Westside-itis

I received my packet of "welcome to our company!" materials while I was in Florida. I was perusing it last night for entertainment value because it was that or unpack my duffel and finally discover whether the jam I bought survived airport baggage handling.

Bear in mind that this will be my second professional job and the first one was at a company too small to even contemplate having the kinds of problems that come with hiring literally hundreds of new people each month. So the idea of a "welcome to our company!" packet is itself foreign to my experience thus far, and just reinforces my sense that I've been accepted at a college that is also paying me. Also bear in mind that I am a Madison native, unlike, surely, a large percentage of new hires, and it's fair to prioritize when you're dealing with complete newcomers who need to meet basic needs in a strange city.

But still. It's interesting to see what information is given to each month's new crop of Madison/Verona/Fitchburg residents, and how it contrasts with what I actually love best there.

* "What to do in Madison" lists movie theaters, but not live music venues (and not the Orpheum) and none of the local theater companies. Other than that, there is State Street, the Capitol, and a link to city and county park sites.
* "Where to go" includes only the Terrace, the Overture Center, APT, and the college sports scene.
* Events and Clubs lists the farmer's market (neglecting the winter and satellite markets), Concerts on the Square, Bratfest (barf), and Hoofers. But not the county fair? All the little neighborhood festivals? At least the Miffling Street Block party was also excluded.
* Tips on parking downtown, cabs and buses. But not on bike paths.
* Grocery stores are all west-side ones, logically so, but I was hoping they'd at least mention the impending Willy St. Co-op expansion. And Trader Joe's.
* Fitness clubs (with a focus on the megaliths) and "general stores" (Target, Walmart, SuperTarget).
* And then apartment resources with a focus on apartment complexes west of Hilldale.

Anyway, I'm looking at four apartments today and maybe more on Friday, and they're all downtown and I'm pretty hopeful that I'll end up living somewhere I want to live, by things I want to live near. Like, easy distance to all the great stuff the High Noon and the Orpheum put together. And the arboretum (how can you not mention the arboretum???). And campus film offerings. Etc. Anyway, it's better for me if getting to work is a struggle (I'm aiming to combine bus and bike as much as possible) because I HAVE to go to work, so I'll make it happen. If I lived close to work, everything outside of work would be a struggle. No thanks.