Adulting// 10-Year Anniversary

I marked my calendar last month for August 27th, my 10-year anniversary from when I first started working at Purdue University on 8/27/07.

At the time, I was in the Business Services Staff Development Program, which was essentially a management trainee program. I worked for a "cluster" of departments, including Engagement, Discovery Park, Continuing Education and Conferences, and the Office of the Vice President for Research, which was my primary assignment and where my direct supervisor was based.

The summer preceding my first full-time job had been a bit of a whirlwind.  I graduated with honors from the Purdue Calumet regional campus where I had majored in Business Management with a minor in Psychology. Near the end of my final semester, I received an email about the Executive Vice President and Treasurer's Internship Program, which featured several intern opportunities at the main campus in West Lafayette. Up until then, I figured I'd be looking to start my career by finding a company in neighboring Chicago.  As I submitted the internship application, I was now looking at the possibility of moving 100 miles away, an hour and a half south.

I initially had a phone interview, and I remember sitting in my steamy bedroom at my parents' house, literally stripping off layers of clothing as I spoke with the interviewer. LOL, TMI, I know; it was hot, and I was nervous! I ended up driving down for an in-person interview as well [don't worry; I kept my clothes on this time], and I was offered the position in Internal Audit while I was on-site. Now there was the flurry of finding a place to live in a new and unfamiliar city, while of course I decided to squeeze in a quick vacation AKA the shortest trip to New York ever.

Oh, how I wish I had a better camera at the time

Anyways, I came home from my hardly a vacation, packed, and then moved into the most depressing studio apartment.

While depressing, these photos don't quite capture how depressing it truly was

Thankfully, the internship provided a moving and housing allowance, so I came out ahead. As the summer drew to a close, I was then hired into the aforementioned Business Services program. There was no way I was staying in this studio, so I started searching for a one-bedroom apartment. Did I find the best place ever? No, but it was sizable and affordable. A good location. And even though I dutifully scoped out the rental market every time my lease came up for renewal, I ended up staying in the same apartment from August 2007 - May 2013. Nearly 6 years!

It was just me and Travyss for a while. We lived alone for 7 months until...

My handsome Travyss

I got married. Well, actually, Travyss and I still lived alone for a while after that because Francisco and I had one of the strangest relationships ever when we first began our marriage. That's its own story, but suffice it to say, it was strange.

We grew on each other though, and each year has been better than the last.  I think by November 2008, Francisco had officially moved in, so it was maybe a year of solo living.

I had since completed the Business Services program, and I was the official Business Manager of the Office of the Vice President for Research.  In 2009, I decided to start pursuing my MBA, ending up at Regis University. The graduation ceremony was in Denver, so my mom and I flew out to attend in May 2011.

Francisco would have come along, but he was busy with his own school responsibilities since he'd decided to go back and finish his Electrical Engineering Technology degree at Purdue.

#MotherDaughterTrip

In the winter of 2012, Francisco graduated and began the slow job application process.

He was finally offered a Building Systems Group Engineer position at Messer Construction Co in Cincinnati, and we moved here in May 2013. I transitioned from a Business Manager in higher education to a Business Manager in healthcare. Same title, very different environment and atmosphere. We've had one move within the city due to some of the worst possible circumstances, but we've now called the condo we live at home for over three years (since June 2014).

Our condo, in its full empty glory

Here's the thing. You can reduce 10 years down to a blog post and touch on the highlights of the past decade, but so much has happened in the past 10 years. We've explored the world together, experienced a fair amount of loss, adopted two kitties into our lives, moved to a new and unfamiliar city, earned new degrees, and we continue to learn about life and the unknown with each new experience.

It's been 10 years of solid adulting. To be fair, I was the type of kid who budgeted my report card money and made my own homemade cleaning spray in middle school. Adulthood should have been a natural transition, and I'd say it largely was.  It hasn't been without its hiccups though, and there's been plenty of "if I only knew then what I know now" moments. We're still learning. Something you learn fast as an adult is no one has it all figured out.  You give it your best and try to find your happiness. [Clearly, I still have room for adulting improvement given that I intended to have this posted two days ago so it would only be one month late, but eh, such is life.  ❥]