Merry Friendmas

Moving to a new state is hard enough. Especially if you lived only in one high pace expensive state all your life. Relocating from the east coast to the Midwest was a sense of unknown. Plus, not knowing one single person added to the anxiety. I left my family and my close friends to a state of brand new expectations and anticipations only to find a new family and my second home. 

I am unbelievably lucky to have gotten the opportunity to meet some fantastic people. My GP crew is not only extremely welcoming, but the absolute definition of friendly. 

Anita, Adria, Stephanie, Ayanna, Kaley, Sara, Arinne, Genevieve, Janelle, Aimee and Mary- thank you for being so welcoming, helping me feel comfortable and accepting me in your lives. You all have made my transition easier and for that I am very grateful!  

It also helps that they love to have fun!  YOLO! 

This is Christmas season at the mall?

Jim and I had to go to the mall to pick up a few decorations for Christmas and to shop a little for presents. We were dreading it since we are born and raised New Jersians. Home of the malls, awful jammed parking lots, crazy drivers, and mothers who are dilerious and run over your feet with their strollers filled with their  12 kids. 

We ate first making sure we had enough protein and energy to get us through this ordeal. We pull up to the mall and at first we thought it was closed. Where were the cops directing traffic?  Where was the blinking traffic lights?  Where were the cones to block exits and entrances?  Screw that, where were the cars?  We pulled into the main mall entrance to the second spot. And no, I didn't need to wait in line or follow a shopper to their car to get that spot. It literally was open. Along with the thousand of other parking spots. We walked in the mall and on the loud speaker an employee paged another employee. "Mike, dial 8632".  This shouldn't be too difficult to identify the "Mike" since there was only about 10 people in the department store. And 3 of them were named Jim, Danielle and Craig. 

Jim and I walked into the main section of the mall. There were no screaming kids, no lines going out the door, no pushing, no shoving, no people. We were in awe. Jim and I kept saying, "Can you imagine Garden State Plaza today, 3 days after Black Friday?"  It would be a zoo. This mall was like a spa retreat. I am not sure if this calmness is because today is Cyber Monday, or if this is how it normally is?  Either way I am stoked!  Just from my past experience, when someone told me the mall was crowded, it didn't even compare to the Livingston Mall right before 10 pm. That is even more crowded!  

Don't believe me, today I did something so stupid and unlike me. You see, when I left my car to go into the mall, I absolutely forgot to close my door. 2 hours later we returned only for me to find my door wide open and NOTHING taken. Not my Vogue sunglasses, not the bags in the trunk, not my Michael Kors jacket, or my headphones. Only in Wisconsin!  

These are snow showers?

Ok. The frozen tundra has received its first snowfall. Apparently, NJ's definition of snow showers is different than Wiscconsin's definition. Yesterday's forecast predicted for today snow showers and a high of 14. I spent all my attention at how freaken cold it was going to be and made little effort at worrying towards the "snow showers". From my experience in NJ, snow showers is something that lasts for a bit and causes a dusting on the road. Well, according to the weather people here, snow showers means atleast 2 inches of snow on the ground and snow that lasts for majority of the morning and the commute home!  

We didn't get a lot of snow, however I am extremely shocked at how shitty the WI drivers were in the "snow". It took me 55 minutes to get to work when it normally takes me 20. I saw one Toyota stuck at a roundabout and 2 separate cars in 2 different locations crashed in a ditch off the highway. Plus, no one plowed the highways. The local roads were 10 times better than the major highways were. Again, opposite of what I am use to. 

Hmm.. It can't be true that NJ drivers are better in the snow than WI drivers....can it?  Apparently after talking to Wisconsinities, it takes a few snow falls for drivers to be accustomed to the conditions!  Man... This is going to be a long winter. 

Plus, it's already -5 degrees with a wind chill and it's only Novemeber. Anyone up for the Caribbean?  

First official game of pong

So yesterday Jim and I were not able to attend our very good friend Kerry's birthday celebration. So in honor of her, we decided to throw a one on one pong party in our new house. It was time for our house to lose its virginty. 

Jim and I scoped out our house for the ultimate place to put the pong table.  We need to prep...only 51 days till we get some NJ visitors!!!  We settled in the man cave. 

Started off our 7 game playoff with a classic epic song "The Final Countdown" by Europe. And it ended with me crying because I lost. All games were close, but the The General came out victorious over Jersey D-Wow. This calls for a rematch....

This poor house has NO idea!  

"Giant" "Leaps" for "Jet" trends

As most of you know, Jim bought me tickets for the Packers vs Panthers game at Lambeau Field last week. Happy Birthday to me!  Right?  Besides the schalacking the Packers gave to "Superman" and his team, some of the best parts of the day was experiencing the field itself. 

