Most Frequently Asked Questions

So, you're from California?
Yes

So........ why Baltimore, Maryland?
Because I could. Because I figured I would experience something more than half the world never does: move far away from the hometown at least for a little bit. I mean, why not? Why not see the states and other places while I can easily pick up and move myself somewhere else!

I must ask, are you crazy? (chuckle, chuckle)
Legally, no! But thanks for asking:)

Do you surf?
No. Do you?

So, where are you from in California?
Are you familiar with California? [No] I'm an hour south of San Francisco [Oh cool, yeah I have a long lost cousin whose boyfriend's aunt lives in LA or insert some other long lost relative or San Diego]

How do like Baltimore so far?
It's great! The people are nice, fall is gorgeous here, I love my job, oh and I generally enjoy Baltimore when I stay away from the bad areas. I'd prefer to live if I have the choice!


I feel like I'm in sorority rush again (What's your major? What year are you? Where do you live? Where's your hometown? etcetera etcetera)

Other than the 20 questions and the weight of moving my stuff into a new place soon/figuring out the DMV, life is good when I stop and breathe for a little bit:)

First Day of Work

Today, I started my (3rd attempt at) first day of work. Yesterday I was supposed to start work, but ended up getting caught in Hurricane Sandy and staying inside. Welcome to the East Coast! Doesn't Baltimore understand us Californians aren't prepared for high winds and heavy rain?! Everyone told me today that this was a highly unusual storm, figures it would happen my assigned first day of work.

Hurricane Sandy looked similar to this

Today, I got dressed and drove to work. I made it to work by 8:20 and I walked in about 5 minutes later... to a fairly empty office. What the hell? I ran into our VP Operations who so kindly shook my hand and said everyone was actually scheduled to come in at 10 am. Cool. This would happen to me. So I laughed it off and got back in my car and drove to Dunkin' Donuts, the only open store in Timonium since most of the power had been knocked out due to the storm. I came back around 9:45 and joked around with the guy in charge while my boss is out of town. I told him he owes me lunch. My boss later called to apologize for the mix up and give me crap about not showing up on the first day of work (he was completely kidding) and then followed up his statement with how excited he is to have me here in Baltimore. I really do enjoy going to a work environment where people actually want me to work there and think I can be a valuable addition to their company, unlike my previous job.

Today, I FINALLY started work after 5 months of figuring out exactly what I wanted to do. Today was a pretty mundane day of filling out papers and taking my 100th tour around the plant, but it was exactly what I wanted. I felt so absolutely excited, exhausted, content, and overjoyed to be back in the environment I loved. The production floor was pretty quiet due to the hurricane shutting down all public transportation and flooding most roads. It was still amazing though to walk around and see folders and Heidis (our UGS nickname for the offset sheetfed press) and plates and ink all over the floor. It was exactly what I needed after a long week of moving and finding a new home.

Tonight, I went for drinks with a German guy who told me I fidget a lot and that I looked nervous (mainly because I felt like I was on a super awkward date with a really old man, sorry mom!) We talked about Germany and American baseball and futbol and how he'd never been to Oktoberfest (what?!?!) However,  it was a great way to end my first day of work and the start to many more!

P.s. If anyone could send me someone baked pumpkin seeds, I may love you forever (hint hint MOM)

Preparing for a Hurricane

Here's my view from the hotel this morning. I think I will remember Hurricane Sandy specifically because she kept me from my first day of work at PCA. I've never seen anything of this magnitude in California (obviously we only deal with rain maybe a month out of the year, oh and earthquakes). From what it sounds like, the East Coast hasn't seen anything of this magnitude in a few years, lucky me! I'm hopefully starting work tomorrow and moving into my new place sometime this week. Yay! Other than that, I'm safe, I still have power, and I still have wine. All is well in the world of Candice.

P.s. Go Giants! World Series Champs 2012!

Adventure

 George Washington Monument

                                                       Cute park in Mount Vernon

Rachel writing up the beers on tap

                                                      Piece of the World Trade Center

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”― Eleanor Roosevelt

Starting to feel like Fall (ing into place)

Let me tell you (even though I'm sure you all know), Fall on the East Coast is GORGEOUS. I even got a manicure today with a maroon color and gold sparkles just to match the season over here. Don't laugh!

