Top 10 Signs that Life in Peoria Will be Okay

1. As I crossed the river into Peoria county, I found a really good rock station that is now programmed as #3 on my dial. And by good rock station, I mean they were playing the full 10 minute Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day.
2. I'm 5 minutes from a good sized mall (which I need to explore before deeming it 'good' in general) and 7 minutes from a Target, Best Buy, and Barnes and Noble. If my need for bowing down to commercialism aren't met there, there's another good, outdoor mall (with a wine shop that holds tastings) an additional 10 minutes down the road. Now, those of you who know me well will understand what a big deal this is. Well, if you know me period, I bet you share my sentiments on this. period.
3. Peoria has a discernable skyline. It looks really awesome when driving in from East Peoria after dark. It's kind of like Diet Chicago up here.
4. Peoria has a casino. Does your town have that?
5. I found a Taco John's in East Peoria today. Whenever I'm dispatched to the E.P. Proving Ground, I can get a 'taste of home.'
6. My bank here is called CEFCU. If you add an extra syllable in there, you get something that sounds awfully close to 'seppuku.' I think I'll start referring to this place as the First Bank of Seppuku and see if it catches on. 7. Three Words: River Blues Festival.
8. Three More Words: River Jazz Festival.
9. Final Three Words: Cheap Baseball Tickets. The Chiefs are the "single A" team for the Cubs and they play in a really nice stadium (O'Brien Field). For a cool $10, I can get an afternoon on a nice lawn watching baseball and 2 beers.
10. My Caterpillar Badge apparently opens the gates of heaven. All I have to do is flash that baby and I get all sorts of discounts around town. So far, it's kept me from having to put down a deposit or pay application fees for electricity and cable/internet. It cut my apartment deposit in half! Peoria is most definitely a 'company town' and I think I'm going to dig that a lot.

Tomorrow will be the true test of things when I hop in my car and motor over to East Peoria to start my orientation. This week will be spent with my supervisor learning the ropes and next week I'll start to venture out on my own as a manager. I know that life here will not be all "twinkies and chocolate milk," but it feels good to know I'm in a place that thus far has shown great potential to be an environment in which I can be happy and hopefully thrive professionally and personally. What tomorrow and the rest of my time with CAT will hold is unknown but right now I have hope. And there's a lot to be said for having that.