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It's official. I can not, in any way, stand the South. It is just not for me. Perhaps it is wrong to generalize, maybe there are parts of the South I'd enjoy living in. If there are, Myrtle beach certainly is not one of those parts. For one thing, this notion of "Southern Hospitality" is the biggest crock I've ever heard. I've gathered that there are those in the South who see us "Yankees" as a bunch of good-for-nothing liberals who use their welfare money to go to gay clubs and abortion clinics for kicks. Southerners have commented on how mean or rude Phildelphians are. I'm sick of it. Southern hospitality is a joke. All it is is that, as Kathryn noted, Southerners are good at making eye contact and initial greetings. After that, there's much to be desired. I have worked in tourism for the past seven years both in Philly and Orlando, and never have I encountered such unpleasant and rude people.

Aside from the general demeanor of the locals, I'm tired of working in tourism. I think I've swallowed a lot of pride recently with school, job hunting, etc. To have to go into work in a cheap uniform everyday and pander to the guests is getting old. This is the same type of job I had throughout high school and college. I want a career now.

So where to next? Ideally, New York. I wanted a break from city life, and I got it. After a month, I'm ready for a city again. As I've said before, I'm a fan of the Bay Ridge neighborhood in Brooklyn where Abby's friend Kara lives. It's a nice area and convenient to everything by the subway. However, getting a job that would pay NY rent and my loan bills is unlikely. I'm still going to look though.

If that doesn't work out, there is a good chance of Abby and I ending up in the Pittsburgh area. There's a school district there that has shown interest in her and would have to be a shit-shoveling factory to be anything but a step up from where she is now. I don't know what I'd do for a job there, but I have looked into opportunities to learn all of the things I wasn't taught at Temple in order to make me a more marketable candidate in the field.

Even with these ideas in place, there is also a good chance I won't be able to afford any of it. I'm expecting about $900 a month of loan payments once June rolls around. I can't think of any job I could get that would pay for that in addition to rent, utilities, and move-in costs. So maybe come summer I'll be swallowing even more pride and moving back in with my parents.

Regardless of where I am in a few months, the bottom line is this. People need to come visit while we still live less than a mile from the beach! We'd love to have a few familiar faces around and it would be fun to hang out here or in Charleston. So come on down.