Molland's Community

[Cyberlibrarian]

Hello everyone.  I know it's been a long time, and I won't bore you with the gory details.  The gist is that life has been in flux and there is no end in sight.

But I am happy to be back in this new incarnation.   

[John]

Hello, my friend, it's nice to hear from you again.

You aren't the only one whose life is "in flux". I'm applying to graduate school, and in the mean time writing snarky essays and opinion pieces for the newspapers. The last one was on the government's decision to allow "text language" in formal examinations. On this matter, Dr. Swift and I have but a single mind.

What are you up to?

PS: Can someone please tell me if Philadelphia (which is in Pennsylvania, right?) is anywhere near New Jersey? The Rutgers people keep talking about "the greater Philadelphia area", and as far as I know, New Brunswick is supposed to be in New Jersey. Is Philadelphia really that big?

[Amy Catherine]

Oh, John, you have reminded me of the musical/film 1776 and its rather scandalously entertaining mention of New Brunswick.  Philadelphia is indeed in Pennsylvania.  Not sure how far it is from New Brunswick (doesn't look too far on a map), but Philly is a sizeable city, and right beside New Jersey.  Which is also remarked upon wittily in the aforementioned film, as it happens.  Still, considering it is a different state, I'm a little surprised to hear that it's referred to as part of the greater Philadelphia area.

I too am applying to graduate schools after dragging my feet for a year.    Best of luck.  Where else are you considering?

[John]

Virginia, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Michigan and Wisconsin, as I recall.

Thank you. And to you. My feelings on the process are as follows:
 

[Amy Catherine]

University of Virginia, or Virginia Tech, or what?

[Cyberlibrarian]

My brother went to law school at Vanderbilt and he loved it.

John, you asked, so here's the abbreviated version of events:

Starting last August, I had some health problems and didn't find out until February that I did not have either uterine cancer or breast cancer.  Lots of procedures, along with poking, prodding and blood-letting were in order.  Bleagh. 

My father had a minor stroke, and we also found out that he needs open-heart surgery, possibly in January.

My law firm is disbanding, and I don't know if I'm going to have a job.

I plan on moving to Florida, and the whole job thing might mean I'll have to leave sooner than I'm financially ready to do it.

Is that enough gore for you? 

[John]

Oh my dear, how awful! I am tempted to say something like "Well, you'll have sunshine at least", but that is a catalogue of accidents that defeats silver lining.

I am glad you are at least comparatively well, I hope your father pulls through, and having been made redundant and then unredundantised again, I feel your pain! I shall pray it all comes out in the wash, and I will keep my fingers crossed for you too. Gore is an awful thing, and you have had much of it, it seems.

Amy, it's University of Virginia. We'll see if anyone takes me; I am busy polishing my John Donne essay, since the JA dissertation is too long.

[Mags]

New Brunswick is about an hour from Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is located on the Delaware River, which is the divider between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, so yeah, they're quite close.

[Amy Catherine]

My goodness, Cyberlibrarian!    I'm also at a loss for what to say, except that my thoughts and prayers are with you, as are, I'm sure, those of everybody on the message board.

John, I hope I didn't sound too nosy.  I was only curious because I've actually just sent off an application to UVA myself, although I'd much rather stay at William and Mary if they admit me.  However, if you end up in Virginia, do let me know.  You'd be a wonderful addition to the Jane Austen Society here, which, I must say, needs to be rejuvenated with scholarly folk.

[Cyberlibrarian]

All of that happened since my mother had breast cancer. 

As I said to my sister-in-law earlier today, to say that things have sucked is an understatement.

Anyway, I'm trying to be positive.  I'm going to Florida to visit my parents for Christmas, and I've already spoken to the people at one of the state-run employment counseling centers about starting the job hunt.  As of right now, I'm thinking about public librarianship or even management of one of the chain bookstores.  Lord know those people need to hire employees who know something about books.  But I'm hoping that the counselors can help me get creative about the search and come up with something I'd never have thought of.

[viva_5675]

i drove down (rather was driven down) from NJ to Philadelphia, it took 3.5 hrs one way on the freeway...so yeah..its quite close....

)

[Mary]

Julie, I hope things are looking up for you now.  That's a lot to handle at once.  Did you end up in Florida or are you still in New York?

[Cyberlibrarian]

I'm still in NY, trying at once to save money for the move and to pay down debt so that I have as little as possible when I make the move.

As of right now the job is safe, but I am really tired of working for a 71-year-old man who throws temper tantrums.  I've never needed antacids before this.    I gave up the best job I ever had to earn more money and I've been paying for it since.  I'll probably be paying for that one horrible decision for the rest of my life.

On the plus side, Dad came through the surgery (it turns out that, when they opened him up, his condition was worse than they'd thought) with flying colors and he now feels GREAT.  I think Wednesday was the first day he was allowed to drive again, so I'm dying to find out how he feels about getting his independence back.

The whole idea of the move is nerve-wracking.  On the one hand, I love New York.  I was born here.  After spending the first few years of my life in Queens (one of the "boroughs" of the City) I spent most of my childhood 2 miles from the city limits and spent a lot of weekends visiting friends and family who lived in town.  I learned to ice skate in Central Park.  I ate ice cream at Rumpelmeyer's.  I was taken to stores that only exist in the memory of other people who grew up here.  I saw the planes hit the Twin Towers. I knew people who died and I know people who survived.  A twist of fate kept me from being one of the dead. I love the theater.  I love art-house movies.  I love Mom-and-Pop stores where you are known by name.  I love how everyone delivers.  I love how I can choose from a dozen different cuisines -- all within a 5-block radius of my apartment.

But I hate the cold. I hate how expensive it is to live here.  I hate living in a shoebox that I have to climb up 2 flights of steep stairs to get to and that I pay more than 1/3 of my take home pay for the privilege of living in one of the world's great cities.

The older I get, the more important the "I hates" are to me.

[Mary]

Well, I hope everything works out for you and you get to where you want to be. 

[Mandy N]

 I saw your post on your dad's health awhile ago -which put me in a quandry.
Really, I'm glad he came through his surgery well, and my  best wishes on his full recovery. 
 My step-father has been in and out of hospital for some time and still isn't well so I feel some of your pain.
Well, take it easy and I hope things turn out for you.