Born and raised in NJ, I will always be a Jets and Yankee fan. Yankee stadium is iconic and MetLife stadium with the view of the Manhattan skyline is a great home for both the Jets and the Giants. But these 2 fields have gigantic differences. 

Some differences noticed (in no particular order) 

- Both stadiums need to have a parking permit for season ticket holders.  However, to park at a lot or neighbors yard close to the stadium in Greenbay goes as high as $20.00. As opposed to East Rutherford where you're looking at atleast $40.00 bucks. And good luck parking outside a stadium and having your car safe or un damaged from the trucks driving past looking for the turnpike. 

- Yes, people in Greenbay rent out their lawn for game watchers to park your car and tailgate. Pretty sweet deal!  

- Greenbay is a residential area and then BOOM, this epic old school stadium is smack in the middle of pleasentville. A far cry from the RT4, RT17 and the in flight route of both Newark and Teterboro. 

- Beer is $7.50 at Greenbay.  Enough said 

- Lambeau Field reminds me of an awesome high school stadium. The inside seatings are metal benches with spray paint numbers on them. Keeping in mind that the space in between the seats is barely enough for my butt to sit in. Needless to say, you get very close and personal to your neighbors. You can rent a "bench chair" that has slight cushion and a back, but majority of the people just sit on a blanket to avoid the cold bench. 

- Lambeau Field as I mentioned is like an upscale high school football field. There is no distance boundaries from the first row to the field. You literally could touch a player on the sideline. On the other hand, MetLife stadium has those preventative distances from the field and the seats.  A side note too - the walls for the Lambeu Leap on TV seem extremely tall to me. However, in person the wall is probably only 6 inches taller then me!  Do you know how hard it was to stay in my seat and not try to the leap?  Now seeing it for myself, it's doable!  

- Fans and food. During the game no one  really ate or even drank. It was more of the fans watching and understanding the game. It wasn't what I normally experienced where every 2 seconds you have to get up to let someone out to pee or get food. Instead, you were in a trance watching your team and the sport you love. It was my favorite part of the whole experience. It was nice sitting next to girls who knew what was going on and were true sports fans rather than some I have been around that buy the jersey or go to the game because their boyfriend or family like the tradition or they think the player is cute. This was legitimate interest!  MetLife stadium has this too, but I have to emphasize that very little concession workers came to sell food/drinks. And if they did they just held the product up. (And also understand that I know some of my friends out there do love sports and their team. Not trying to offend those who are true sports lovers)

- Inside Lambeau Field reminds me of Camden Yards with the Baltimore Orioles. Slightly industrial, all open and very cool. 

- MetLife stadium is pretty nice in my opinion. Besides being new, it's comfortable, your views are good wherever you sit, it's clean, and pretty awesome to house 2 NY football teams. 

- Lambeau Field has no glitz or glamour. The grass is a faded green, the "jumbo- tron is not so jumbo, and the announcing system does sound like it is a high school game. However, the fans, the spectators, the players all don't seem to care or need those flashy items. They simply need their RODGERS, their Lambeau Leap and their football. 

AMAZEBALL FRIENDS!

There were many factors that made the decision to move to WI very difficult.  Family, Mondelez family, NY/NJ area, and last but certainly not least, our friends.  As Jim is settling into WI life, and I am adjusting 4 weeks in, we received today a great gift from our Jersey friends: a video tribute to us, our new adventure and our future!  I have missed NJ very much, but today, I truly remembered one of the many specific reasons why it is so wonderful.....  Jim and I would like to take this opportunity and express great love and thanks to our friends.  We love you all so much and know that even though a new chapter is starting in our lives, the best plot we have ever experienced was with you guys!

Here's to many more great memories, laughs and beer pong events!  Hope to see everyone soon, either in WI or good old NJ!!!

Special shout out to Arnel!  XOXOXO  DARKNESS!  

In the words of Green Day:

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right,
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos and memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right,
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right,
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right,
I hope you had the time of your life.  

For those who would like to view the video: 

http://youtu.be/M8bHMb4wwRg

It's not delivery, it's DiGiorno!

