Friday was my first day of work. I didn't actually get to do any real work yet; this was simply a new employee orientation day, where I sat in a classroom for most of the day and got talked at about the company and some common things that I need to do (like how to get in to buildings, etc). We got to go on a small tour of one of the facilities in the afternoon, and I got to eat lunch with my new boss--that was the first time I had met him.
This weekend was really nice! Ben came up from S. Maryland on Saturday evening and spent some time here--we watched some movies that evening, and then went to downtown early Saturday afternoon to look at the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the associated historical district. We also got to tour the original Congress Hall/Capitol Building (ProTip: Philadelphia was the Capital of the U.S. for the first ten years). It was a beautiful day out, so we took some time to just walk around downtown. Unfortunately, most of the historical places around there charge to get in, so we didn't get so see all the things (like Benjamin Franklin's burial place) that we wanted to. Later in the afternoon we came back to my apartment and grilled bratwurst and drank beer in the parking lot; yum!
Monday was my first "real" day of work, where I actually got to sit in my cubicle! I met all of my co-workers, they seem like they're going to be a lot of fun to work with. Most of my day, unfortunately, was pretty boring; I have to spend pretty much this entire week trying to get access to all the computer systems and tools I'll need to do my job, and doing mandatory training on Boeing's policies. The export controls ones (a.k.a. don't give stuff to non-U.S. people) are particularly boring, and of course are the longest.
Today, I worked more on computer systems and training, but also got a few small introductions to the actual work I'll be doing, which was a nice change of pace. I finally got to go over to the Chinook factory across the street and take a look at how they're built; the scale of the operation is simply incredible! Finished off the afternoon with more training and computer systems, but I should be done with that (for the time being...) by the end of tomorrow.
I'm pretty much moved in to my apartment now; there's still a few boxes of miscellaneous stuff that I need to unpack, and my empty TV box that I'm reluctant to throw away (it may join forces with a slab of wood to become a table), but everything else is more or less where it's going to stay for the next few months. It's nice to be able to sit down and relax after coming home from work, instead of always feeling like there's something I need to do.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Philadelphia Day 2
Yesterday:
- Moved in to new apartment. It's better than I expected in some ways, worse in others. It's a first-floor apartment, so that means it's actually half below ground and everyone in the parking lot can see directly in to my apartment. I do, however, have brand-new carpet and reasonably new appliances. Parking (which is a free-for-all) appears to be scarce during the evenings.
- Went to "Pre-Employment Processing" at work. In other words, did 1/2 hour of paperwork and proved I'm a U.S. Citizen, and got my photo taken for my ID badge. Hopefully it's better than my MN drivers' license. I made one new friend there; he worked for Boeing for a few years as an Engineer in L.A., but is now doing contract administration (business).
- Had dinner and a few beers with my Dad at Iron Hill Brewery, a nicer restaurant that brews their own beers (excellent!). It's been a long while since I've had such a long conversation between just the two of us.
Today:
- Went shopping for furniture, since I'm lacking dining room furniture, a coffee table, dresser, and a nightstand. I ended up purchasing a dresser and some dining room chairs at IKEA (found a decent dining table next to the apartment dumpster--claimed!)
- Got an early birthday present from Dad, a GPS for my car! The roads around here are really confusing, since none of them go north/south, not even the major ones. Most of the roads are based on the river, which runs to the south-west, and none of them are straight for very long. They also aren't named in any sequential pattern, so you really have to know the area to know where you're going. Also, the typical street sign is about 2" x 16" and brown, so finding and reading them is nearly impossible.
- With the aforementioned transactions, I triggered a fraud flag on my credit card. It seems buying $400 of gas in a drive across the country and then spending $500 more at stores is suspicious... who knew?
- Dropped Dad off at the airport, which represented the last of my many goodbyes. It was hard, and now I'm all depressed, but I have plenty of things to do to take my mind off things.
