The Napkin In Between

Reminiscing & Reflecting: My Move to NYC

• Daijné Jones • Season 1 • Episode 37

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Taking a leap of faith can transform your entire life – even when you don't have everything figured out beforehand. When I found myself increasingly unhappy in Atlanta despite being closer to family, I kept daydreaming about New York City during visits to friends there. The six-lane highways triggered my driving anxiety, making friends as a nanny proved nearly impossible, and something essential was missing from my life.

The turning point came unexpectedly. My employer, who had never heard me mention wanting to move, texted out of nowhere: "I could really see you living in New York City." Those words felt like divine confirmation of the thoughts I'd been quietly harboring. Despite having no job lined up and limited savings, I joined Facebook groups to find roommates, packed everything into a rented pickup truck (which I promptly scraped in the airport parking garage), and made the nerve-wracking drive from Atlanta to NYC with my dog Luna.

Those first weeks tested my resolve. I worked at a daycare while searching for nanny positions, questioning my decision until a family I babysat for connected me with my current employers. Two years later, as I prepare to move apartments within the city, I realize that betting on myself was the catalyst for everything good in my life now – my podcast, my content creation journey, and a sense of belonging I never found elsewhere.

If you're waiting for permission to take that chance you've been contemplating, consider this your sign. You don't need to have every detail meticulously planned. The most beautiful parts of life often emerge from those moments when we trust ourselves enough to leap, knowing we'll figure out the landing on the way down. What would your life look like if you took that chance today?

Daijné:

Is this thing on? Hello, hello. Uh-oh. Another yuffer with a mic. Hello everyone and welcome back to the napkin in between podcast. I am your host, Asian A Jones. I hope everyone's been having a good week except for that orange drink lady. Of course. Y'all, I'm feeling really sentimental today because this is our last episode in this apartment. I'm actually like it's so bittersweet because like I've done so many firsts in this apartment. Oh, pause. That sounds really crazy. Firsts in my content creation journey. But also, like the management of this apartment is fucking ass. So I am very excited to move and hopefully the management in my next apartment will be better. But I'm just like, oh, I'm just feeling very sentimental. Like, we're not gonna have the brick wall anymore. And oh I don't know, guys. I'm just feeling very, very sentimental, and I'm reminiscing on my move to New York City. I moved to New York City two years ago, October 1st will be two years. I've been in this apartment for the last two years since I've moved to New York City, and so like packing everything up and moving to another apartment, it just has me like reminiscing on moving to New York City and how I got here. And I don't think that I've ever shared this story. So I'm gonna share it with you guys today because I'm just feeling very sentimental and I'm reminiscing, and it's just like oh, it's so bittersweet. I think I've mentioned it before, but I moved to New York City from Atlanta. I'm originally from Pennsylvania, but I moved to Atlanta in 2021. Yeah, 2021, because my mom lives down there, she's been down there for 13 years or something crazy. And so I was like, I want to be closer to my mom and you know be around family. My nephews are also down there. My sisters were down there. I don't speak to them anymore, but at the time that was part of the reason that I moved there too, because I wanted to be closer to my sisters and just be closer to family in general. I was like the only person in my family that was still in Pennsylvania. Everyone else was like had moved south. I have like family in North Carolina, my mom was in Atlanta, so I was like, let me just move closer and be close to family. And so I moved to Atlanta from Pittsburgh, I was living in Pittsburgh, moved to Atlanta, and I feel like I learned fairly quickly that Atlanta was really not for me. Like, there were some good parts about it. Of course, I was closer to my mom and my sisters and my nieces and nephews, and you know, closer to family. But being in this city was just like it's just not my city. I would say that I enjoy visiting Atlanta because there is a lot of like my family's there, the food is great, but like to live there, whole new ball game. Why did I say ball game so weird? A whole new ball game. First of all, you have to drive everywhere. There is public transportation in Atlanta, but because of racism, it's so weird in the city, like it goes around the city rather than through it because there were neighborhoods that didn't want the public transportation to go through their city, or I'm sorry, through their neighborhoods. Um, again, because of racism, and so the public transportation doesn't make sense, so you have to have a car. I have a lot of driving anxiety, so having to drive everywhere, especially in Atlanta. Like, I was going from a place like Pittsburgh, with like, yeah, it's hilly, but it's like little roads, like two-lane highways, nothing crazy. Going from that to six-lane highways, and people in Atlanta, they drive the way their cars look. If you've ever been to Atlanta and you've seen cars in Atlanta, they drive the way their cars look. And as someone who has so much driving anxiety and worrying about like, I feel like I'm good when I'm driving, like, I know that I'm in complete control of my vehicle and I'm driving safely. My driving