Day #1

I promise, I won’t actually do a count down… that would make me as miserable as it would annoy all of you.

Lets get my bitching out of the way first… My car wasn’t done Thursday or Friday as promised. We called Friday morning and they said it would be done between 3 and 5… ok… they never called and no one was there after 5. Called again at 8am Saturday they said it would be done at 9am. Turned the rental in and went to get my car… they found something they didn’t fix… “come back in two hours”. The shop let me us a Dodge Durango for the time being and I went back in 2 hours… then sat there for two hours… At about 1 they brought the car up. I took a look at somethings that needed fixed and found some interesting (read annoying) facts: they didn’t give me a front license plate bracket even though required by state law, they didn’t give me back my front license plate, the fog lights did not function, the gas door wasn’t fixed, and the center console cup holder was broken (not to mention they took everything from the inside of my car and put in a box in my trunk). I gave the car back, took the Durango, and ran some errands. I called the shop around 4 to see if my car was ready, picked it up at 4:30ish. As I tried to drive away, I heard a very disconcerting whine from my steering… Gave the car back again… Turned out to be air in the steering fluid… but how do they try to give a car back with that noise? On my way home I decided to fill my tank so I didn’t have to in the morning (because there was no way I was leaving Saturday now). To the gas station was all left turns… on the way out I had to turn right and discovered the right turn signal didn’t work… I just went home (I fixed it later that night myself as well as realigned the headlights… which they pointed 5 feet in front of the car).

The drive wasn’t bad yesterday. About 40 miles north of Charleston I got stopped in traffic for about 30 minutes (most likely because of an accident) but all told it took me 8.5 hours including one stop to fill up on gas and a bathroom break. The condo (which is much more an apartment than a condo) is decent. The neighborhood seems quiet and I have all the room I need. It is also very close to work so my drive to and from is ok. I am also close to the airport so I won’t have to do a whole lot of prep for Theresa’s visit or my trip north. I had a pretty serious bout of loneliness last night as the realization set in that I knew no one within 60 miles of me (which still isn’t fair because my cousin, while interesting, isn’t really in my sphere of social interest… so we should really say within 250 miles since Jill lives in VA just across the tunnel under the causeway). Talking to Theresa helped a lot… hopefully I can sustain…

So my first day… I left 45 minutes early to make sure I was on time… the drive was about 15 minutes but it took me about 15 to find my building… The overhead map I was given only showed trees (actual satellite photo) and some of the signs weren’t clear. So I was still 15 minutes early… only to find out that the man who was to meet me was going to be 45 minutes late… yippie. That wasn’t too bad though. I met up with him and got my security badge and a tour of our teams facilities… I think I saw close to $1M or better in networking equipment today… it was pretty cool. I’ve been left to myself since about 11:30am… with nothing to do except connect my phone and computer (big plus… they gave me a ThinkPad T60 for the summer). Hopefully they’ll either tell me to go home or do something soon.

Depressing Fact: I’m the only person sitting in my row of cubicles.

12-Jun-2007

When the dust has settled and the dark receded… When the torrent has stopped and the waves smoothed into glass… When the lightning goes dim and night sky is crystal clear… what do you think about?

I have had a very interesting four years in college. I’ve experienced more than most in life and academia… perhaps my social life is wanting, but I’m ok with that. Although I’m not graduating, the end of this year seems like the end of a very long chapter in my life… for a lot of reasons. I’m finding it very ironic that I don’t actually care about the grades I earned this quarter even though it is only the second time in college I received a perfect 4.0.  That is not to say that I wouldn’t have been disappointed had I gotten a 3.5 or something like that… but my priorities in life are realigning themselves to something entirely new.

My walk with God has changed a lot in the last couple of years. If I had to pick something to thank (or even appreciate) Alex for it would be that. She started me on path that led me to where I am now… maybe not exactly where I should be but I am a lot better off than I was 2 years ago. I find the more I talk to others seriously about how my life has progressed I see that a lot of things couldn’t have happened any other way and that I’m pretty close to where God wants me. For the first time since I can remember, every part of my life (except for money… but w/e) is tranquil and some are excited in a very good way. I don’t have any hidden conflicts, everyone knows the truths they should, and I am ok with myself… which is not something I’ve often been able to say.

I’m leaving for North Carolina in 4 days… I’m a lot better with the idea now. I certainly won’t be happy to be away from Theresa, but I’m not exactly afraid of it either now. Three months isn’t that long and if we aren’t able to cope with that we probably have other issues we haven’t discovered yet. Absence makes the heart grow fonder right? We’ll survive, if not be stronger for it. I’ve also managed to work out a trip back north at the end of July just before I go to Dallas so I can see everyone (Dad, Tara, and Matthew included of course) which makes the internship less daunting.

Update on my car… $2100 in damages. They have to replace all of my front lighting, the front fender, the radiator shield, the right front quarter panel, the right front control arm and most likely both front ball joints, and the right air intake; they have to repair one of the oil lines, the right rear quarter panel, a fair amount of wiring and part of the exhaust… That is all that I can remember just thinking about it and all of that is not considering aesthetic repairs like scratches to the body, rims, and gravel guard… Fortunately I don’t have to pay for any of it and neither does my insurance. The other driver’s insurance took liability for the accident (thank God) saving me a $500 deductible and an increase in insurance rates. I should hopefully have the car back by Friday… if I don’t I get to drive a Pontiac Vibe to NC and figure out later how to get my own car back.

P.S. I went to get suits yesterday for my internship… $600 later I look pretty good in a suit.