Now that I am getting settled into the house, delivery people and installers are coming around the clock. This is absolutely not Jersey. The delivery and installers work on weekends (without an extra fee). Their window of time is similar (maybe 4 hours), however they show up at the early side. They tend to give a 9-noon window and poof they are at the front door at 9:30 am. They call you 30 minutes prior to showing up. They have interesting and engaging conversations with you. They genuinely act surprised when you give them a tip for their service. You know, instead of the normal way where they tend to not leave until you pay them extra for a mediocre job all while they look at the amount you gave them. This ending with the Jersey installers usually leaving in a pissed off state since they felt their tip should be 100% of the bill. But the ultimate shock of these installations is that EVERY person who came to deliver and install a new appliance or equipment took their shoes off or put on and took off booties at the door!  I was absolutely shocked and impressed. In Jersey, mud would be throughout the house along with the cigarette butts they smoked outside on your porch. Incredible. 

Also to boot, Jim ordered a ton of stuff to be delivered to WI. I was on a business trip in NC all week. I came home to find over 12 large and small boxes on my (non-enclosed) porch. Including a 50 inch LG LED television. Who in their right mind would leave a brand new TV on a porch for 3 days unattended?  No one in Jersey that's for sure!  

So this is traffic?

Today I travelled my normal route to work. Rocking out to some Chicago, still trying to figure out Jim's car, and absolutely still confused that the signs say "Green Bay" vs. "New York".  I got on  the highway and accelerated to a nice 65 mph. And Boom!  Brake lights!  Holy crap, traffic does exist. It wasn't a dead stop like rt 80 or the GWB. And it was no where near as bad as the dreaded exit 7 on the turnpike. However, the lights were red and cars were going slower than normal. People got off the exits as fast as possible. I decided to stick with the highway and see how terrible it really was. 5 minutes later everything opened up. Why might you ask?  The reason for the "traffic" was the state trooper driving in the right lane. lol. 

Now I know this state will have its fair share of traffic, but I will take this over NJ/NY typical state trooper/construction/accident/rain/sun/ don't know how to drive traffic any day!!! 

So you think you can drink?

Growing up by the New York/metropolitan area, a drink could cost as high as 15.00 bucks for a shitty mixology. For a long time I was worried I was hurting my liver. Not that I drink a lot, but you always worry what you are putting into your body. However, here what almost killed me, was a heart attack. Happy hour prices are AMAZEBALLS. That's simply because the prices to begin with are very inexpensive. Maybe that's why every person in Wisconsin seems to be professional drinkers!  So you think you can drink?  I seriously challenge you to drink with a Wisconsinite. It won't end well for you. I promise. 

This whole weekend (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) a bunch of people celebrated my coworker and new found friend Anita's birthday. There were many drinks, tons of laughs, a sick amount of dancing, youngens everywhere, memories that were had, and a bunch of bar hopping. Sure this brought me back to my college years (epic- miss my ladies)  but it also made me realize that you are only as old as you feel. Why the hell not try multiple bars?  Why the hell not try new foods and restaurants?  Why the hell not start your night at 9pm?  And why the hell not show those twenty year old college students who owns the dance floor?  

Sometimes life takes some side roads!  This past weekend mine travelled up and down college avenue!  

What's my password?

I have been in my new role at Georgia Pacific for one week already. I can't believe how time flies. It feels like yesterday I was crying in front of my boss and friend Michelle giving her my 2 weeks. And now BOOM!  I already got paid and got my signing bonus!  

I can't help but compare the two companies side by side. I am extremely grateful for everything Mondelez provided for me. I got to see the world. I created some delicious confections and I was able to meet my second family. In my new Research Scientist role, I am able to create, innovate, and develop a new consumer brand from scratch.  It might not be food, but it is still pretty interesting and less fattening. 

Some key things I have noticed with my first week: 

- I keep putting in my old password from Mondelez into my computer.

- Not only do I have an office, my office is in a high traffic area where people tend  to stop and have a conversation. It's like a bigger version of my Mondelez cube. 

- I was told I need to vacuum my own office and if I need my garbage to be thrown out, I need to put my garbage can outside. I guess my office will be spotless. Unlike in the past where my cube had a Halls melted into the carpet next to the crumbs from the snacks that was never picked up from the cleaning crew. 

- No free coffee at GP!  That's ok. We can have coffee pots in our office. One whole pot I coffee just for me! 

- People know that I stock my shelves with snacks!  But now people knock on my door for some Oreos instead of just walking into the area and taking what they want. Give it time though. 

- Colleagues book flights the day before a meeting. Lol. This isn't the Mondelez travel policy. Hahahaha

- International flights?  If you consider Atlanta international!  Lol. 

- Chaos!  Guess things never change!  

Wisconsin's definition of delicious!

My friends all know I have a slight addiction to coffee and diet Mt Dew. While many people love coffee, I never really met another female who loves the diet dew as much as I do... Until now!  Just about every female I see in the cafeteria drinks the dew and has more than 1 during lunch. I am HOME! 

