a summit at The Aspen Institute.  When he returned back home we went out to eat, like we love to do and after dinner we both learned something that would change our lives forever . . . 

Stay tuned for Part 2