On day one in North Bergen there was nothing but a lot of heavy carrying, unpacking, squirrel cage surgery, etc going on. By the time 8pm came around, we realized we hadn't eaten all day and decided it was high time to get cleaned up and find a meal.
We walked up the hill from the condo (all of 2 blocks) and decided to try out La Sorrentina, that touted it self as a brick oven pizza place. Sign #1 that you have selected a good place to eat – It's a Thursday night and there is a line waiting for tables. We added ourselves to that line and before long were seated. The place was abuzz. There were plates of food and lots of pies coming out of the kitchen in the hands of a wait staff that was literally running at times, trying to get customers served as quickly as possible. We noticed that the majority of people had ordered pizzas which was a good omen for the Tri Colore we ordered. It was a white pizza with sliced tomatoes, pesto and basil. It was as good as we hoped it would be. At one point Steve said he wanted to know the secret they were using to enable each bite to taste better than the last. I'm not sure, but whatever it was it worked. I will be back.
Conveniently, right across the street from the pizza place is a gelato shop. They have Italian ices and ice cream too, but if there's gelato I am not going to even pay attention to the others. And if you notice there is no picture, well, that's because I was so focused on a cup of yumminess that I totally forgot to take one. I'll get one for you next time!
Wondering how the drive from FL to NJ/NY went? It was long… very long.
I left Wednesday. It was a bizarre feeling, pulling out of my driveway, steering the big rental truck with my car trailer on the back of it. You know that "did I forget something?" feeling you get when you go on a vacation? It was multiplied many times over.
I have no problem driving a big truck I don't even have a problem by driving a big truck that has a big trailer on the back of it. However, driving this little tow trailer with my car on the back of it was one of my least favorite driving experiences. When you drive the big trailer you can look in the mirrors and see what it's doing. It gives you peace of mind of the trailer is, in fact, where you left it – attached to the back of the truck. I didn't get that luxury towing the car on the back of the truck. I kept hoping it was still there. Unless I was taking a sharp curve, there was no way to see it or tell.
Lucky for me, as soon as I got to Savannah, I had help. My friend Steve took a few days off to help me to finish the drive and get my stuff into the new condo. Not only was he great company, but he drove the next 9 hours of the trip (and then after a 4 hour break, the last 2. The drive from Melbourne, Fla to NJ took just under 24 hours. It was a hard trek and we were quite tired by the time we arrived, but we made it safe and sound.
The flying squirrels had mixed reviews of the trip. Susie, the older squirrel, just wanted to know there is food and a place to sleep. Everything else was irrelevant. Once she realized the travel cage met those requirements, she no longer cared that she was out of her usual cage, out of her house and in a noisy shaking truck. Amelia, on the other hand, found nothing about the travel cage met her requirements. She paced around the travel cage, tossing food, blankets, and anything else she could get her little paws on. She's even started biting Susie when throwing things around didn't seem to make her feel better. Eventually, she settled down.
Once we arrived, we found out that the pre-war building my condo is in has a very, very small elevator that is more trouble to use than just hiking all the furniture and boxes upstairs into the condo. It was quite the enjoyable task. Adding one more hurdle was the fact that the small hallway with a tight corner that had to be maneuvered to get into the apartment was too tight to get the 8 foot squirrel cage through. So after a trip to Lowes, and some sawing and stapling and new pieces of lumber, the cage was cut and reassembled inside the condo and the squirrels are now happy at home again.
I would write more but there is a mess of stuff to unpack, so that's it for today. Let me wrap it up with a video of the journey here.
On the topic of moving - While for most people the idea of picking up and moving to a new place is not such a big deal, this is not something I do.
I travel to other places, but I have always lived in Florida. As a matter of fact, other than for about 5 years of being in Orlando I have always lived in Melbourne, Florida. And today, I am going to pull out of my driveway heading to to New Jersey to take on a job in New York.
I have friends here I have had for decades. I have friends that I consider siblings for the closeness we share.
I have always been near my immediate family. I live all of three houses from my parents and my little brother is the furthest from away and he is in Orlando. I have no family in New York or New Jersey. The closest family I have up north is a cousin in Boston.
When it comes to my folks, I'm used to being 'right around the corner' when things are needed. A phone call for help and I can walk over.. I am used to filling that role and I am sure 1,100 miles between us is going to lead to a lot of helpless feelings when I can't offer those 'I'll be right there' services.
And despite the fact that I am 37, they are having a tough time with 'their little girl' moving so far away. It doesn't matter how old you are, and perhaps worse because I am older and more observant, it's heart-wrenching to see your parents cry. There was already some of that last night, and I have no doubt there will be more before I leave today.
All of this said, I do know this is where I need to be going and what I need to be doing. But I realize my journey is not going to be just one of learning new roads in a new town and a new job, but also it will be quite the adventure on the emotional front!
The reason is simple - a offer I couldn't refuse! I was offered a position with Merlin Media in New York City. For those non-radio folks. NYC is the #1 market. I am essentially jumping the ladder to the top rung. This is not the first time I have been offered a way to climb the ladder. I have gotten offers in LA, DC, Denver, Miami, etc... but those did not outweigh all the things I had where I was.
In Orlando I have worked with some of the kindest people ever! They are my other family. I love them dearly and it tugs at my heart to leave them as it does to leave my blood family and other friends here.
Speaking of which, here are a few pictures and some audio from this morning as I wrapped up my final day in the studio.
In honor of me and my pirate life, they all donned pirate garb!
Sports Director Tom Morgan outfitted me with my first piece of NY wear...a Yankees shirt
And the news family got me a beautiful bag to carry computers, pirate items and everything else I will need in The City.
There was also an audio send-off on the air with Bud Hedinger... Here's a link
And leaving was hard.... sometimes really hard as I had to pry Jenna off of my neck.....
But NYC and the people I will be working with at Merlin was an offer I had to jump at.
I will fill you in more on that later, but suffice it to say Merlin Media in my humble opinion it has been built on a set of creative, talented and visionary names. I can't tell you how honored I am to be offered to be a part of this brilliant group. More to come on that front as I settle in and get to work.
Right now, it's moving time. The truck is packed except for a few last minute things and I will be putting those in this afternoon. I am hitting the road tomorrow morning on a 24-hour trek to North Bergen, NJ to my new home.
