Ho Ho Home

Nineteen days after arriving in St. Louis, I'm still here and still smiling. I've been happy remembering winter weather, and I have enjoyed bundling up to brace myself for the walk to/from work on very cold and windy days and nights. I've had a lot of meet-and-greet appointments to begin establishing new relationships that I am hopeful will develop into sustained collaborations. I've enjoyed more student events and staff gatherings (like a Division-wide holiday party that had a full hot and cold buffet, a dessert table, and a beer/wine open bar; and at least two holiday potlucks). One night I stayed late at work and even got locked into the building and had to wait for a Public Safety officer to escort me out. I've discovered new local merchants (like an auto parts store, a car repair station, and a great tailor). A coworker graciously invited me to a really nice holiday dinner with his circle of friends. I've slowly gotten through my pile of "homework" but have a lot more to read and study (division and department reports, policy manuals, assessment projects, background papers, etc.). But at the end of these first three weeks at work, I am happy for a week off in the semester break, and I am also still affirmed by my search and choice to be here.

Everyone keeps telling me that I came at a good time: the pace is generally slow enough to allow for careful study and I have not yet been overwhelmed with student contacts and complex issues or critical incidents. Perhaps most fortunately, I joined the SLU team at a time that the campus is really quite pretty and festive.

One of the many marker gates of this urban campus.

The university's seal and sign over one of the entryway arches.

St. Francis Xavier College Church - a stunning building on campus.

Another view of the campus church - gorgeous!

Among the many public art works that dot the campus, this Nativity scene was recently installed for the season.

On one street corner is a campus-owned sculpture garden and this is one seasonal addition.

So the holiday parties and gift exchanges and surprise cards and candy canes have just added to a lovely warm welcome and I feel like I will be able to make this workplace a solid home. Now I just need time in January to really locate that new permanent residential address! At one of the department meetings I attended, the staff members were going around identifying what they were thankful for this holiday season and several said that they were very thankful for health, shelter and a home, and (in this economy) a good job with great people. I echo their sentiments as I prepare to fly out of here tomorrow (narrowly missing an incoming snowstorm, I hope): I'm just happy to be employed and safe and healthy and happy.

To get myself into my own kind of holiday spirit, I have started to immerse myself into the local arts scene and I kicked off my holiday show season with the Cirque Dreams production of "Holidaze" at the historic Fox Theatre. I also subscribed to the Broadway season at this theater, so later I will have to take one of the historic tours of the place because the interior was as spectacular as the acrobatics on display, in another St. Louis first for me.

The self-proclaimed "Fabulous Fox Theatre" in St. Louis!

My first theatrical outing in St. Louis...

...an appropriately holiday themed spectacle!

After just one more sleep, I will be off to the New York City land of family, friends, food, and my annual "Broadway Blitz" which promises to set a personal best record for number of shows seen in one trip (that will be the post-trip post), so in the meantime, I wish you all warm welcomes, sincere reflections, good company, affirmed choices, and very happy holidays!

STL Milestones

Weekend and Week #1 Report!

It's my first full weekend in St. Louis, a welcome relief after my first full week at work, so here is a summary of how things are going, told as a series of firsts:

• First evening campus events attended (Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholars holiday reception, and Hanukkah celebration).
• First staff meeting (Thursday morning).
• (Thanks to Melanie) First shopping trip to West County Mall.
• First good night's sleep (last night).
• First weekend here without any driving outside of a single time zone.

 

First show in St. Louis: Gateway Men's Chorus perform "Christmas Around The World" in concert at the Edison Theatre at Washington University in St. Louis.

• First winter storm, and all that comes with it: first news bulletins for "Winter Storm 2010," first traffic alerts for accidents on every major highway in my vicinity, first low visibility warnings, and first weather warnings for overnight lows for 4 degrees and wind chills below zero.

Early morning pre-dawn: a few inches of accumulation, and this is why I am thankful for a parking space in the underground garage!

Across the street: one of the St. Louis University residence halls obscured in nearly white-out conditions.

This still photo close-up does not capture the windy chill of the morning, but we definitely got more than the forecasted overnight "flurries" and the snow was being blown practically horizontally!