- Went "grocery" shopping, which consisted of stopping at the Wawa store on the way home from the airport. These things are everywhere; they're pretty much little convenience stores, except they don't sell gas. I only got bread and milk. I'll buy more food later when it's not rush hour.
Tomorrow is my first day at work!
- Moved in to new apartment. It's better than I expected in some ways, worse in others. It's a first-floor apartment, so that means it's actually half below ground and everyone in the parking lot can see directly in to my apartment. I do, however, have brand-new carpet and reasonably new appliances. Parking (which is a free-for-all) appears to be scarce during the evenings.
- Went to "Pre-Employment Processing" at work. In other words, did 1/2 hour of paperwork and proved I'm a U.S. Citizen, and got my photo taken for my ID badge. Hopefully it's better than my MN drivers' license. I made one new friend there; he worked for Boeing for a few years as an Engineer in L.A., but is now doing contract administration (business).
- Had dinner and a few beers with my Dad at Iron Hill Brewery, a nicer restaurant that brews their own beers (excellent!). It's been a long while since I've had such a long conversation between just the two of us.
Today:
- Went shopping for furniture, since I'm lacking dining room furniture, a coffee table, dresser, and a nightstand. I ended up purchasing a dresser and some dining room chairs at IKEA (found a decent dining table next to the apartment dumpster--claimed!)
- Got an early birthday present from Dad, a GPS for my car! The roads around here are really confusing, since none of them go north/south, not even the major ones. Most of the roads are based on the river, which runs to the south-west, and none of them are straight for very long. They also aren't named in any sequential pattern, so you really have to know the area to know where you're going. Also, the typical street sign is about 2" x 16" and brown, so finding and reading them is nearly impossible.
- With the aforementioned transactions, I triggered a fraud flag on my credit card. It seems buying $400 of gas in a drive across the country and then spending $500 more at stores is suspicious... who knew?
- Dropped Dad off at the airport, which represented the last of my many goodbyes. It was hard, and now I'm all depressed, but I have plenty of things to do to take my mind off things.
- Went "grocery" shopping, which consisted of stopping at the Wawa store on the way home from the airport. These things are everywhere; they're pretty much little convenience stores, except they don't sell gas. I only got bread and milk. I'll buy more food later when it's not rush hour.
Tomorrow is my first day at work!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Double Take: Moving to Philadelphia
A few weeks ago, "moving to Philadelphia" was just another fact about my career trajectory: it was unquestionably the best decision to make; a necessary sacrifice to get to my "dream job;" the next in the series of adventures that make up one's life. Meghan would move out there with me, and I (we) would get to see family and friends often enough to suffice; neither seemed a big problem at the time. I was significantly more at ease with the decision than she was, probably because I had the added excitement of going to start a new job (hopefully one that I like), while all she had to look forward to was me leaving.
However, it did not truly become real until three things occurred:
First: I had to say goodbye to everyone. It started on Sunday, when one of my friends from high school (in fact, the only one that I really stay in contact with that I didn't go to college with) came by on the beginning of his spring break to say hi/goodbye. That didn't really hit me too hard, because he's been away at school on the West Coast for the majority of the past 5 years.
Then was Wednesday, my "official" farewell party. It literally took until I was putting on my shoes to go to the bar to realize that that was the night I would actually have to start saying goodbye to everyone. It wasn't terribly difficult; a lot of the people there were somewhat casual friends, and I had plans to see my closer friends later in the week.
Friday was the night where I went out with my closest friends, for a night of food, drinking, and revelry. It was a little bit harder; since everyone was leaving for the Easter Holiday, that was last time I would get to see them. As most of my current and former roommates were present at one time or another, it was a really nice way to look back at college and what a fantastic experience it has been.
Easter Sunday, however, was the hardest, when saying goodbye to my (extended) family. When they were leaving our Easter gathering, they asked, "when will we see you again?" I already know the answer (for this year, at least) is Christmas. It's hard for me to stomach that, while living out there, I will likely only see my extended family once or twice a year; I'm used to seeing them at least every two months or so; for all the major holidays, birthday and graduation celebrations, and some other miscellaneous gatherings. However, being a 22-hour drive away greatly reduces my ability to attend such things.