I do however notice that in Wisconsin, everything has cheese on it. And yes, I know the state is known for cheese and dairy, but please tell me why melted cheese needs to be on top of chicken dumplings?  Apparently, cheese and butter is a what a badger constitutes delicious. The dairy state in my opinion got one out of two necessities right!  

It is a nice, refreshing sight to see people not afraid to eat. I am actually the one getting the weird looks by brining in a lean cuisine. It is only a matter of time before someone asks me "Are you going to put cheese on that?"

A day of firsts!

Today was my first day at Georgia Pacific  and the first anniversary my mom had to celebrate without the love of her life. 

My excitement felt like it was Christmas morning, but with a heavy heart as well. I knew mom would be strong today, but undoubtfully sad and I knew she would be upset if she realized I was worrying more about her than my new chapter. So, today I dedicated my first day to my mom and dad - the two people I look up to the most. With that, I seriously dove head first into the unknown. In the end, I can honestly say I made a magnificent splash!  

Leaving my family was the hardest decision I had to make, especially on days like this, but today's accomplishments, encouragement and excitement was reassurance that I made the right decision. GP is a great company and my job is pretty much as amazing as it can get. For a Research Innovation Scientist, I couldn't as for much more....Maybe and office?  Yep!  Got it!  Ok, maybe there is more!  More fantastic opportunities ahead of me!  

For all those out there, if an opportunity presents itself and it is something appealing, don't be afraid of the what ifs. Just be afraid of not saying why not. 

Dad taught me a lot when he was alive and with his passing it taught me that life is too short. Make the most of every second. I am glad I did. 

Happy anniversary mom and dad. 

My first week findings

Well, it has been about one week since I have relocated to the Midwest, and though I will always be true Jersey, there are some fantastic attributes the Midwest gives you. I can't say that I am relaxed or moving at a slower pace. The complete opposite actually. I was at Walmart today and I literally heard the woman say to her husband "She looks unfriendly and in a hurry!"  NO LADY!  I am not in a hurry, you are just slow as molasses. And I am friendly, but after I said hi to the first 49 people at Walmart who said hi to me, I am a little tired and still have shopping to do. So excuse me if I don't look directly at you, smile, tell you to have a wonderful day and then proceed to tell your 15 kids the same thing. Instead, please get out of my way, comb your kids hair and let me shop. If that happened, I might just go out of my way and say a general how are you to you and your football team. 

Ok, enough bitching. The NY/NJ will never leave me, and I know the locals realize this. I do stick out, but the Wisconsonites are welcoming so that is encouraging. I will try to relax a bit, but all I can do is promise to try. I can't guarantee I will try hard or even for a long time, but I will try. Lol. 

So after a week, here are some insights I observed regarding the Midwest/Wisconsin

#1 Nicest People

There are some really nice people here. Workers, strangers, neighbors. Just extremely outgoing, thoughtful and obnoxiously sweet. It is a little unnerving. I really don't know what to do with myself. Don't get me wrong, I too am outgoing and cautious of other people around me, but the people here are just too much. I have not met one sales person who has not crossed the line of compulsive niceness. It is almost to the point where I have to turn to the sales person and politely ask them to stop following me and telling me about their life story. It makes me feel extremely awkward. I make eye contact, I say good morning and then I simply state what I am looking for. Case closed. I don't need to know about your car trouble, what you had for lunch or if your kid should get braces. (I am not making this up!)

#2. Driving 

Going 5 miles over the speed limit, I noticed I am flying past people in the left lane. The drivers here pay more attention to the minimum speed limit posting then the max. However, I can see why they drive slow. Apparently Wisconsin hasn't heard of street or highway lights. But what Wisconsin does have an abundant amount of? -  ROUNDABOUTS!  Good grief!  These are not like a typical circle. No, these roundabouts are mazes!  Plus, I am already over pumping my own gas. 

#3 Cheap Beer 

There is beer everywhere and it is inexpensive. Everyone in NJ who thinks you can drink, has not hung out at a Wisconsin bar. It is pretty AMAZEBALLS. But the coolest thing ever???... A thirty pack is about $11.00 dollars cheaper here. Actually, just about everything is cheaper here. 

#4 "Warm" front 

When I went to South Africa, I was the one telling the locals that their winter was mild and the upper 30's wasn't frigid. Now I am the girl who needs to get talked to. Wisconsin last week hit an ideal temperature of 73. Girls are walking around in tanks and shorts. However, my blue fingernails and goose bumps are making me wear North Face attire and pants. I am screwed. 