anxiety stems from the people around me because I don't have I have trust issues, okay? I don't trust people, and I don't trust the fact that you're operating your motorized vehicle with a wheel and your feet in a safe and proper way as to protect your life and also my life. Because I'm I'm watching you, I'm watching you go from this lane to cross five other lanes to get to your exit. Like I know that y'all are not being safe. So that was a really big thing for me of not really liking Atlanta. It was also very hard for me to make friends because first and foremost, that was when I started nannying, was when I moved to Atlanta, and so as a nanny, I'm with like a 19-month-old all day. I don't really have co-workers or anyone to like build a friendship with, you know what I mean? And so I tried like bumble BFF for a little bit. I did meet a couple people, but it was like we met once and it kind of like fizzled out, and so that really didn't work to make friends, and then I also remember like I was well when I initially moved to Atlanta, I moved in to my mom's house and I was like apartment hunting, it was just the easiest thing to do because I didn't like I moved to Atlanta with no job. I was like, I'll figure it out when I get there, and I did figure it out, but that is kind of like a crazy thing to do. Um, I've actually done that a couple of times. Anyway, we'll we'll get to that later on in the story. But so I was looking for apartments and I was looking for potentially to have a roommate, but also to live by myself, so I was like trying to look at both because I thought that would be an easy way for me to also make friends because I don't have you know co-workers, bumblebee isn't really working out. But if I'm living with somebody, obviously you would want your roommate to also be your friend, so that could be another way that I can make friends. Mm-mm. Mm-mm. I talked to so many people, and I didn't realize I think being in Atlanta was my first experience with like scammers in so many aspects. There's so many people who are scamming in Atlanta with like apartment listings, with people who are trying to get into apartments. I remember I was talking to this one girl, and she seemed really cool, like we had a lot in common, conversations were great, like I was like, okay, like we could really, you know, be roommates. And so where she lived in the city, it was like very far from where we were looking for an apartment. Like, it can take an hour from Atlanta to get to Atlanta, like it's like crazy. So I was like going to see apartments for us in person because I was already in the area, much closer than she was. And we had found an apartment that we really liked. And so we were like, okay, like let's apply. We really like this, it looks good, it's in our price range, it has amenities that we want, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so we were texting about, you know, applying. And she says to me, like, oh, I have to use a CNA. At the time, the only CNA that I knew about was a certified nurse's assistant. So I was like, Oh, like, yeah, of course, you have to put your job, like, so that you can, you know, show that you can pay the bills. Like, yeah, I I have to put that I'm a nanny. That's that's how I'm applying to. And she was like, No, a CNA, like the the number. And I was like, what are you talking about? And so I look it up, and there's this thing called a CNA that it gives you nine digits to look like a social security number, so that when um landlords or whoever you're giving this number to puts it in their system to look you up, it'll give you like a great background, good credit score, all this stuff. And so I'm like, girl, what do you have to use a CNA for? Like, what's T? What like what? And she's like, Oh, you know, a couple years back, my man got into some trouble and I took the fall for him. What? Mind you, she said, my man, current, current person that she's in a relationship with. So I'm like, Oh, yeah, I don't really want to live with you no more because I don't know what y'all got going on. Like, she was telling me like it she had got a felony charge or something. I was just like, Yeah, no. First and foremost, again, you're saying my man as in current day. So, like, obviously, if we're living together, he kind of comes along with that because I'm sure you're gonna want him to come over at some point, or I don't know what y'all got going on, but I I was just like, absolutely the fucking no, absolutely the fuck not. So I ended up telling her, like, you know, I don't maybe we're not the best fit. And I just I think I maybe blocked her. I can't remember exactly how I ended it, but I was just like, yeah, no, this is not gonna work for me. But that was something that I was continuously running into with trying to find a roommate and trying to find someone to live with, like, there was always something going on, or it was just it was it wasn't working out, and so I eventually, you know, I got my own place, which was nice. Like, I had lived by myself in Pittsburgh before I moved to Atlanta. But again, like I had thought, like, oh, I can have a roommate because I didn't have any friends, and it was nice to have my family there, but like sometimes you just want a friend to kiki with, and you know, things had gone really south with like my sister. We were really close when I first moved to Atlanta, but that's a conversation for another day. Like that lore is is crazy. Like, I have so much family lore that I'm just like sitting on that I like one day we'll maybe talk about it, but like let me talk about it with a therapist first because I need to unpack it and and yeah, but anyway, conversation for another day, and then on top of you know, the craziness with my sisters and things like that, like