• First time (in over 10 years) doing a load of laundry in a residence hall apartment laundry room. The machines did surprisingly well with a small load, but I did lose almost half of the $10 I loaded onto the access card just by inserting it to start the washer - what is up with that?
• First work order called into Facilities: the electronic lock on the apartment front door was acting up and basically not securing my limited belongings here.
• First "working weekend" - I'm going to the airport to pick up a longtime friend and colleague who is serving as a consultant to the division tomorrow, and then joining a co-worker to host the consultant for dinner.
• First snow drive on my own through the city and on the highways (see above).

Okay, so now you might be wondering if this new job and the 2,000-mile move was worth it. Well, before I answer, I have to share three slightly veiled residual stories from the job search. #1) Before I left San Francisco, I received an automated e-mail from one of the searches I had already withdrawn from telling me that the requisition to fill the vacancy was now suspended, and under review, so if I wanted to be considered I had to resubmit my application to a new job number. That meant that if I held out for that option, it probably would never have happened and I would have been stuck with nothing. #2) On the drive out here, somewhere in Wyoming, I got a call from another search process that I had applied to back in August. They had just completed their paper review and wanted to do a phone interview with me...right then. So I explained that I was not in a position to be interviewed right then because I was currently driving across the country to start a new job (which is a better set of responsibilities anyway). The people on speakerphone seemed perplexed and asked, "Oh, so you're not interested in this job anymore?" Um, yeah. That would be "no." #3) After I forwarded a job announcement for a vacancy here at SLU to some listservs, I received many congratulatory messages from colleagues, including one from the search firm that was working with me on an earlier search - thanks, everyone!

So I have to say that all the signs in the universe continue to affirm my job search choices, and yes, I do believe it is right for me to be here. I haven't had this much fun getting bundled up against the winter weather to go to work or run my errands in a long time, and I still need to find a permanent residence address, but yes I am still having fun each day (or trying to have fun each day).

Happy Sunday, Little Squirrel (seen outside my kitchen window this morning)!

Week #2 on the job begins in less than 24 hours - the adventure continues!

Happy Hump Day!

Day 3 on the job was happy indeed:

• email account established
• networked printer connected
• access to online work calendar
• voicemail set up complete
• only two meetings
• direct deposit for submitted
• met some more very welcoming colleagues
• learned a lot more about departments, work processes, and campus culture

Ah, all those little things make all the difference, don't they?

And best of all, I was surprised after my first morning meeting with a special delivery that already had some coworkers sweetly jealous:

Hooray for balloon bouquets!

Thanks to the best mom and sister in the world for helping decorate my new (still mostly empty) office with lots of good cheer and joyful warmth.

Final bonus of the day: made it home before 7 PM, Central Time Zone (primetime TV)! Time to watch last night's "GLEE!"

Nice Work If You Can Get It: Day One (and Two) at St. Louis University

"Opening" from Songs For A New World (music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown)

A new world calls across the ocean
A new world calls across the sky
A new world whispers in the shadows
Time to fly, time to fly

It's about one moment
The moment before it all becomes clear
And in that one moment
You start to believe there's nothing to fear
It's about one second
And just when you're on the verge of success
The sky starts to change
And the wind starts to blow
And you're suddenly a stranger
There's no explaining where you stand
And you didn't know
That you sometimes have to go
‘Round an unexpected bend
And the road will end
In a new world

A new world calls for me to follow
A new world waits for my reply
A new world holds me to a promise
Standing by, standing by

It's about one moment
That moment you think you know where you stand
And in that one moment
The things that you're sure of slip from your hand
And you've got one second
To try to be clear, to try to stand tall
But nothing's the same
And the wind starts to blow
And you're suddenly a stranger
In some completely different land
And you thought you knew
But you didn't have a clue
That the surface sometimes cracks
To reveal the tracks
To a new world

You have a house in the hills
You have a job on the coast
You find a lover you're sure you believe in
You've got a pool in the back
You get to the part of your life
You hold the ring in your hand

But then the earthquake hits
And the bank closes in
Then you realize you didn't know anything
Nobody told you the best way to steer
When the wind starts to blow