But besides that.... I have housing!! Or at least I assume so if everything works out. Yesterday after a rough morning, I pulled myself together to go look at a 1 bedroom apartment and later that evening, a room in a house in Otterbein (really nice neigborhood). My car was finally delivered so I am now mobile and free to roam in the city in the safety of my own car. I don't think anyone understands how nice it is to have your own car in a completely new city. It's probably the closest thing to home that I have.

Anyway, enough of rambling about my sweet mom car. The point of this post: I have housing! I looked at a place 2 nights ago in Federal Hill. Fed Hill is a great neighborhood for recent college graduates and young professionals who are looking to meet new people and have a great time. The only downside is that parking legitimately sucks, however the neighborhood is in walking distance to both the Orioles and Ravens stadiums! [I promise my heart will always lie in Bay Area sports, Go Giants!] Anyway, the house is located on a little side street. It has a cute little backyard and my bedroom has a balcony that overlooks the Baltimore skyline. Currently there are 2 guys and 1 girl that live there, one of the guys is in software (my close friends will laugh at that one if they know me!) I've never felt more at home walking into a house besides my SLOme and my first home. I didn't want to get my hopes up about the place even though I really connected with the roommates. The girl who is moving out was trying to figure out her living situation and expected move out date. Living in a hotel isn't the greatest thing in the world, so I was hoping to move into a place within the next week. I received an email last night from the girl letting me know that the roommates felt that I was 100% the best choice! She's figuring out the lease today so that I can hopefully move in on November 1st. The stress of housing lifted off my shoulders and my heart was finally at ease.

After a morning of crying, I put a smile on my face and walked down the street to a pizza place to grab food, drinks, and to watch my Giants beat the Tigers 8-3. I stayed for awhile talking with the blind man and his brother that I had met the night before and with a few other regulars. The guys were all really nice and the bartender, Katie, kept giving me local beers on the house. Baltimore tip #1: Natty Bo tastes like water, but everyone in Baltimore drinks it. The brewery used to be in Baltimore, but has since moved, however, the locals are proud to call it their beer. Baltimore tip #2: blue flashing lights in certain areas mean that a homicide has occurred there, the lights flashing are a 360 camera. Thank god someone told me this tip last night.

Today, I slept in and relaxed. I drove to Timonium to make sure I would be able to find my way to work on Monday. Baltimore drivers suck terribly and you HAVE to follow the speed limit, otherwise you could find yourself with a ticket delivered in the mail from a picture captured of you speeding. Kill me now. As a born and raised California driver, it was considered slow if you went the speed limit. It was normal for everyone to go 10-15 mph over the speed limit. But I guess driving the speed limit is something I actually have to follow now. Darn.

Everything seems to finally be falling into place around here. I only have a few more kinks to work out, but once I get moved in and get my car registered I think I will officially feel at home!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Let me tell you, moving to a entirely new place is not all fun and games. Yesterday and today, I've been a stressball of emotions. I'm currently sitting in my room, watching Say Yes To The Dress and crying my eyes out. It's hard to admit defeat. I don't want to cry since I chose to take this amazing opportunity and move 3,000 miles away from my family and friends. I definitely don't regret the decision, but it is hard trying to find housing, make new friends, and discover a new city.

Yesterday, I woke up pretty early and grabbed the less than mediocre free breakfast at the hotel. I went running for 30 minutes, which definitely helped get my endorphins going. After getting dressed, I wandered down the street to a delicious sushi bar where I met Sarah. Everyone in Baltimore is SO nice about helping me with housing. Usually I'll ask anyone and everyone (including but not limited too cab drivers, blind men, bartenders, etc.) about certain areas, see if certain addresses are in good neighborhoods, and from there we start talking about how I ended up in Baltimore. Sarah was such a sweetheart and it felt so nice to finally talk to someone my age. However, I definitely had to hold back tears as I explained my move. All of the thoughts I had been trying to suppress came rushing back to me. I had to leave the sushi bar to grab some fresh air. I caught a cab to look at a place in a nice area called Canton. It's so hard leaving houses after I look at them because all I want right now is a nice place to call home and start my daily routine.

Last night, I made friends with a blind man. My best friend would be laughing at me if she saw me last night. I have a natural tendency to be nice to extremely interesting (maybe even strange) people. This man was super nice and it was so relaxing to sit and enjoy a beer while talking to someone about life, sports, pretty much anything that wasn't me sitting by myself in a hotel room.

