Getting used to my new surroundings

Well, I moved up here on Wednesday. The drive up was mostly uneventful except for the very large pebble that smashed into my windshield creating a crack that only grew larger as I traveled longer. Luckily, I can say that was the worst part of the drive. Doesn't help much that my car is far from aerodynamic. Both Gizmo and I arrived safely and unharmed. We were tired, and slightly disoriented, but we were fine.

When I first arrived I felt very out of my element. My new place felt wrong and awkward. I found myself wanting to go "home" but soon realized I was home...it just didn't feel like it yet. It's hard to explain the anxieties you feel when you suddenly don't have that comfortable place to retreat to after a long, exhausting, and emotionally draining day.

For the most part I am feeling better. A couple of days of being cooped up in my new apartment and spending some time decorating it to my liking has certainly helped. The change in living environment is quite drastic. My apartment is twice the size and about 2/3 the cost of my previous place. This means I have my own office for studying and working, which I am still in the process of setting up. It's also odd not to have a job. I'm lost now that I'm only doing my own laundry, my own dishes, and my own grocery shopping.

So far this experience has been bittersweet. It's been 5 months coming to this point and I've done nothing but speculate about how I would feel when this day came. Now it's here and it's exactly what I thought it would be. Exciting, depressing, stressful, and rejuvenating. It's amazing what we learn about ourselves when we're forced to look at our life and its future dead in the face.