Autumn in Ohio

Its been two months since my last update.  To be honest, it wasn’t completely unintentional.  Re-adjusting to a country and culture so different than those of my last two years, combined with a little voice in my head that often whispers “You have no idea what you’re doing next”… didn’t lend itself to a desire for public disclosure and scrutiny.  Sorry for that.  I just wasn’t ready to update.

However, in the last week and a half I’ve made a handful of decisions.  How long said decisions will last is a whole different issue, but as my friend Kyle and I determined this week: we’re confident in where we think we’re headed.  Whatever that means.  But I’m ahead of myself.  Lets back up a bit.

I returned to North Ridgeville, Ohio on August 8th.  You may or may not recall that two weeks before my initial departure for the Czech Republic, my parents moved to a new house in a new town.  My enthusiasm about returning to a fairly unfamiliar town with very few remaining/single friends was waning. I spent the first couple of weeks sitting around and reading books.  I took a short trip to Chicago to play music at the wedding of Greg and Liz Masching (that wasn’t her last name before the wedding).  Post-wedding is when the anxiety started to set in.  So I started sending resumes.  Unfortunately the job application process isn’t nearly as speedy as I had hoped it might be, and financial need led me to get a job as a server at Swingos Grand Tavern, a swanky new restaurant not far from my parents’ place.  I’m learning tons about top-shelf wine and single-malt scotch, which has been really fun.  It’s a great job with great co-workers, but the restaurant business is not my career of choice.  In the meantime, resumes were processed, interviews were done, and though a few opportunities rose to the top I have yet to find a job that I’m genuinely excited about.  So I’m still looking.

As you might expect, this time of reflection, analysis and self-marketing has led me to consider on my options and interests a fair bit.  So the aforementioned decisions I’ve recently made are as follows…  For the next month and a half I’ll be preparing to take the LSAT.  No gasps please.  This doesn’t mean I’ve decided to attend law school.  It simply means that I’m going to take the test, see how I do, and make my decision accordingly.  I’ll continue to wait tables until New Years-ish.  The arrival of 2007 will mark my return to Europe for a short visit.  I’ll be spending as much time as possible with my friends in Kralupy and Prague during that time, and possibly taking a side trip or two to visit folks elsewhere.  When I return home, I plan on staying only long enough to establish residency elsewhere.  I’m thinking about Chicago.  From what I hear, finding work in another city is far easier if you live there.  So I think I’ll go.  I mean, why not.

In other news, Mr. Jason Chamlee, my former roommate, traveling companion, and European partner-in-crime is now married to the former Miss Susana Torres.  They were married on October 7 at Kumler Chapel in Oxford, Ohio.  I was a groomsman and musician for the ceremony.  It was an amazing weekend spent with old friends and Sgt. Joshua Florio, home for three weeks on leave from Afghanistan.  He’ll be heading back over on Thursday (tomorrow) and I’m sure he’d love to find a care package or two waiting for him when he gets there, so shoot me a note if you want his address.  Pictures of the wedding are posted below.

I hope that as you read this, you are doing well.  I’d love to hear from you sometime.  My email is HarveyME@gmail.com.