I was in a relationship which was the most toxic relationship I've ever been in in my entire life. Also, a conversation for another day, but I'm living in Atlanta, I'm working and I love my job, but I don't have any friends, I like don't ever do anything on the weekend, I have you know, no like life outside of work and my family, and so I was very like I wouldn't say I was depressed, but I was like always sad and you know didn't want to get out of bed and didn't really have an appetite, didn't really want to eat. Okay, so maybe I was depressed. Like, I don't know. I was just very I was not in a good state. That's like we can say that. I just did not want to be in Atlanta, and so I was visiting friends a lot in New York City, exploring the city, just like trying to get out of Atlanta, and I remember thinking to myself, like, oh, like I I really like New York City, like I would really like to move there. But I was very scared, like moving from Pittsburgh to Atlanta was a leap for me because I moved there with no job and figured it out once I got there. But I had someone to fall back on, like I could live with my mom, you know, I had savings built up, I had a um a safety net, you know what I mean? But moving to New York City, like I don't have family here, I would have to get an apartment, I would have to find a job, and I didn't have any of that from moving from Atlanta to New York City, so it was always like in the back of my mind, like, oh my god, like I really want to move to New York City, but I just felt very afraid to because I again I didn't really have like a safety net like I did when I moved to Atlanta. So moving to the city was something that I kept in the back of my mind, but I was always just too afraid to do it because it was such a leap for me. Like the fear of moving here with you know, no family, no real security of a job or anything like that was like holding me back. But I remember I was at work with Callie and her parents were in the city. I think Jay-Z had had like an opening for something or something, and they had come to the opening. And my nanny kid's mom had texted me, and mind you, I had never spoken to her about wanting to move to New York City or my thoughts of like going back and forth with if I should, or you know, being afraid to move to New York City or anything like that. But she had texted me and she was like, I could really see you living in New York City, and that was really crazy to me because again, I had never spoken to her about it, but it was something that was in the back of my mind, and I was like asking God, like I'm not I would never say that I'm a Christian because Christians are like they're I mean, we just had this whole thing with oh the rapture, like they're just like really crazy, and I just I don't well I'll also a conversation for another day, but I would say that I have a relationship with God and like I pray and I ask him for signs and you know to help me through difficult things that I'm trying to to navigate, you know what I mean? And I just felt like that was such a sign for me because again, I had never spoken to her about wanting to move to New York City, it was just something that I was dealing with internally. I I hadn't spoken to anybody about it. I I think maybe one or two of my friends in New York City, I had talked to them about it, but it was very much just like, oh, like I love the city, like I could totally move here. Like it was very much like a throwaway comment, you know. But her texting me that just like out of nowhere, I was like, okay, I think that this might be something. This has to be a sign, there's no other explanation for it. Because also, mind you, like I'm her child's nanny. So her telling me, you know, like, oh, you should move to New York City, that benefits her in no way, in no way, shape, or form, because now she has to find a new nanny for her child, and like she has to go through that whole process, which is can be really stressful in and of itself. And so I was like, okay, like this has to be some sort of sign. And so I texted her back and I was just like, I've been thinking about that for a while now, and you know, my lease is up soon, like I'm trying to figure out, you know, if I'm gonna re-sign my lease or move to the city. Like, that's really crazy that you just texted me that because I've been thinking about that for a while now, and so she was like, you know, once I get back to the city, if you want to get coffee or something, like we should get coffee and just like talk about it. And so we got coffee one day, and she was just telling me, like, I can really see you in New York City. I feel like that it fits your vibe very well. I don't know, maybe she saw that I was a little unhappy in Atlanta. Um, but she was just like, you know, telling me, like, I think you should go for it, I think you should do it. And again, this is of no benefit to her because now she has to find a new nanny for her daughter and like all of that. And so I remember I went home after that and I was just like, I should do it, like I should just move to New York City. I have a little bit of savings for you know me to fall back on in the event that it takes me a little bit to find a job. And so I spoke to my friends in the city, and I was like, I think I'm gonna do it. Like, if you have any tips or anything like that, like let me know. And so they were, you know, telling me about like these um Facebook groups to find roommates and you know, telling me like what areas would be nice and everything like that. And so I joined these Facebook groups. I, you know, talked to a couple of people, and I remember I was messaging with this one girl, her name was Yaz, and you know, we were talking about moving to the city, and then she had told me, like, oh, I'm