..The more time passes since I took this Trip the more I feel how enormously wild I've gone this time; and how strong God's support and blessings were. I would never be able to do it on my own.
I also want to express gratitude to people who encouraged and helped me to clear my idea and my plan to go to Florida. My Mother was always an enormous support to me during those days. Sasha was literary carrying me in his arms with his support and help. Vika was always giving me very good advices and encouragement. Tanya P. was praying for me, and I did feel it. Jakub Cerny whom I confessed my decision was also a big supporter and encouraged me. Lina and Vidmantas during my stay with them in Chicago have helped me greatly in actually realizing how much I want to go to Florida (no, Vidmantas, not to California, but to Florida, where I did not have a single friend, where there was a season of dangerous hurricanes at the time and where it was probably harder to get a job in design than in Calif). THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

So, let's proceed.
From the very beginning.
Last February I was completely frozen in Moscow. We had very cold winters during those past years while I was in Moscow, and almost no summer. you can not call by 'summer' something out there, when it's only 15C and rain, right?!! [A friend of mine is telling me, that it gets up to 25C or even 30C in summer in Moscow — but my impression of those last Moscow summers in regard the weather was the only one: COLD]. I thought it was weird, because for a girl being born in such a cold country as Russia, cold should become somehow a synonym to normality. Well, not it my case!! I was cold outdoors (when not skiing), I was cold indoors (while not taking hot shower), I was cold in the office, where Russian employees, fascinating by the newly installed conditioner, tried their way to get Americanized via over-conditioning the building. [Here my friend is saying again that I'm making a mockery of Russians, like they are some ancient tribe not knowing a thing about conditioners. I do wish Russians were unfamiliar to conditioners, because I do think conditioners are BAD — just the same way I think TV is BAD and cold is BAD — yes, there are some things I have difficulties to adjust myself to!! It's just the way I am.] [If you didn't get the point, it was that Russians are highly educated and intellectual people, not a tribe at all, and of course every Russian (especially in Moscow), who is older than 4 years old knows what a conditioner is, and even knows how the thing works (most of our people are highly skilled engineers and scientists!!), and the first word children learn to spell out in school is .. yes, you got it right — c o n d i t i o n e r, not the heater!! Just kidding]. [Do you feel intimidated by Russians now? You better be!!]
Anyway, this feeling of constant cold probably made me so lucky to set up my mind on saving money and planning to go to Florida to look for a job there. I planned to stay there for up to 4 months, and was determined to look for a job and get soaked in the sun and salty water of Atlantic ocean. At least, I thought, even if I don't get a job, I'll spend a wonderful 4 months vacation in a place so close to my dream destination. I've been to Florida once before, in 1999 or 98, and I could not forget the warmth of the ocean, sunny weather, alligators and wonderful birds there. So, I started saving money, working on my portfolio and resume, looking for the top advertising agencies in the region and getting the maps. One enormous map of Florida I sticked on the kitchen wall in the Moscow apartment. I also reread Main Reed's book about Oceola, for the sake of his description of 'Terra Florida' — always young and warm, with pine-trees growing aside with palms and indigo plants.

On September 5th I came to Chicago. I was staying with Lina, Vidmantas and their son Paulus in their house. Paulus is such a cute and great baby!! Now he is 1 year 1 month, walks and even runs around the place. I saw him when he was making his first attempts to walk by himself! I was very busy during my stay with Lina, getting up very early and looking for a reliable car. It was not easy to find a good one, believe me!! Vidmantas and Iris helped me greatly, when I almost bought a total wreck from a dealer (the car was in a crash, but I wouldn't be able to tell this— and the guys talked me out of buying it, for which I am very thankful!!). Finally, I've got toyota camry of my dreams (golden with a moon-roof) from a Russian couple living in the Northern suburbs of Chicago. I was so happy when I've got a car, that was unable to drive it, and was calming down in a near by park. It's very difficult to find a car when you have a limited time and want to go off as soon as possible.