#5 Dunkin Donuts

A couple days ago, I went to a DD. So excited that these delicious chain coffee suppliers are located in my area. Currently, the DD to my temp living is 2 minutes away. As I placed my first Wisconsin DD order, I was literally drooling and emotionally excited. I asked for a pumpkin flavored hot medium "CAUWFEE" with a little skim milk. Then, the lady asked me "How many pumps?" Jim and I stood there with a blank look. I simply said "I'm sorry!  What did you say?"  She then asked me again, ".How many pumps?" Still with a confused look on my face, all I kept thinking about was fistpumping!  Was she making fun of my accent?  Nope. She was referring to how many pumps of skim milk I wanted in my coffee. Um.. 1 I guess?  How about this? You call Malum from the Hasbrouck Heights DD, and he will tell you how D drinks her coffee!  

This was my first 5 days of observations and encounters. This should be an interesting relocation and blog!  

Road trips are awesome.. For the most part

Jim and I decided to take 2 days to drive up to our new home. We drove one day to Sandusky, Ohio where we originally was going to have some significant fun at Cedar Point and then see the newest member to the Tsao family. Well, unfortunately Cedar Point is closed on the weekdays since the summer is over (though summer really still has about 2 weeks left). So scratch Cedar Point!  Let's now have dinner at a local restaurant with the cousins and the baby. Well, majority of the restaurants in downtown Sandusky were closed since it was Labor Day. At this point, all I kept thinking was that I was happy to see Lee, Wendy and baby Sebastian. Who needs food?  In any event, we did find food and also had ice cream with a small serving representing the size of a baby bear! It was delicious, but Midwest serving sizes are a little confusing. A kids size should not be a medium!  Lol.

Speaking of sizes, driving up to Appleton, we noticed a significant amount of triple tractor trailers. Those trucks are huge and haul ass!  We "spied" 36 out of 50 state license plates, made fun of many city names especially in PA. I mean come on - PA just adds ville to anything. (Ex. Limestoneville, Lordville, White4doorfordfusionville j/k). Also, Ohio, are you serious with Fangboner?  Lol!

While driving, we also noticed that the term EZ - PASS changed to I - PASS.  Both Jim and I were hoping that the two were transferable.  They were, but that would have been a huge ordeal since majority of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin's E-Z pass lanes still have gates.  There is no drive through at 15 MPH.  Instead, you pull up and wait 15 seconds for the gate to open after your ez-pass has been accepted.  Could you imagine that on the Turnpike or Parkway?  It is bad enough with traffic as is.

All in all we had a good trip.  There was little to no traffic and a very easy drive to say the least.  We went through major cities, farm land and lots of nothing.  Jim only had one moment of pure NJ hit him and that was in Chicago.  Other than that, we stayed calm, tried to just go with the flow and drove as CLOSE to the speed limit as possible.  

But you hate the cold and cheese?????

Hello everyone.  Welcome to the new chapter in my life.  For those who do not know, I decided to start a new path, a new direction, and a new challenge.  I quit my job at Mondelez and proceeded to accept another job at Georgia Pacific.

New direction #1 - Georgia Pacific is not a food company.   I have been doing Food Science for the last 8 years, but I decided to grow my knowledge and portfolio more to the household consumer goods category.

New direction #2 - GP is a dominate lumber company.  However, they are also very large with automatic paper and sanitizer dispensers along with producing brands like Brawny, Angel Soft and Dixie paper products.  (P.S. I know nothing about paper)

New directions #3 - My job will be dominantly innovation and development.  At Mondelez, I was a product developer, however the limitations were high.  For GP, you tell me what works and what doesn't with your household products, and I will be the girl who will create a better version!  

New direction #4 - Did I mention that the job is located in Wisconsin?

Yep, this born and raised Jersey girl is moving her shore loving, traffic hating, weird accent, no patience booty to the Midwest.  Oh, Jim and the three cats are following as well.  So picture this:  a feisty Italian/German Jersey girl will now be part of the blonde hair, blue eyed, cold loving, cheese eating state of Wisconsin.  The reality is simple, I will stand out like yellow pee does in white snow. And if I stand out, what the heck will poor Jim look like?  And forget about looks, the minute I ask for a cup of coffee or water, people will know I am not from their area.

The truth of the matter is, this opportunity,  not only work related, but socially and residentially, was something needed in my life as well as Jim's.  I am lucky to have my great family and friends (who I will deeply miss) to support this decision to move.  It will be an adventure in its own right, and that is why I decided to blog about it.

The journey will begin this week, and to set the mood for all of you following, please imagine the song "Holiday Road" from National Lampoons Vacation.  That pretty much sets up the tone for this new chapter towards the road to discovery!

More to come...and I will always remember to "KEEP CALM, I'M FROM, and LOVE NEW JERSEY!"