B-O-R-E-D

Man, am I ever bored with this job. I've decided that if nothing really significant happens by the time my lease is up next August, I'm probably moving back to Mobile. What's significant? Three things that could make me stay:

1) If I meet someone worth staying for
2) If I get a much, much better job
3) If I get into UAB grad school and it would be too much of a pain to transfer

If none of those things happen, then I'm out. I like Bham. I truly do. However, sometimes I get pretty homesick for the laid-back vibe that I get from Mobile. I also miss my family, particularly my sisters and my precious nieces, one of which doesn't really recognize me because I haven't been around for her entire 1 year of her life. Mobile is a black hole anyway, and I always knew I'd be back. It was just a lot clearer when I was with Scott, but now that my odds of meeting my husband from the ham have increased significantly, the future is up in the air. Which is fine, for the most part. I'm pretty free right now to go where I want to.

I don't want to sound ungrateful to the Ham. There are many, many things here that I have come to love, so i'm going to list my top ten favorites, and my top 10 greivances of living in the "Magic City"

Top Ten Favorites
1) My friends I've made here-I have more wonderful girl friends here than I ever had in Mobile, except for my college days
2) The fall colors-unlike Mobile, the weather here is nice and there's generally at least 3 seasons instead of just getting winter to summer
3) My company - now, I know I say I'm bored with my job, but I'm not bored with my company. I work for one of the greatest mid-size pharmacuetical companies a girl could ask for
4) The social aspect - not only are there many more "young professionals" but there are several events that cater particularly to us, such as Art on the Rock, Cocktails in the Gardens, Wine-down Wednesdays, ect. Plus-the bar scene is much better here. There are several quality places, instead of just one or two you can find in Mobile
5) My odds-of finding a suitable person to date and not marrying someone from my highschool, like I will inevitably do if I move back
6) My freedom - now I wouldn't live with my parents if I moved back, but being 4 hours away from them is both a blessing and a curse. I'm not forced into going to awkward family things that involve my horrible cousins or being kicked out of my own house if they decide to mooch and stay with us for say, 2 weeks (yes, this did happen. I blatantly shacked with scott the entire time to show my mother how pissed I was that she allowed this)
7) The lack of a significant hurricane season. I don't so much fear my house being torn away by 130mph winds while I huddle in the hallway sweating because our power went out at the first sign of even the slightest rain
8) Shopping-there are several higher-end clothing stores here than in Mobile, and most of them are located conveniently close to where I live
9) The food - I gained a good ten pounds when I first moved up here due to the different amount of choices I have in resteraunts. Some of my favorites include The Cheesecake Factory, Rojo, California Pizza Kitchen, and my sweet, sweet Jason's Deli-where I get my delicous soup from every single day in the winter
10) My location - I live in the best place in the 'ham. (if you ask me). I am just about 15-20 minutes at most from anywhere worth going in this city, plus it's safe and pretty for the most part


My Top Ten Grievances

1) The traffic - 280 is a nightmare at almost any given time, and unfortunately I travel this road the most. Not to mention that I have to spend an HOUR on the EXIT for 65 south on friday afternoon because everyone and their mom is going that way
2) The snobbiness - this is a generalization, and perhaps an unfair one. I have met many, many sweet people who could not care less about these things, but a lot of the success you find in bham comes from how you look, and what you wear, and what you're driving. Unfortunately, I get paid nothing at my current position and my almost decade old civic looks like it's been in a monster-rally because I sometimes forget it's not a Hummer.
3) The crime - can we say "paranoid?!" There were three murders of young people within the first two months of me living here. I didn't want to leave my house.
4) The cost of living - it's higher. plain and simple
5) Tornados. It took me a little while to get used to the sirens. I don't worry as much now that my pug lives in Mobile. I know she's not home alone, worried.
6) No beach anywhere to be found. I went from an hour and half day trip time to 5 hours to get into any sand. Sad. There's also no causeway, and therefore, no good seafood (that I know of)
7) The competition - I'm single now, but so are most of the girls that I know. And they've been single longer, and are better at it (in a good way) so my competition here is quite fierce.
8) Conservatism/the Bible Belt - I'm Catholic, and we're a dying breed in the 'ham. So the majority of my friends are highly involved in their churches. And that's great-but I can't seem to really get into going to a protestant church, or any kind of bible study, so I'm kind of left out of this. Not to mention I'm a wee bit more on the democrat side, and this can be kind of an issue.
9) My job - ugh-this one is my own fault, but my GOD, do I need a new one. Again, love the company, hate my job. Although, I can't really fault the city for this one, so I don't know if this should count
10) the radio: I would think that such a larger city would have a diverse set of stations that play a variety of things, but the radio here is atrocious. I miss the 92 zew everyday...however, I have found one station that is like a poor man's zew-100.5 check it out if you haven't already. Kelley-I'm sure you're already aware of this one.

So that's my list. Honestly, it was harder to come up with things i didn't like over things that I did, so maybe that's a sign that I should stay. I still have a year to decide. I'll just see if some of the things on my bad list improve by that point.