moving to the city a little bit later than you, so I don't think that we could work out as roommates. And I was like, you know, like no problem, you know, if we're in the city at the same time, eventually, like we should get together, get coffee, or you know, something. And so I have like I think I had like two months left on my lease or a month, a month and a half, something around there. So I have like this little window of time to like figure it out and move to the city. And I'm not gonna lie, it was very stressful, it was very difficult because I also have you know my dog Luna, who was moving gonna move with me, and so like some people didn't want to live with a dog, or you know, Luna gets a bad rap because she is a pit mix, and so people are like, oh, like scary pit bull. Biggest baby I've ever met in my entire life is Luna. But anyway, I'm talking to these people, and it doesn't seem like I I have a very small window of time, and so my mom's telling me, like, you know, if you want to move back in with me until you figure it out, like that's an option. So shout out to my mom, such a such a fallback for me and a safety net, and I I so appreciative of that because I know people don't have that, and so I'm very grateful that my mom has always been so supportive of me. I know I I already know, like, when I told her I was moving to New York City, she was probably very sad. She didn't say that to me, obviously, but I'm just like, oh, that was the hardest conversation I think for me to have was telling my mom, like, I'm moving to New York City because I had just moved to Atlanta like two years prior. And so I know like that was probably hard for her, but I know that she's always gonna be supportive of me and like my dreams, and so she was always like, you know, whatever you need from me to help you with this move, like let me know, which was amazing. And oh, I just love my mom so much. Anyway, conversation for another day. She'll she's gonna come on the pod one day, she has to, she has no choice, but anyway, and so I'm talking to these people, and it's not seeming to really work out. And then I remember one day I got another message from Yaz, the girl that I had spoken to like months prior, and she was like, Hey, like, actually, my plans have changed, and you know, I'm moving to the city when you are, and I've met this other girl, Talia, we're looking for a third roommate. Are you so interested? And I was like, Oh my god, yes, because like everything else had been falling through and different things like that, and so we all hopped on a FaceTime call, and vibes seemed really well, and I was like, Oh my god, I hope they like me, I hope they like Luna. Because they had told me they were transparent with me and told me like we're talking to other people, you know, to see who would be the best fit. But I was like fingers crossed, like they really like me. And a couple hours later, they had texted me and was like, you know, if you want to move in with us, we would love to have you. And I was like, Oh my god, yes. So we all fill out the application, and you know, we get approved. And literally, like two minutes after we were approved for the apartment and had paid everything, and which was also very stressful because obviously, once you get an apartment, you have to pay first month's rent, security deposit, blah blah blah blah. But I'm in Atlanta and I had to get it to New York, so I had to send like four thousand dollars through the mail. I was so fucking stressed out because I'm like, if this four thousand dollars gets somehow lost, like I'm not trying to pay eight thousand dollars and like you know what I'm saying? So that was stressful in and of itself. But like once the check got there and you know everything was fine and we had gotten our apartment. I had like a second of oh shit, like what did I just do? Because again, I was moving to the city with no job. I had talked to a couple of families to potentially nanny for, but obviously they want to meet you in person and they want to see like how you interact with their child before they're like, Okay, yeah, you can be my kid's nanny. And so I was talking to families, interviewing, I say in quotes, because like obviously if someone's already in the city, they're they're gonna want to go with that option. And so I moved to New York City with no job and no real like security or safety net because I didn't have any family here, and and so I was like, oh shit, like did I did I make the right decision? Like I got really nervous, but at that point, like I had already paid, the the lease was signed, there was no no real turning back, and so my mom came over and helped me, you know, pack up all my stuff in my apartment, and the only way for me to get from Atlanta to New York City because of Luna was to drive, and so I rented a pickup truck, it was a Dodge Ram, it had a a flatbed like um in the back, rented that and had to drive that from Atlanta to New York City. Mind you again, I have driving anxiety, and the only car that I had ever driven, like regularly, was my little niece on Sentra. So to go from that to Brutus, I named this truck Brutus because it was just so big and hefty and just like so manly, you know. And so I was like, that was giving me anxiety, but I was like, no, there's no turning back now. Like I've already signed the lease, everything's packed up, everything's in this truck, like we're gonna have to figure it out. And so I remember September 30th, I left Atlanta and I drove from Atlanta to Virginia, stayed the night in this like crazy ratchet, um, extended stay in Virginia. Like it was just it was so raggedy. The I remember I sat down on the bed, like literally just sat down and the bed frame broke. And I was like, damn, like this wagon I'm dragging