BFF, Anyone?

One of my biggest challenges right now is finding a friend in Duluth. When I moved to Minneapolis, I was 1 year out of college, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I had no trouble showing up to random social events by myself and introducing myself to people. In fact, it's how I met most of my friends I have in the Twin Cities. I had no shame....I put together a kickball team, 1/2 of which was made up of Craig's List friends. I didn't care - as long as they were normal(and not going to plot my murder), it was great.
Once I had my crew, I was content. After a few years of developing a solid girlfriend base, I focused much of my attention on dating. Which, of course, led me to the shores of Lake Superior.
Making friends here as been difficult. I am rarely in town on the weekends. I work in a job that is mostly men. I'm used to having a crew of HR people around me, so venting about work was much easier. At this point - I'm stuck. I know I can be outgoing and social - but have I lost my edge now that I'm 'coupled' up? I'm reading "MWF Seeks BFF" and I'm starting to feel that fire I felt years ago when I moved to the Twin Cities. The book is inspiring and full of friendship factoids. The author touches on the importance of having a strong social network. I've got great, awesome friends - just not on the North Shore. One needs to have friends outside of the relationship - I don't want to lose myself now that I'm with someone. The book has prompted me to sign up for a cooking class....here's hoping to meeting one girl that could be my new bestie!

It's the Journey, Not the Destination....Right?!

My title post for my first entry is fitting. I have been telling myself that over the past five months. I decided in November 2011 to quit the large company Human Resources gig for a job on the shores of Lake Superior, aka, Duluth, MN. Why, you ask, did I leave my fabulous Uptown lifestyle? A boy, of course. Love or career? It wasn't a tough choice at my age of 31. It was time for something different. It was time to take a risk.

I lived and worked in Minneapolis for seven years. I moved there knowing only two people. I was a social butterfly the first few years. I'd show up at happy hours or other social club events not knowing anyone. I found some of my best "Minni-apple" friends a girl could ask for by forcing myself out of my comfort zone. I online dated like it was going out of style(which will also make for some funny future blog posts!). I traveled and experienced riding a camel in Morocco. I did the Inca Trail in Peru and didn't shower for four days! Yes, I know. Insanely cool. And yes....I smelled by day four.

Then, I met someone. Someone that was different from all the other zillion men I had gone out with over the years. We both discovered our passion for football(too bad he's still a Bears fan and I'm still a Packer fan!). I went on a cooking and baking frenzy one can only compare to 'nesting mode' just to impress him.  I, of course, was a smitten kitten. I introduced him to the crew and all were just as smitten. My mother squeezed his cheek the first time she met him. What was not to love?

One catch. He lived five hours away. ahhhh, the tragedy of it all. How would we make it work? The long distance thing was really getting to me. I wanted to be with him and I didn't care how. So, the next logical step was to look for jobs in Duluth....I mean, how different could it be? It's only two hours from the Cities. It's probably a mini-version of the Twin Cities....