Second: This will be the first time that I am living more than 20 minutes from my parents' house. I first realized this in the final stages of packing for the move, when I was making sure that I had everything, similar to when going on vacation. The realization that something I forgot is no longer a "quick run home" really drove the point home: I am moving away, for a significant amount of time.
Third: I just got back from saying goodbye to Meghan, I'm leaving for Philadelphia in the morning. I promised not to cry on the way home, if she didn't cry going to sleep. It felt really awkward and disjointed to not be able to say "see you tomorrow" with a smile. For the next 6 months or so, seeing each other the 3-4 times a week that we grew accustomed to is no longer the norm. Sure, there will be phone calls and web-cam chats and other communication, but nothing can ever replace the feeling of a very special girl falling asleep in your arms. Ever.
Now that the full magnitude of "moving to Philadelphia" has hit me, things no longer seem so clear. To the contrary, everything now seems so uncertain. Although the proverbial "plan" has always been to work in Minnesota, I don't know if that will change, and my present self wouldn't be happy if it did. I don't know what it will be like to have all of my friends and family 1300 miles away. I don't know how I will handle everyday life being away from my girlfriend.
"Life's an adventure," I keep telling myself. We'll see where it leads.
However, it did not truly become real until three things occurred:
First: I had to say goodbye to everyone. It started on Sunday, when one of my friends from high school (in fact, the only one that I really stay in contact with that I didn't go to college with) came by on the beginning of his spring break to say hi/goodbye. That didn't really hit me too hard, because he's been away at school on the West Coast for the majority of the past 5 years.
Then was Wednesday, my "official" farewell party. It literally took until I was putting on my shoes to go to the bar to realize that that was the night I would actually have to start saying goodbye to everyone. It wasn't terribly difficult; a lot of the people there were somewhat casual friends, and I had plans to see my closer friends later in the week.
Friday was the night where I went out with my closest friends, for a night of food, drinking, and revelry. It was a little bit harder; since everyone was leaving for the Easter Holiday, that was last time I would get to see them. As most of my current and former roommates were present at one time or another, it was a really nice way to look back at college and what a fantastic experience it has been.
Easter Sunday, however, was the hardest, when saying goodbye to my (extended) family. When they were leaving our Easter gathering, they asked, "when will we see you again?" I already know the answer (for this year, at least) is Christmas. It's hard for me to stomach that, while living out there, I will likely only see my extended family once or twice a year; I'm used to seeing them at least every two months or so; for all the major holidays, birthday and graduation celebrations, and some other miscellaneous gatherings. However, being a 22-hour drive away greatly reduces my ability to attend such things.
Second: This will be the first time that I am living more than 20 minutes from my parents' house. I first realized this in the final stages of packing for the move, when I was making sure that I had everything, similar to when going on vacation. The realization that something I forgot is no longer a "quick run home" really drove the point home: I am moving away, for a significant amount of time.
Third: I just got back from saying goodbye to Meghan, I'm leaving for Philadelphia in the morning. I promised not to cry on the way home, if she didn't cry going to sleep. It felt really awkward and disjointed to not be able to say "see you tomorrow" with a smile. For the next 6 months or so, seeing each other the 3-4 times a week that we grew accustomed to is no longer the norm. Sure, there will be phone calls and web-cam chats and other communication, but nothing can ever replace the feeling of a very special girl falling asleep in your arms. Ever.
Now that the full magnitude of "moving to Philadelphia" has hit me, things no longer seem so clear. To the contrary, everything now seems so uncertain. Although the proverbial "plan" has always been to work in Minnesota, I don't know if that will change, and my present self wouldn't be happy if it did. I don't know what it will be like to have all of my friends and family 1300 miles away. I don't know how I will handle everyday life being away from my girlfriend.
"Life's an adventure," I keep telling myself. We'll see where it leads.
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