And you're suddenly a stranger (All of a sudden)
You life is different than you planned
And you'll have to stay ‘til you somehow find a way
To be sure of what will be
Then you might be free

A new world crashes down like thunder
A new world charging through the air
A new world just beyond the mountain
Waiting there, waiting there

A new world shattering the silence
There's a new world I'm afraid to see
A new world louder every moment
Come to me, come to me

* * * * *

That's the opening number from one of my favorite musicals, and this song was one that I played on "repeat" several times during the last leg of my drive to St. Louis. The sentiment of being on the edge of a new horizon and facing a change in life almost caught me by surprise (I had just about forgotten that this unique abstract musical is really a revue of songs that are constructed around this theme and not a traditional song-and-dance show with a central plot). But the driving melody and dynamic boldness of this opening song hooked me once more and I was captivated by its message all over again. It seemed so fitting for the road that literally lies ahead of me.

The excitement and anticipation of starting my new job overwhelmed the inevitable exhaustion of the drive out here, so I had a fairly late and restless night on Sunday, December 5. But the morning came, along with a very low cold snap in the weather with the morning news forecasting a high of 40 degrees for the week and wind chill dips as low as single digits. (Throughout the day, friends in California and coworkers here in St. Louis had to keep asking me if I was OK, and despite the blood-thinning that must come with 13+ years in California, the cold and dry winter air felt seasonally refreshing, and the New Yorker in me knew how to dress snugly in it.)

So on a rather dark Monday morning, I started my job on December 6, 2010 with the required benefits orientation workshop in Human Resources, the employment and tax forms, and the walk-through of many required forms. The benefits workshop woke me up fully with a pot of coffee available in a building that had a malfunctioning heater (so we had no heat in an icebox of a training room for two hours) and the review of topics included the Accidental Death & Dismemberment coverage. Lovely: premiums that pay out in case of loss of hands or feet or other senses or body parts. Good morning; Welcome to SLU!

That morning, I also got my official staff ID (including handy ID card holder that is supposed to be clipped and worn visibly by all employees at all time), paid for my parking permit (which will be necessary when I can no longer walk to the office), and then a very welcome lunch break with my new AVP colleague. Then it was two back-to-back two-hour meetings: one on policies and one with my new supervisor. After 10 hours, the first day was over and I came home to essentially crash.

First day at SLU (shirt by Mona Lucero)!

Day 2 started with another cold morning. Forecasted high for the day was 35, and it was 16-19 degrees outside on the walk to the office. The weather report used a term that I had not heard before: "deceptive sunshine" so apparently St. Louis was being reminded that it can be very cold and sunny at the same time. The second day at work gave me more meetings that were 2+ hours long, more meetings with staff members, two student events (back-to-back holiday receptions at the end of the day), and even my first "heads up" alert from a direct report to notify me that the media had been on campus to run a news story about some thefts that had occurred on campus. At the second campus event I attended, I was casually introduced to several other faculty and staff members, and not once but twice I was asked, "So what year are you?" Since a big birthday (one for an age that ends with a zero) is coming up, I thought to myself, I'll accept that assumption that I'm a student as a compliment for sure! (And I guess I need to hang out at holiday social events on campus more often to get that kind of stroke to my ego.) After an 11-hour day, I headed home and crashed again.

Soon I will have my first "hump day" at work, then my first TGIF, and a very welcome first weekend break from work. So things are off and running and it all feels right. That's the happy report from here for now.

Welcome Home: The SFO > STL Roadtrip Move, Day 5

Late Post for Sunday, December 5, 2010.

Total miles = 2,034. Having driven across approximately 70% the width of the North American continent, I arrived in St. Louis, MO last night.

