Saturday night I left San Francisco, my home for nearly 4 years, to fly to Florida for rehearsals.  The last week in SF was bittersweet.  I had tons of fun, spending as much time as possible with friends, but also had a lot of work to do!

Luggage for the cruise

Packing my life into a storage unit was difficult!  It was also really hard to decide what I will need in the next 8 months.  I only can have 2 suitcases with me, so I had to leave many things behind.  All of my other things are strategically arranged in a 7″x10″ unit in San Francisco.  My movers arrived early Thursday morning, so I hadn’t actually finished packing yet!  They worked at lightning speed, so I left some nick nacks to deal with later.  They had everything else moved out and into the unit in just 2 hours!  The following day I finished boxing things up, rented a ZipVan for 3 hours, and with the help of some amazing friends, finished moving into the unit just in time.

Storage unit

I wanted to see as many people as possible, so in addition to a going away party planned by 2 of my girls, I had an endless stream of coffee dates, out of town visitors, and my weekly kickball mess.  It was a lot of fun, but there were still many people I wanted to see and spend more time with.  I’ve never been good with goodbyes, so leaving is always a challenge!

Socializing in SF… Sangria!

My new “crew” has helped ease the transition!  I’m living in a 3 bedroom apartment with 5 other girls!  There are 7 girls and 6 boys in my cast, and we are already living in pretty close quarters.  The other dancers/singers have come from all over the world… Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Canada.  I am one of 2 new hires, so I feel lucky to be part of such an experienced group!  The returning dancers have helped show me the ropes, put up with my never ending stream of questions, and have calmed me down when I start feeling stressed out.  They are wonderful!  I’m looking forward to getting to know them better over the next few months.

Florida

I was a little concerned about rehearsals, since I haven’t danced full time since Nutcracker season.  So far, they have been challenging but fun!  Choreography is taught quickly and efficiently.  Monday started with orientation, so we just danced in the afternoon.  In that time, we learned the Welcome number and a Farewell piece.  Tuesday was also a shorter day than usual, but we knocked out the opening of the Broadway show, as well as a part of the West Side Story bit.  It’s been awhile since I’ve done much jazz dance, so it’s taking me a minute to get back into “sassy” mode.  I’m loving it though!

While this has been a week of changes, I’m feeling good.  I can’t wait to see what the next week will bring!