I texted my mom this morning because I could barely stand to call her crying.  She would probably tell me what an amazing opportunity this is, how much they miss me at home, and how I can fly home whenever I need to. Right now, as much as I want to hear that, I know it would make my day so much harder.

So there you have it, the good, the bad, and the ugly of moving across country. This opportunity amazes and teaches me new things everyday. However, it isn't all fun and games. The stress of missing home and trying to find housing while making sure I don't run down the wrong street isn't easy, but it's my life right now.

California Girl to East Coast Woman

Yesterday, I officially became a resident of Baltimore, Maryland after living my first 21 years in California. Most would say I'm crazy, some say I'm brave, and a small portion of people wish they could be making the big step like me. I've been in a whirlwind of emotions since yesterday morning at around 4am. I've been excited, nervous, ready to get the hell out of San Jose, teary-eyed, overwhelmed, and downright confused as to what the hell I just did. I picked up my comfortable living situation and threw myself into the unknown.

Most of you who will read this know how I ended up here in Baltimore, but if you don't, let me explain. I (now) work for a company called Consolidated Graphics at a remote site in Timonium, Maryland that goes by PCA. Back in February, I interviewed for Consolidated Graphics' Leadership Development Program. When my interviewer asked me where I wanted to move, I told him "East Coast, preferably somewhere in the Northern part" Naturally his response was, "Why?"

Valid response. Could I answer? Nope. I just wanted to move and see something different. I've had a fascination with the East Coast since I was younger. I figured, I'm 21, single, and don't have any commitments to California, why not move?

So he put down the DC area and we moved on.

I then received a call about 3 weeks later saying I had been accepted into the program and would have an interview with a company in Timonium, Maryland. They would fly me out during the beginning of my spring break where I sat through 2 long flights there, rushed to dinner, sleep, wake up, interview all day, and get right back on to another 2 long flights. Needless to say, I was exhausted and wondering how I even got to that point. After many discussions with my mom and dad as well as some personal me time, I turned down the job. Yes, I said I turned down the job.

I went on my merry way enjoying the last few months of my senior year of college. After an amazing last few months in the beautiful city of San Luis Obispo, I packed up 4 years of memories and moved home. I took some vacation time with my mom to New York and DC and came back hungry for work. I applied for several jobs and ended up landing a job with a staffing agency as a technical recruiter in the Silicon Valley. This is where things start to make more sense.

After a few months of cold calling clients and candidates, I realized sales is not for me. Sure, I love meeting new people and having intellectual conversations with software engineers, however, I lived a lifestyle where I never knew when I was getting off work. One day after a long day at work, I received an email from my professor which looked like this:

I'm having dinner in San Antonio with the chairman and key executives of CGX. They want you to work for them. Interested?

Mail me if you do


Wait...what?! Someone wants me to work for them? Key executives want me to work for them? Naturally, I responded with yes I am employed, however I'd love to hear more about these opportunities. It was the president of the plant in Timonium, Maryland. He was impressed with skill set and personality and wanted me to come back and interview with them for the second time. I called him that night, mind you it was about 10PM where he was. Within the next few weeks, I was on another long 2 flights to Maryland, but this time I stayed longer and got to see most of the neighborhoods where the associates lived, I wined and dined where the people of Baltimore did, I felt like I actually belonged in this city that I never knew existed until I visited this past March. My now boss fed me amazing compliments and told me any employer would be lucky to have me, but he hoped that I would come back to his company. 

I realized this opportunity would not come up for another long while. So, while I was on my way home, back to my suburban home in San Jose, I decided this was it. I was going to take the job, I was going to make the move, I was going to experience seasons and snow and everything that the East Coast had to offer.

So here I am, in my hotel room, waiting to check out a room that could potentially be my home for the next year. I've come a long way in a few short months and even though I'm scared as all hell for what I'm about to experience, I've never been more excited. I'm sure I'll have a few crying calls back to my mom asking her to send me home, but I know that at the end of the day this is an AMAZING opportunity. Worst case scenario? I transfer to a plant back in California. But as for now, I am a permanent resident in Baltimore, Maryland. Holy Crap.