Because of the quick start date to my new job, the past several days and couple of weeks seemed to go by at a dizzying pace. I'm being put up in transitional housing by the university, which is a great relief. This fast move would not have been possible without that support. I called the campus administrator on duty for the week when I was close to St. Louis (about 100 miles west of the city, filling up the gas tank one final time in Kingdom City, MO), and she planned to give me my apartment key and help orient me to parking and the building. She met me and I parked in the underground garage of the two-story apartment building that is owned by a private company that could not rent all the units, so the university partnered with it to put upperclass and graduate students in here as an off-campus housing option. "Off-Campus" meaning it is literally across the street from the southern edge of the main campus, so it is very conveniently located and I am walking distance to work. The apartment I am in was the space used as the "model"/"showcase" apartment to recruit students to live here (which you will see was not a very hard sell). So this will be a good place to settle in a bit (with just a few weeks' worth of stuff) and take some good time to look for a permanent address.

I've already posted the cute door tag that welcomed me on the front door of the apartment (see yesterday's blog post). Now let me show you inside the door (the whole place reminded me of the clean and colorful mid-century modern designs of Palm Springs)...

Bedroom #1: bed was fully made up just in case I didn't have any bedding with me (or in case I was too tired to make the bed, which was the case with me); working clock radio, dresser behind the desk table, and even a very cool pre-installed wall-mounted hanging magazine rack.

Bathroom (with a towel, just in case).

Bedroom #2: with minimal bedding in case I wanted to use my own.

Closets are smartly designed with pre-installed organizer units (Bedroom #1 has gray fabric curtains that slide on a thin line to cover the closet). Bedroom #2 had a cool pre-installed wall-mounted invisible shelf for books above the desk.

Even a working iPod docking stereo station (Bedroom #2) and a combination pushpin/magnet board.

Full kitchen (electric range, dishwasher, microwave, and a "disposal in the sink" - lyric from "Somewhere That's Green" from the musical Little Shop Of Horrors): refrigerator was stocked with beverages, freezer had two vegetarian frozen pizzas, and the tote bag on the countertop had some assorted snacks and treats for me.

A SLU totebag with teas, cookies, granola bars, and an assortment of oatmeal.

Cafe seating area right by the kitchen.

Living room: the use of carpet remnant squares on top of the gray commercial carpet was a very nice pop of color (yes, the chair and couch are black "leather").

Every apartment in this building has a wall-mounted flat screen TV - not surprisingly, the university was able to fill it with students!

An assortment of local reading materials (magazines, entertainment guides, SLU newspaper) was laid out for me on the coffee table. (I felt like Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada: "That's all...")

A great notebook that I am using for my first weeks of meeting notes, SLU drinking cups, pens, highlighters, keychains, sticky notes, notepads, and magnet-backed grocery shopping list pads.

Another totebag with a polo shirt and a T-shirt, courtesy of Housing and Residence Life. (The note explaining the contents is tucked into a front pocket and is addressed to "Dr. Ray!")

Coffee table even had a poinsettia and some votive holders.

Side table in the living room: the street address of this building is "374."

As I prepared to go to bed early for my first day of work in four months, I felt restless with anticipation and excitement. I hope many great adventures await me, and I'm sure I will be challenged in this job, and maybe I will challenge others back (in a good way). I recalled something I saw on that long stretch of my drive through Kansas: I noticed that the jet airplanes high overhead seemed to be following each other's contrails. I guess that makes sense: air traffic control and flight paths must all have designated routes to follow (weather permitting). So I wondered about my career in this context: whose trail would I be following if this job had never existed before? Even though my position at St. Louis University is a newly created one, I know I am indebted to all those who have taught and mentored me, and I hope I will always leave some brand new trails of my own wherever I go.

After unpacking the car Sunday morning, I went to meet my friend Melanie (who was gracious enough to receive the boxes I had shipped ahead of time). I got my boxes, we unloaded at the apartment, and then Melanie took me to a great brunch place downtown where we enjoyed savory crepes and lots of hot coffee!

Melanie's home (practically "down the street" from SLU and my temporary apartment).

Mittens Jersey, Melanie's cat (ah-choo!).

Brunch at Rooster: goat cheese and veggie crepe with a creamy tomato aioli sauce, coffee, and very spicy breakfast potatoes!

Off to post-brunch shopping (probably not since grad school in Vermont in 1993 has a winter photo like this been possible)!

After our Sunday brunch, Melanie took me to some stores and we shopped for groceries and some other essentials I needed to live in my temporary apartment for a while (and we completed some of her shopping errands too). (Yes, Tim and Margot - surprise, surprise: a day with Melanie that involved shopping - shocking!)