is crazy breaking beds and shit. And I could hear like a couple in the next room like arguing. Like it was just, it was just really crazy. But thankfully I stayed there for just one night and then I drove from Virginia to New York City. And I remember once I got in New York City, I could tell that I was in the city because I was driving slow, okay? Because I'm driving this big ass pickup truck, scared for my life, and I remember people were like honking at me, wanting me to go faster, and I was like, bitch, go the fuck around me. Like, I'm not going any faster than I'm going right now. Like, I'm already scared of this big ass truck, and I had already I had scraped up the side of the truck, taking it out of the fucking airport parking lot. I remember in Atlanta, I went to get the truck, and I was trying to get out of the Atlanta airport, and I was literally just like going in circles in this parking garage, not sure like where the fuck the exit was. And I remember I had gone down into some place that I definitely wasn't supposed to be in, and so I turned around, went back up, and as I was turning, there was like this wall, and I literally scraped up the the fucking truck on this wall, and I was like, I haven't even left the fucking airport parking lot yet, and I'm already damaging this fucking shit. Thankfully, I had gotten insurance on the car because I already knew that I was gonna need it because I just didn't trust myself and I was like, if anything happens, I need to make sure that I'm doubly insured. And thankfully I did because I had scraped it before I even left the fucking airport, and then they were like, Oh, do you want another truck? What? Like, no, I'll just take the scraped up one. I'm not trying to damage more than one truck, but they were ready to give me a second truck after I had already damaged their first one. Anyway, so I was driving slow because I wasn't trying to, you know, cause any more damage to this truck, and everyone, like the New Yorkers, they're so impatient. They're like honking at me and wanting me to go faster, and I'm like, bitch, go around me. Cause shit, don't no, I'm not going any faster. But I got to the city and I had texted Talia the day before, and I was like, hey, like I'll be there tomorrow. Would you be able to help me, you know, unpack my truck? Because I was coming from Atlanta, Yaz was coming from Ohio, and Talia was coming from she was already in the city, and so she like came and that's when I first met her in person, and she helped me unpack the truck, and then we drove to the airport to drop the truck off, and then got an Uber back. And I was so fucking happy to be out of that fuck ass truck. Like, I never want to drive a truck like that ever again. One and done for me. Don't want to drive a truck like that again, and never want to drive in New York City again because it was just all chaotic. But I remember like we came back to the apartment, and then a little bit later, you know, Yaz was flying from Ohio, so she came and we all got along really well instantly, so that was great. I didn't feel like I had to worry about you know who I was living with, but again, I still didn't have a job, and so now I'm like in the city, and so I'm able to meet families in person and and talk about knitting and different things like that, but it still wasn't going very well. Like, I had lived here for I think two weeks at that time, and I know like in hindsight, two weeks isn't really a lot of time, but for me, I was like, I I need to work, like I was starting to get very bored, I didn't really have much to do, and so I was like, Oh, I need to work, and so I started working at this daycare, which was okay. I I wanted to nanny because obviously with nannying, it's much more lucrative, and like working in the daycare was fine, but I was like, I'm not gonna be able to do this for a long time and sustain myself. Do you know what I mean? Like, I needed something that was offering me more, but for the time being, like, it was okay. The lady who ran the daycare was a little, a little wonky, she was a little interesting, but I was like, hey, a job's a job at this point, like I just needed to work, and so as I was working at this daycare, I was in like Facebook groups of like you know, looking for nanny jobs and also applying to like nanny agencies and things like that. And so I had just posted, like, hey, like if anybody needs like a babysitter or something, like let me know, like I'm free to babysit on the weekends or whatever. And this one family reached out to me, and so I started babysitting for them, and then eventually, like, they were like, Hey, we have these friends who need a nanny. Do you mind if I give them, you know, your information? And I was like, Absolutely, like, that's what I want to do. And that's how I ended up finding my nanny job. Like, it didn't work through the Facebook groups, the nanny agencies didn't help. It was literally just like word of mouth. Um, and so I interviewed with the nanny family that I'm I'm with them now. I've been with them since I moved here. Like, I started working with them a month after I moved to the city, which has been great. I've been able to experience so many things, like with the family that I nanny with, and it's a great family, and I've gotten to travel with them and experience things that I've I've just like never experienced before with working with them. And I understand that all of this was a very long story, but the the point that I'm trying to make is that I wouldn't be in this city that I absolutely love. Moving to New York City was the best thing that I could have done for myself in this amazing city, working for this family, getting to experience all of these things because I took a chance on myself, because I took