moving, part 3: chronicles of a professional job seeker in new york city

New York City is dirty.

Like really gritty. Like watch out for puddles because you don't know what unidentified liquids have formed pools in the street. Or walk through town breathing out of your mouth because you don't want to accidentally inhale any foul smells. You want to walk carefully and keep your eyes peeled around large piles of trash or on the subway platform, because you never know when a cat-sized rat will practice its slow-scurry at your feet.

This city is dirty. And I never realized it until I came back from Iowa.

The most common question I get nowadays is Do you miss Iowa? There must be something you miss about Iowa! Well I can tell you that there are only five things I miss about Iowa:

1. dancing all day, every day
   
2. $5 cocktails
3. my lovely 1 bedroom apartment
4. my friends
5. bunny rabbits

Yes, bunny rabbits. The same way we see the rats rampantly scurrying about the city streets, Iowa City is riddled with bunny rabbits. Cute little gray cotton tailed bunnies. Big ones and small ones hopping around, winter and spring.

And with all the quaint peacefulness and cuteness loads of bunnies bring to Iowa City, I couldn't be more at home and more at peace than in this dingy metropolis. Going out, meeting people, seeing dance & dancing, being with loved ones and finding myself on some adventure on a grand scale is what keeps me enthralled with this city. And so it goes with my current endeavor...

The first Monday I was in town I woke up to start looking for a job at 9 am. Since I didn't have anything that paid me, I was going to go to work like I did until I found something. I have been on the phone, on email, on coffee date after lunch date after performance in hopes of kindling old and new connections that might lead me somewhere, anywhere, to working within the dance field.

My immediate goals are these: To be able to pay the rent and have health insurance with a flexible job (or set of jobs), that will have me preferably teaching, performing and/or administrating. That's the 1 year plan. Once I get settled with work, find a place to live and generally set up an independent life for myself in this city, I can start moving toward more creating and presenting my work. That's the 2 year plan.

I know I'm asking a lot, but when have I ever not asked a lot of myself or anyone else?

So, if I haven't contacted you yet for coffee, no worries, I will! I've got a lot of work to do to accomplish my goals, and I can't do it without YOUR help.

The fact of the matter is I love dancing. I love this city. And despite the gritty process of satisfactorily melding the two together, I'm here until I do.