Perhaps prophetically, just over 12 hours before this Sunday started, one of the first place names I noticed after the Kansas-Missouri state border was "Raytown, MO." Well, I'm Ray. This is my town now. Hello, Missouri. Thank you for welcoming me. I'm happy to be home.

The Long Road (To My New) Home: The SFO > STL Roadtrip Move, Day 4

Another late post for Saturday, December 4, 2010...

Sadly, after less than 24 hours in Denver, my road warrior respite had to end. St. Louis was still about 900 miles away, and a quick calculation in my head during happy hour last night figured that at best if I averaged a speed of 75 miles per hour, that was still 12 hours on the road ahead of me, plus I would lose one hour with another time zone. So after an all-too-brief good night's sleep in the lofted bedroom of my sister's apartment, I had to pack up and head out again, and hit the road. I admit that I was nervous: I wanted to drive safely, but I also just wanted to get to my destination without another night in a motel and my stuff still packed in the car. So as I drove out of Denver I accepted the reality that I did not know where this long road or when this long day would end, and I just hoped for the best. After the mountainous passes of California, Nevada, Utah and western Denver, this last leg was going to be brutally flat in comparison. But the sights were still not bad. In the changing light of day and varying cloud cover, there really were amber waves of grain...and every other shade of yellow and brown and green.

Bye, bye City Park in Denver, CO: I'll have to explore this place the next time!

Early morning CO sky.

CO barn.

More changing patterns in the CO sky.

Welcome to Kansas: "The Wheat State" (oh yes, and welcome to all hunters too - huh?).

Irrigation equipment in KS.

More irrigation on the fields.

Fairly constant landscape...

Windfarms in Vesper, KS and Ellsworth, KS.

Yup: that's a pick-up truck hauling an entire vintage airplane all folded up like neat origami.

Do these horizontal stripes make my Kansas hills look fat?

Late afternoon with one lost hour into Central Time Zone.

Small reservoir under the setting sun in Kansas.

Fittingly, there is an OZ Museum near the border of Kansas and Missouri, to remind any east-bound traveler that soon you really won't be in Kansas anymore.

First sign of my final destination, spotted in Kansas City, KS.

In addition to the cows and horses and crows on this leg, there were some beautiful hawks in this region, a lot of bales of hay, and even an honest-to-goodness tumbleweed rolling across the highway median. Kansas was the longest state I had to cross, so I had a lot of time to think about The Wheat State. The state kept me company for many hours (and so did my trusty showtunes - see soundtrack listing below), so if I could address the state as a person, here are some things I might say:

• Dear Kansas: You were a grueling and long drive, so thank you for the mostly pleasant weather on this exhausting day. I appreciate all your gas station markets with flavored coffees and cappuccino machines with no cup (up to 24 ounces) costing more than $2 - those certainly helped me stay alert! I admit that all of the "adult superstores" along your highway and the random $2.50 toll to get from Topeka to not-quite the state line had me perplexed. But I think you need to collect additional revenues to pay for all those lovely sights that I wish I could have taken more advantage of. You certainly take multi-faceted pride in showing off this land: the Czech Museum and Opera House; "Yarns!" the second friendliest yarn store in the universe (is the first friendliest yarn store also in this state?); Rock City; the Eisenhower Presidential Library; the Greyhound Hall of Fame; the Museum of Independent Telephony; the Custer House; the U.S. Cavalry Museum; the Kansas Motorcycle Museum (do other states have their own such place?); the Kansas Speedway Museum (where is the national museum of this kind?); the "JC Naz" - such a hip and freshly youthful name for the Church of the Nazarene; the Combat Air Museum; the Kansas History Center and Museum; the Brown v. Board National Historic Site, the Agriculture Hall of Fame; and even a roadside attraction area that features the world's largest prairie dog, a live five-legged steer, and a live Russian wild boar! In a way, Kansas, I am almost relieved that I didn't even have time today to stop at the OZ winery and then the OZ Museum. I mean, the town of Alma alone could have filled a day of my trip, what with it being the City of Native Stone and also the Home of the Famous Alma Cheese! So Kansas, I suppose I will have to come back and try to locate a baked potato or two in all your steakhouses some other time...when I have built up my energy reserves again to take in all your fabulous sights and sounds!