Look at the photos!!:

photos > > > >PART I : Chicago, September 5-16 2004 > > > >

The reason I wanted to go off so fast was childish yet important to me — I wanted to spend my Birthday on 19th of September at the ocean. I always wanted to be at the ocean during my birthday, but somehow it never came true till this year. So, I was determined to get a car and drive to Florida as soon as I can. I still feel sorry I could not meet most of my friends in Chicago — Mei-Li, Kris, Jakub, Ernie, Samantha, David Chu, Masha and Artem (though we've met in Florida with them later!!). Please, do forgive me, I was very short in time..

I was driving straight for 2,5 days, and finally reached the ocean on the 19th. How happy I was!!
I went through Urbana-Champaign (Hey, Mei-Li!!), and also spent some 2 hours at Chattanooga — always wanted to visit this kind of Symbol of Jazz. I was staying in some near-highway motels during those nights, even though I had a tent with me all the time — the reason was that I was so tired of driving that could not think of anything but sleeping. And at Daytona Beach my motel was right on the ocean, but it won't sound so divine to you if I mention that it was a horrible wind there (due to the hurricane) -- I was afraid to go outdoors that night!!

Look at the photos!!:

photos > > > >PART II : Road to Miami, September 17-20 2004 > > > >

Driving to Miami the very next day was also a scary experience, because of the remains of the previous hurricane. There was heavy rain and wind, so much heavy that the cars were stopping on the highway. I did not have time in my schedule to stop and wait for the weather improvements, so I had to drive anyway. I was very scared and I was praying all the way while driving through that wall of water and wind, and it helped a lot. When I was entering the Miami area, the sky was partly cleaned up, so I felt happy and started to look for the campground where I was planning to put up my tent.
I was looking for a camping named 'Larry and Penny Campgrounds' — it was rather conveniently located (not in the city almost, but close to the major highways I-95 and Florida's Turnpike) and very cheap ($10 per night for a tent site, usually prices in Florida go up to $20 or even $40 per night for a tent site in Florida..). I've learned about this camp site from the internet while in Moscow, but somehow did not get directions (it seemed than, that I'd find it easily).
Finally when I found it, the office was closed already; so I even did not know where it was allowed to park and to put up a tent. I liked that campground a lot, it was in a small secluded park, and not packed with too many RVs. I was slowly driving around, thinking of where I am allowed to put up a tent, when I saw Danny — a nice middle-aged guy equipped with RV, bunch of rabbits, a wonderful dog named Hon-shine, and a big lazy toad from Hawaii inside the RV.
We talked for a while, and Danny told me, that he is camping with his daughter Meme and all of their animals, and that I could share their site, because maybe it would be safer and better for me for those first nights especially because it was nobody in the rental office already. I was happy to hear that — I was never camping alone before, and it felt good to start with lone-wolf-camping on somebody's site at first!! So, when Meme came back from her work (she was working in Miami in a Law firm, and Danny was picking her up from the train station), we put up my tent together in a minute. It was so great to feel safe and surrounded by friendly people, because before I was actually 'watching my back' all the time — it can be tough to be on your own, especially in the unknown places, you know!!

I stayed at Danny's site for two days, and than moved to the normal site designed for tents, where I stayed for one week or so.

During this week I was sending out letters with my portfolio samples, swimming in laguna, doing photoshoot for Danny who used to work as a music producer (he has a 'Golden Disc'!!) and needed a postcard to be designed for potential employers and working on Danny's postcard, learning more about Miami and the area and then — —
during that week I was also busy with evacuation!!
Another hurricane, Gene, was coming over to hit Florida, so all our campgrounds were evacuating. I did not even know where to go, thinking of either going to the shelter (but people told me I could bump into really unpleasant and even criminal people there!), or join Danny and Meme (but they were heading to the Keys, and I was thinking if hurricane changes the direction and hits the Keys — there is only one road US1 that connects those islands with the mainland, should feel very claustrophobic!!). Finally I ended up together with Masha, Artem and Jora, they came to Miami for vacations, who were also evacuating from their hotel in Miami Beach deeper into the mainland. We've spent rather scary but very vivid night in their hotel, and the very next day drove to the Keys (the hurricane had almost passed, but still the wind on the highway was crazy). It was such a joy to see the guys, not in Chicago but in Miami — isn't this life unpredictable?!!

