A New York Girl Leaves Utah

 

I know I should have written this post a long time ago…but this is honestly the first chance I have had to catch my breath since July 8, 2009. 

 

July 9: Last day at my old job.  I cannot even begin to describe how hard that last week of work was.  It wasn’t that I had a lot to do…just wrap up stuff and exit checklists…but knowing that is was going to be my last latte in the office, my last trip to Jamba Juice with my Utah dad, my last breakfast at Sill’s with the guys…it was very emotional.  To make matters worse I was in the middle of buying a new car.  I haven’t really blogged about this, but buying a car in Utah as a single woman is an interesting experience.  The whole time the salesman thinks he is, at some point going to be speaking to your husband, you know the one that makes the decisions…and then after speaking for several minutes on the phone you have to inform him…nope it’s just me and it’s my salary that is going to be paying your salary and if you don’t like that, I will just buy my car elsewhere…thankyouverymuch.  I remember spending an entire Friday on the phone calling every dealer in Utah trying to get the best price for what I wanted to buy and explaining to the salesman, that yes…it was just me and no they were not going to be speaking to my husband and oh yeah, I’m not the kind of girl that buys a car for the cupholders…I know exactly what I am looking for and if you can’t help me find it. I will go somewhere else.   

 

I ended up buying a Red 09 CRV-EXL which I completely love and have every intention of driving until the thing rusts out from underneath itself.  But that particular day Ken Garff Ogden (where I bought the car) decided it was going to be difficult.  I had talked with the representative from the dealership on several occasions, confirming that they had what I wanted at the price I wanted it for and that I would be able to just go in and sign the papers, bring my own financing and walk out the door.  That sort of happened.  I went in and test drove my new car…because while I had test drove similar models they wanted me to drive the one that I would actually purchase.  I wholeheartedly agreed because the last thing I wanted to do was buy a new car that was defective.  However, after the test drive they made me go sit in a room while they got the paperwork ready.  I was more than a little miffed because a. the paperwork was supposed to be ready b. I had to pick up my parents from the airport in an hour.  True to my nature I informed them that they had a half an hour to close the deal or I was walking because I had better places to be.  Wouldn’t you know, as soon as I said that, I was brought into the room and told where to sign.  Then they took my car into the shop to take off the chrome wheels (because how many times do I have to tell you I’m not paying $1200 for chrome wheels?) and I went to the airport.   

 

It was at this point that my Honda Civic, that I needed to relinquish to the lease company became a magnet for all the debris on I-15.  I almost got hit by a piece of a tire, a large rock and a piece of large metal just on the 20 mile drive to the airport.  I had been driving that car for 3 years and the only thing I had ever been hit by was several small rocks (oh yeah and the time that jackass decided to key it), but here I was on a collision course to disaster and I only needed to drive that car for 2 more hours. 

 

I picked up my parents with little fuss and we set off for my apartment. 

 

Then my dad and I set off to pick up the new car.  I have little patience as anyone who knows me can attest to, but I really have no patience with car dealerships.  I just wanted to walk in, get my keys and get the hell out…but the dealer wanted to take pictures and congratulate me on the fact that I now owe my financing company my first born.  So there I was stuck taking pictures, by myself in front of my new car.  Whoo…go me…what a grown up purchase!

 

That evening my real parents and I went to dinner with my Utah parents.  I couldn’t have asked for it to go better if I tried.  Other than my dad almost falling asleep after dinner (see I told you that flying from Syracuse to Utah is tiring!!) they all got along so well.  It made me even sadder that I was going to have to be saying good bye to them in the next week. 

 

The next week was pretty much a blur of driving, packing and showing my parents around Utah.  We did all the typical touristy things...Olympic Park, Park City, Antelope Island, and even some things I hadn’t done before like Bingham Canyon Mine (apparently the largest man made excavation, suck on that Brazil!).  I think my parents had a good time, I know I definitely did because I finally got to show them what I had spent 3 years doing. 

