Questions I've been getting a lot lately:

Purple roses from my sweet visiting teacher. Clearly a terrible photo since I couldn't get the colors looking right. And, sadly, now you know I haven't been given flowers in a very long time because I don't have a vase.

So, between traveling and being unemployed I feel like lately I've been getting a lot of the same questions, especially in comments. I'm not always good about responding to comments, and I feel a little awkward acting as if I'm important enough to have a "FAQ" blog post, but, this is easier than responding to the same things over and over. So here's a few of your questions and answers:

Q-(Regarding my recent trip to London and Paris) Was this your first time to Europe?

A- No. When I was 17 my family took a 10 day trip. We spent a week in Italy (Florence, Rome, and Venice), two days in Germany, and a day in Switzerland. We also drove through Austria and saw a lot of the country just by driving through. I got my first passport for this trip and just recently had to renew to go to Brazil. I look like such a baby in my first passport.

Q-Where's your next big trip going to be?

A-For the first time since I can remember, I have no trips planned. I like to always have something to look forward to, even if it's just a weekend somewhere. :( Being unemployed, I don't think it's the smartest thing to plan a big trip that will cost a lot of money, and don't feel like I can commit to taking vacation days when I should (hopefully) be starting a new job soon. Also, I know it seems like I'm always traveling (and I know, I sort of am) but it's a LOT easier to feel like you can get away when you live on the east coast. The states are so small here, you can be somewhere "away" in just a couple hours. All the weekend trips I took last year (Berkshires, Vermont, New Hampshire, Boston, Rhode Island, DC) are a 5 hour drive at most, sometimes only a 2-3 hours drive. So it's like living in San Diego and going to LA. If you still think I'm spoiled, just know I'm just trying to take advantage of the fact that I'm single and don't have anyone to worry about except myself. If there's one thing I've learned from my friends and family who are married and have kids, it's that I should take advantage of every opportunity I can while I'm single. So I do. :)

Q-What kind of work are you looking for?

A-I'm looking to do the same kind of thing I was doing before, admin/executive assistant work. I want to stay in finance, and am hoping to end up at a smaller company, like a hedge fund, verses a large bank. However, at this point I'm open to a large or small company.

Q-How's the job hunt going?

A-Good! I've got two great headhunters and have learned the finance industry is small. I've had a lot of friends pass my resume around which has been super helpful, and have even run into friends and old coworkers when I've been interviewing. I've had a bunch of first interviews and am in the process of scheduling some second interviews. I know how blessed I was to work for such an amazing boss at my last job, and know I'll never find anyone as great as him, however I want to make sure I'm happy in my new role, wherever that may be. When I moved to New York I didn't have a job, had no income, very little money saved, and a car that I owed money on back in California and hadn't been able to sell yet. I took the first offer I received, and was very fortunate it ended up being such a great job. Now, thankfully, I have the luxury of being a little more picky. I've been interested in most all the companies I've interviewed with, however have interviewed for a couple positions in which I knew I would not be happy. I am thankful for the opportunities I'm having, as it's always good practice to interview, and I'm enjoying seeing what opportunities are out there. I really love one of my headhunters and she's doing a really great job of getting me in front of potential employers.

Q-Have you thought of looking for a job in California?

A-No. New York is my home. I have no desire to leave.

Q-What happened to John? (My boss, whom I adored.) Has he found a job yet?

A-No. There are very few positions on Wall Street for the level he was at. The person who was in his position before him, was let go and was out of work for two years. As much as I would love to work for him again, I'm not holding my breath. This week I found out he's started looking into positions in other cities and countries. He's interviewed for jobs in London and Sydney. I did inform him, even though I'm not trying to leave New York, I would be open to relocating to London or Sydney. :) "Only Down Under, kids, only Down Under" has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Seriously though, he has a family now, and has already worked in London so I really would be surprised if he moved. I'm not holding my breath. (Although his replacement at my last job, my boss for four months, moved his wife and five kids from Paris for the position, so.....you never know!)

Q-How do you spend your free time?

A-I'll be honest, being a lady of leisure is not that bad, not that bad at all. There are the obvious negative aspects. I'm not independently rich, which is why I'm grateful for the interviews I've been going on, and I know my money won't last forever. Also, I love living alone, but now that I'm unemployed I'm alone a lot. If I don't have a lunch date or an interview I have to make sure I get myself out of the apartment. My first few days I'd pack up my laptop and just go hang out at Starbucks, just so I could be around people.

When I'm not interviewing, I'm really enjoying the mornings sleeping in (finally got over the jetlag two weeks later), going to day time movies (when the Oscar noms were announced, I'd already seen 9 of the 10 best pictures), meeting friends for lunch (we're in the middle of Restaurant Week!), and going for jogs or walks in the park. There's always an episode of SVU on, and Netflix streaming has become my best friend. Between the craziness of the holidays and then traveling, I hadn't worked out for about six weeks and my first day back at the gym was for boxing class. It. Was. ROUGH. So I'm trying to get back to the gym as well.

Q-Are you dating anyone? (Okay, this hasn't been any more than usual, but it's everyones favorite question for single people.)

A-Nope.