Friends, this has been a long week. An incredible one, to be sure, but certainly very long and exhausting. I'll get the little things out of the way first.
Little stuff. I finally bit the bullet and got a set of nice headphones - Sennheiser HD-555s, in fact. They are marvelous. As expected, they are not at precise as the HD-650s, but for $200 less they are excellent. Even at stock, I am loving the speaker-like sound and the wider sound stage of open cans like these. They're not so precise as to disqualify lossy formats, which is nice, since a majority of my music is still mp3. They are a little bassy at times, but there are some things I want to try to make them a little more balanced in that regard. Head-Fi has a number of different hacks outlined in their forums, some of which I am considering. My only issue with them? The cable ends with a 1/4" jack rather than the smaller 3.5mm, meaning I have to use the somewhat bulky adapter to listen to most of my stuff. It's a small price to pay.
But really, I'm stalling. My big section of excitement this spring break week was my house-finding journey. My dad and I left for Raleigh at 4.30am CST on Wednesday and, after a short episode of getting lost in Ohio (the whole state looks the same, seriously), arrived at the hotel at about 9pm EST (Fifteen hours, for those of you who are counting). Thursday was filled with visits to apartment complexes, talking to people, looking at apartments, and trying to keep the floor plans and features straight in my mind. The day was actually kind-of a bummer, since a lot of the places were not for me. A random find in Morrisville ended the day on a high note, with two clear winners if I elect to go for an apartment. Friday morning brought us Christy, a cheerful and very helpful real estate agent. She took us around town to look at the townhomes I have picked out online. Friday was a great deal more positive - several of the places were quite nice, not to mention affordable. We went to lunch and chatted a bit, at which time, Christy filled us in on the area (and mentioned she might be able to help Alleigh find a teaching job). After the viewings, Friday, too, had three clear winners. With the rankings in order, I am now waiting for applications to arrive, at which time I can fill out 3 different sets of paper with the same information over and over and over again. Still, any of the top 3 (technically 5 if we count the apartments) will make me terribly pleased with my living arrangements.
This was sort-of a realization step in my moving process. Spending more than 24 hours in the area led to me starting to finally accept that I am actually moving 900 miles away from my friends and family to pursue the job. And, despite a twinge of sadness about leaving behind relationships with people, I feel nothing but excitement. I am excited to work - to put my sixteen years of education to use in the world. I am excited to strike out on my own - for real this time, with no safety net and no convenient route to home. I am excited beyond words to finally, for the first time since I was eight years old, have my own bedroom. My own bedroom! With an attached bathroom and walk-in closet! My own bed that I paid for with my own money that I earned at my own job! My own room. My own room! Nobody to turn out the lights when I want to stay up, nobody to turn them on while I'm asleep. Nobody else to blame for messes. Space for my guitars and computers and a great big comfy bed! This fact alone makes any of the homes I toured worthwhile. Even the smallest of the places provided me with something I have longed for for fourteen years: my own space.
Speaking of my job, I was delighted to meet with my boss-to-be on Thursday. My dad got a chance to meet some of the people I'll be working with, and he even got to take a look around the building. It seemed a little strange, but I felt better knowing that my dad had seen the place and was just as excited as me. Kevin then took us out to lunch and answered a bunch of questions about the area as well - it was extremely helpful and made me feel a bit better about the move. We discussed starting dates, which made my head spin a bit - both with nervousness and with excitement. I have been known to underestimate my own abilities. Every now and again, when I hit a snag with something related to school, I question my ability to do my job. Curiously, I have been less worried about this lately. After all, they interviewed me thoroughly - two days worth of interview - and came to the conclusion that, not only do they think I am capable of doing a good job, but they are excited about having me start work. It is infectious, having people outside you believe in you so strongly. The whole of my world has sort of risen up in a warm pile of good feelings and well wishes. It's done wonders for my anxiety.
I am excited to move. Returning to MSOE tomorrow will be the first challenge in seven long weeks of waiting. Certainly, Senior Design will inflate to fill more time as our deadlines approach, and classes will continue as they have been going, but the promise of a whole new life in a beautiful home all my own with a job that I (will) love is too much to forget about. I feel awful for saying it, but graduation cannot come soon enough. I only wish I could bring some of my friends with me - but the advent of the internets will undoubtedly allow me to stay in touch. According to Josh, I'll be back next July at least.
I love you all.
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