 

Then it was time for my dad to leave and my mom and I to face the daunting task of moving me out of Utah.  But not before we returned my 2006 Honda Civic to my leasing company.  I almost cried.  That car was my first step towards being an adult and I was trading it in for a better model (or one that wasn’t overly priced).  I went in, gave the guy my keys and waited while they performed their last inspection.  They asked me why the hood paint looked different (oops!  Definitely a rock chip I got fixed at the same time I got the keyed marks out...told them about the rock chip…definitely didn’t tell them I had been keyed, not that it mattered).  Then I made sure I had my old plates (for nostalgia) and I hugged and kissed my car one last time (I’m totally kidding, I wasn’t that attached to a stupid car but I did almost need to borrow my dad’s hankie…I mean come on, that car represented my time in Utah and I remember signing my life away the day I got that car and then eating at Pizza Hut!)  In all seriousness if anyone is thinking about getting a Honda Civic I would totally recommend it…that car got me through the worst blizzard of my life because I was the dumbass who decided it might be a good idea to go snowboarding when it might possibly even think of snowing.  And as I’m snowboarding I’m thinking that I should board along the snow making machine lineup, because if I fall and die because I can’t see at least they can say they found my body by snow machine 4327 (side note: best powder I have ever boarded on in my life).  And it took me 20 minutes to get to the mountain and 2 hours to get home…yeah that Civic got me through that.  And now it wasn’t mine anymore…

 

We put my dad on the plane Wednesday morning and spent the rest of the day getting the apartment ready for the movers to come on Thursday. I had a going away lunch Wednesday afternoon and all my coworkers came out to say goodbye.  I did my best not to cry and I think I did a really good job.  But it was so hard to look around at all those faces that supported me through so much and not want to cry.  I have been very grateful and very blessed to work with such a wonderful group of people. 

 

Thursday morning started bright and early when the movers showed up 15 minutes early.  Then for most of the day I sat on my porch balcony and sipped wine…because quite honestly I think it was more stressful this time to move than it was last time.  I remember when I left New York and I saw them put my saddle and my French horn on the truck, I couldn’t believe what I was doing.  Now I saw them pack that same saddle and French horn again, but now that saddle had climbed a mountain and that French horn had played Carnegie Hall…it was all very surreal and I hoped I was doing the right thing. 

 

This realization got me thinking about the choices that we make in life.  If I had never moved to Utah, I could be married by now to a man that would have made me content, but wouldn’t have been right for my life.  I would never have learned to snowboard, never played Carnegie Hall, never met my “Utah dad”, “Pam I am”, Rebecca and all my military boys, never traveled the country and saw places like El Paso, Tx (which I could have lived without) or drank beer on the beach in Florida (which I thoroughly enjoyed).  I would never have gotten elite travel status on Delta or tasted wine in New Mexico.  It was the most trying 3 years of my life…I lost 2 grandparents and a horse.  My mom had open heart surgery.  I dislocated an elbow.  But I have experiences that most people that grew up on the east coast don’t.  I know what it’s like to be scared out of my mind by 3 rattlesnakes in an hour and a half.  I know what it feels like to be a minority, to be excluded because of who you are and what you believe.  I have been on 186 airplanes in 3 years.  I know the adrenaline rush that comes along with skeletoning down an Olympic track.  What it feels like to board the best, freshest powder in the world (even if I almost died in the blizzard).  I know what it feels like to get a standing ovation at Carnegie Hall.  I know what it’s like to feel so alone in the world that all you want to do is drive home, but you know if you tried to do that, it would take at least 3 days and I know the feeling of emptiness that comes with that knowledge. But despite all of that, looking back on the choice I made to move to Utah, I don’t regret any of it.  It made me a much more independent stronger person (like I really needed any help...I know) and for that I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to experience the mountain west!

 

I was in tears by the time the movers loaded up the last of my stuff.  I couldn’t believe my time in Utah was over.  The next few days my mom and I spent a lot of time doing “lasts”.  My last trip to Park City, my last trip to Bear Lake, the last time I will walk on my running trail on base.  I know it seems stupid (and I know I tried for 3 years to get out of that state as quickly as possible) but I was genuinely upset. 

 

Monday morning we packed up the last of the stuff in the car and had my apartment final walkthrough.  As one last little farewell my apartment complexes vacuum cleaner had totally crapped out and of course I needed to use it since the movers took mine.  They told me that I could either get one or I could get charged a huge amount per room for cleaning.  So I had to go on craigslist and pick one up.  Well since I had no room in my car for one more thing, I gave the vacuum cleaner to my Utah dad.  I guess he has a “man cave” that needs vacuuming.  He came over and picked it up and when he left I was sobbing.  I was lucky to be able to work with him and learn from him and I know that I won’t ever work with anyone quite like him again. 