Kansas even brought me back to San Francisco, in a way. Last Saturday, I ended my weekly routine of volunteering in the kitchen of Project Open Hand. I will miss my friends there, even all the teasing. But as the fates would have it, my "nemesis" Gregg found a way to haunt me even on this drive!

Gregg Stratton at POH: can I get a break from you for just one Saturday, already? Geez...where's my mac and cheese?

The sun was setting just as I crossed from Kansas into Missouri, and at that point I decided to push on, despite what had already been a very long road. Perhaps I was inspired with the recent remembrance of Beryl Markham (see blog post for Day 1). Perhaps all those Kansas gas fill-up cappuccinos kicked in. Perhaps I was just anxious to unpack and not be in a motel again, having just spent one night in my sister's place in Denver. Perhaps I was motivated by the four different trucks that passed me sporting bumper stickers exclaiming, "Cowboy Up!" So as darkness fell, I continued along the mostly well-lit and well-trafficked I-70. (Judging by all the cars that had been pulled over by law enforcement - I counted at least 12 - the Missouri interstate is also very well protected.) Since it was getting darker, I didn't take any other photos and I am sure I missed many sights and place names and billboards. But suddenly I was all "eyes on the prize" and knew that I needed to keep my focus on getting to my new home. I knew that if I could get there, then there would be plenty of time for regional explorations later.

So after about 12.5 hours on the road (plus one hour lost to the Central Time Zone)...I made it safely to St. Louis, MO and St. Louis University! I'll post more details later, but I will end for now with this photo: it's what greeted me on the door of the apartment I will be staying in for the time being, until I get a more permanent address of my own.

The SLU Housing and Residence Lie staff at the Flats (the student apartment building that is my new temporary home) welcomed me with my own door tag.

Day 4 Fact File:
Starting Mileage: 80,255
Average Miles Per Gallon: 27.67
Visible Roadkills: 4 deer (including one inside the enclosed cab of a pick-up truck - yuck!), 5 rabbits, 4 skunks, and one unidentifiable rump and single leg (ugh).
Places Passed: Limon, CO; Hugo, CO; Kit Carson, CO; Genoa, CO; Arriba, CO; Flagler State Wildlife Area, CO; Bethune, CO; Burlington, CO (no coat factory); Kanorado, KS (get it? - Kansas-Colorado, right near the border); Caruso, KS; South Fork Beaver Creek, KS; Logan County, KS; Oakley, KS; Campus Road, KS (my address when I lived in Los Angeles was on Campus Road); Wakeeney, KS; Grinnell, KS; Quinter, KS; Voda, KS (the Russian word for "water;" where's 'Vodka?'); Ogallah, KS; Fort Larned, KS (is that where all the educated soldiers go after they get learned?); Ellsworth, KS; Wilson, KS; Lucas, KS; Sylvan Grove, KS; Lincoln, KS; Minneapolis, KS; Saline River, KS; Manhattan, KS; Abilene, KS; Talmage, KS; Geary County, KS (no 38 Geary MUNI bus from San Francisco, I bet); Mud Creek KS (don't all creeks have mud?); Junction City, KS; the OZ Winery, KS; Topeka, KS; Lawrence, KS; Tonganoxie, KS; Eudora, KS (do they have free e-mail access there?); Fort Leavenworth, KS; M
Soundtrack: Matthew Sweet, "100% Fun;" Of Montreal, "The Gay Parade;" Music For Animals, "If Looks Could Kill;" Jamie Cullum, "The Pursuit;" Original Broadway Cast, "Aida;" Original Broadway Cast, "Avenue Q;" Original London Cast, "Mamma Mia!;" Original Off-Broadway Cast, "Little Shop Of Horrors;" Original Cast, "Songs For A New World;" Original Broadway Cast, "BKLYN;" Original Broadway Cast, "Spring Awakening."
Ending Mileage: 81,105
Total miles since leaving San Francisco: 2,126 (phew!)