After evacuation I returned to Miami area. I was driving around the city and soaking in the ocean in Miami beach, wondering if my trip was worth this city and that area. I didn't like Miami very much because the city had somehow artificial flare and taste, making attempts to look like an Important city, while in fact it is such a province!! (And I do love province, but not when its trying to make an impression of something different!!). Besides, most of the people spoke only spanish there, and it felt weird not mentioning the difficulties occurring while finding a road or some specific place around. The ocean in Miami was of course Great, and sunrises with sunsets too (I never saw sunsets as beautiful as they are in Florida, no matter that the sun does not go to the ocean (because it rises there!!), but during the sunset all colors change SO dramatically, and it truly looks and feels like in fairy-tale). But I wanted to move out of Miami. Too busy, too artificial and too alien for me (well, maybe it will change one day!!). I even did not feel like sending my resumes to Miami area agencies and design studios (besides, looking at most of their web sites I could feel how 'pop' and 'not-classy' their designs and conceptions were (sorry guys!!).

Look at the photos!!:

photos > > > >PART III : My stay in Miami > > > >

Finally I moved to Fort Lauderdale area, which seemed like something I could like. By that time I've got an interview with I-creatives — they are very nice head-hunters in All Creative jobs. The interview was held in some very cool hotel downtown Miami Beach (I am sorry, I do not have any space in my head for all fashionable places/things/people..!!). That was the first time I've got my best crazy stripped shirt (it has such a creative flare, just looks a bit crazy from the first glance!! I've got it in some cool store back in Moscow) from the big bag in the trunk of my car; and had to iron it in my campground's bathroom — felt like in the middle of disaster, but at the same time that ironing of the shirt for my first interview in that bathroom filled me with joy that I can do it no matter what!! I-creatives had some test for me to pass, and while driving there I was lazily remembering all similar (how I thought then) tests in those 3 major programs (Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and QuarkXPress) that I took in my life (not mentioning the tests that I was coming up with for my potential employees while working as an art director in Moscow) — so I was thinking, alright, another simple and plain test and then portfolio review — maybe it would be fun!! When I came into the room (a huge one) for the interview and saw all those men and women mostly in black suits passing test on numerous Macintosh Powerbooks, and stylish girl Anya from I-creatives (she was not Russian though, and was eyeing me up very strictly, probably because of my crazy shirt and (stylish) sport shoes (well, the pants were quite businesslike though!!) I've got kind of excited with what was going on there!! My excitement did not fool me — the test was Really smart and hard. Some people could not pass it and were leaving, apologizing to Anya. I finished 3 minutes before my 1 hour for the test expired (and, let me mention just for the fun of it, I was using the very small not-standard mouse from PC, because I was a bit late, and all normal work-stations were taken). Anyway, then we had to wait for the results of the test and for the portfolio review. When I entered the room again (after having some good coffee and soup in the near-by place), Anya welcomed me quite different!! She told me, that I passed through the test better than anybody from today's group — how about it?!! She seemed to like my portfolio a lot, and finally told me that I could place the best pieces from my portfolio to their web-site, where they make personal pages for the best designers. I did not do it yet unfortunately, because the very next day I had another interview with BRPH Architects, and than with Cross Country Medical stuffing firm, and than finally with JKG Group. I passed three interviews, and got 3 offers of jobs. I picked the best one and got a job in a middle-size design and production studio JKG (Solnex Design) — have a look at JKG new web site JKGgroup.com. JKG Group works with many clients, and one brochure that that company designed was about "Sinelapie Ogushi" from Galapagos islands (yes, those birds from Kurt Vonnegut book with blue feet) one look at which made me immediately excited about their job offer. JKG has its own printing facilities, which is great too.

My job search deserves much much longer description and I hope to write about it in more detail later. I-creatives agency is still calling me from time to time to offer me this or that job, and I am thankful for those guys that make me feel so great every time I get in touch with them!!

Please, let me know what you think about my photos, and if one of my fellow-friends designers wants to have a high-rez version of any of those — please don't hesitate to write me about it, I'd be glad to send it to you!!

Enjoy!!

photos > > > >PART I : Chicago, September 5-16 2004 > > > >

photos > > > >PART II : Road to Miami, September 17-20 2004 > > > >

photos > > > >PART III : Stay in Miami > > > >

photos > > > >PART IV : Florida Keys > > > >

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