a leap of faith and I said, you know what, I don't have it all figured out, but I'll figure it out once I get there. And I think that has been something that has been always been kind of difficult for me because I'm a very like, okay, I need to know how this thing is gonna work out. I need to know all of the steps. But with moving to New York City, like I didn't have everything figured out, and I was just like, you know what, I'll figure it out once I get there. And it has been the most life-changing thing for me because I've done so many things that I've wanted to do since moving here. I've started my podcast, I've started, you know, posting other content and doing content creation, and I just feel like, especially as black women, we're not always encouraged to really take chances on ourselves or to do something unless we have everything figured out, and like that's really just no way to live life. Like, you can't plan every single thing. Obviously, I'm not saying to just like go out there and move to a whole nother country or city or whatever with no, like, obviously, I moved here and I had you know a little bit of savings and you know things to fall back on, but I did not have everything figured out, and that's okay. Like, we can do that, like we can live life without having to try and to to figure out every single thing or have every little detail figured out, every I dotted, every T cross, like the fear of not knowing what could happen. I feel like, at least for me personally, has held me back a lot in my life. And with moving to New York City, I'm so grateful for it because it's really allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone and do things that I've always wanted to do and just figure it out. Like, we don't have to have everything figured out from the beginning, we can just figure things out as we go, and so I'm so grateful to you know, my nanny kid in Atlanta. I'm so grateful to her mom because like without her words of encouragement, I don't even know that I would have even taken the chance on myself. But I'm really happy that she gave me those words of encouragement, and I'm so happy that I listened to them and and took that chance because now I'm in New York City and I feel like this is really where I'm supposed to be. Like, I've moved it around a little bit in my life, like Pennsylvania, Atlanta, and now New York City, and I I swear New York City truly is it's my vibe, it just fits me, and I feel like I can be both sides of myself. Like, if I need to be like more introverted and stay at home, I can do that. If I want to go explore and do something in the city, I can do that because there's always something going on. And again, I would not know any of this if I did not take that chance on myself, and so I just wanted to encourage anyone who might be listening. If you were looking for a sign to take a chance on yourself or to take a leap of faith or do something like this is it, this is it. You do not have to have everything figured out, you can figure it out once you get there, and it could be it could be the best decision that you've ever made in your life. I truly feel like moving to New York City was the best thing that I could do for myself, and I'm so grateful that I pushed myself and that I was given the push by my nanny kid's mom to just do the thing that I wanted to do, and so I wanted to do that for you guys today and just encourage you that if there's something that you've been thinking about and you've been trying to weigh the options of if you should do it or if you shouldn't do it, this is your sign to do it. Now, obviously. Take this with a grain of salt, okay? And also, like, there are things that you have to do to follow, you know, maybe the thing that you're thinking about. So do do the thing logically, whatever it is that you might be thinking about, do that thing logically, but also just realize like you don't have to have every single step figured out. There are things that you can figure out once you take that chance, make that move, take that step. You know what I mean? Again, thank you all for being here. I'm so so grateful for all of you. We're making moves. Oh, RIP to the brick wall. I'm actually so sad. I really love this exposed brick. When I first seen it, I was just like, I don't know how I feel about that, but I've really enjoyed this exposed brick. It's just like it's just it adds just a an element of life to the apartment. I don't know, but my new apartment unfortunately doesn't have any exposed brick. So if you're a visual watcher, this is the last time we'll see the exposed brick. I'm really sad about it. It's really bittersweet because this is the apartment that I decided to follow my dreams and do the things that I've always wanted to do. So I have like an emotional connection to it, but also I can't wait to get the fuck out of this apartment because the management in this apartment is fucking ass. Bittersweet, but I'm really excited for you know the changes and the moves, and I'm so so grateful for you all being here. And I just wanted to encourage anyone, if anyone needed a sign, to bet on themselves, take a leap of faith, do that thing that you may have always been wanting to do. This is your sign because you never know what could happen when you bet on yourself. It could be the most life-changing thing that you've ever done. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode. I hope everyone's having a good week, except for that orange jig lady. And I will talk to you in the next episode. Peace and love. Talk to you later. The napkin in between, hosted by Daijne Jones, produced by Daijne Jones, post production by Daijne Jones, music by Sam Champagne, and graphics by Isma Vidal. Don't forget to like and subscribe. See you next episode.