 

I managed to stop crying long enough to pack my cats in the car and get on the road.  My mom suggested we let them wander around the car and find their own place to sleep (preferably on the blanket that we had laid out).  This seemed like a good idea at the time, but was actually horrible.  As soon as we pulled out of the parking lot my one cat had made a beeline for the back of the car to try to find a hole to crawl into.  That’s not so much of a problem, but if the load shifts…you have no more cat.  Meanwhile, I’m stopped at a stoplight and I hear the window down…wondering where that’s coming from I look in the backseat and my other cat has put the window down herself and is sticking her head outside like a dog.  So needless to say, the cats weren’t outside their carriers very long. 

 

That first day we went from Layton, Utah to Casper, Wyoming and I was so exhausted when we got there.  It had been a very emotionally draining day and a whole lot of driving through nothing.  I mean there are parts of Wyoming that I find really beautiful…and the fact that I can do 90 on a road is even more beautiful…but it doesn’t mean it’s any less draining. 

 

The next day we went from Casper, Wyoming to Oacoma, South Dakota.  (Side note:  there is a sign on the Mass Pike somewhere around the Berkshires that tells you that the next highest point on I-90 is in Oacoma, SD…I’ve been there!!)  The fact that it is the next highest point on I-90 is it’s only redeeming quality.  There is nothing in Oacoma…much like there is nothing really in South Dakota, outside of the Black Hills area of course.  So along the way we stopped and saw Devil’s Tower, Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore.  All of this sightseeing meant that we were on the road for a good long period of time…like 15 hours or so.  It was totally worth it, but driving from Rapid City to Oacoma in the pitch black (no kidding…there are no towns, no streetlights, nothing but stars) was probably the longest drive of my life.  I think we got in around 3am or something ridiculous like that.

 

The next day it was Oacoma, SD to Waterloo, IA.  South Dakota was starting to get really long and there was nothing but miles and miles of farm land, when I saw a sign for the world’s only corn palace.  And who doesn’t want to go to a corn palace??  So my mom and I decided it was time for a stretch and to see the corn palace.  Only in Mitchell, SD.  If you ever find yourself there a. I’m sorry b. go to the corn palace.  The outside of this building was decorated entirely with corn cobs and various grains.  It really was something to see.  Then it was back in the car where we saw more fields of nothing.  Waterloo, IA has probably the most ghetto hotel I have ever seen in my life.  I didn’t know Waterloo had a ghetto, but we were in it.  Complete with the red light district next door (note to self:  just because it looks nice on the internet, does not in fact mean it’s respectable.) 

 

After we survived our night in the ghetto it was on to Shipshewana, IN where we met up with my Aunt Karen, Uncle Dick and cousin Amy.  It was nice to get to see them and it was a complete 180 from where we had stayed the night before.  This time we stayed in an Amish motel run by Indians (country India).  It was a very cute place and for dinner we had some good Amish cooking. 

 

The last day was a push from Indiana to Syracuse.  By this point the drive was getting very long and it was the one time where we missed an exit (near Cleveland the 90/80 split) luckily I noticed in time to get us back on track without going out of the way. 

 

I spent a day in Syracuse and then the last 5 hours I did myself with 2 very angry cats.  That was definitely not the highlight of the trip…but they made it and so did I. 

 

Overall the drive was fantastic we saw literally a few drops of rain near Chicago and another few drops near Buffalo.  Other than that it was completely sunny the entire drive.  Also, it was sunny the first few weeks I was in Massachusetts (after they had had a summer of almost entirely rain), so I’m pretty much convinced that I bring the sunshine.  (My point was further proven this past weekend when it was sunny and warm in Syracuse where I was for a wedding and snowing and miserable in Massachusetts).  So if you want it to be sunny…invite me. 

 

So that’s it…the New York Girl is no longer in Utah.  I do miss the mountains on a daily basis.  I think the Midwest needs to not exist.  If I could have the western border of New York and the eastern border of Utah somehow match up…I think I’d be happy.  It is comforting to know that I now have family in Utah (as is evidenced by the care packages I get…thanks Sam, Cathy and Pam!) but it’s not the same.  I saw a commercial the other day for Utah sports (hiking, biking, Olympics, skiing etc) and I could name every single location that they were showing (Salt Lake, Moab, Park City etc) and it made me miss the great expanse out there.  I think I’m going to head out in January for some real snowboarding…

Thanks to everyone who read about my adventures for 3 years.  I hope it was as entertaining for you to read as it was therapeutic for me to write.  I have started a new blog: www.anewyorkgirlwasinutahnowinboston.blogspot.com, but I don’t know how often I’ll write.  I guess that will depend on how many bad first dates I go on. 

 

Another chapter in my life closed, another one beginning.

That is all.