Holidays 2013: “Where are you living now?”

Spending the holidays in Detroit is something that I look forward to every year. In the last 28 years I have only missed two Christmas’s with my family and I vowed never to do it again. I love catching up on the year’s events in the lives of my family and friends and feeling like I’m in high school all over again with all of the hanging out at friend’s houses.

Since many people (older family friends) do not follow me on social media, there were a lot of surprised faces when I walked into people’s homes. And while I am loving all of the love one question that keeps coming up always requires a drawn out and complicated answer, “Where are you living now?” A very straightforward question which requires a very long and roundabout
answer.

Most are aware, but not all, that I decided to quit my job in Rome at a UN agency as it was no longer a good fit for me. I feel that I outgrew the position for a number of reasons. As a result I packed all of my things up and hopped on a one-way flight to Detroit. So the response to this is, “So, you’re moving back to Detroit?” or “So you’re back in the states?” My answer to which is simply I’m homeless and unemployed. My life for the last five years hasn’t been all gyspy-like, but often times it has been. Roaming between countries and homes with my belongings spread between two continents. I am not sure if I will be moving back to the US, but I cannot currently say where I am living because I am living nowhere. I remain true to my blog and for the next two months I will be playing a game of “Catch Me If You Can” all the while applying for jobs.

I am very happy about my decision and feel much lighter, if that makes any sense. I am also scared about moving forward because I have created space and time in my life to really sit down and decide what I want and what I don’t want and how to move forward; what cities/countries to apply for jobs in and what types of jobs to apply to. It is a tall order but I need to sit down and just do it. I have taken one leap out of despair and now I need to take a leap into greatness.