After an exhausting two days of driving, I had a solid two days of productivity in what is, in a very surreal way, my new home town. I suspect it won't feel totally real until my family and truck full of crap is here, but it's getting there.
I can't even tell you how helpful it is to have a best friend already living where you're moving. My BFF Kara has carted me around town (or I carted her, as it were) and showed me how to get around, avoid tolls, where to shop, where to do touristy stuff, etc. In the chaos of trying to put down some new roots, it helps to have someone to help you figure out what's going on around you.
I found a place to rent relatively quickly. I looked at a half-dozen places, and scored one that had just hit the market that morning. It would have been nice to spend slightly less, but at the end of the day, it's the right place for us to spend a year. Stuff does not stay on the market for very long at all in terms of rentals.
For shits and giggles, I did look at a model for a new development going up. There's a part of me that would like to consider building, eventually, and Diana wouldn't mind either. There's admittedly something cool about having a place that's entirely your own, from its origin. It's fun to think about, but not something we need to be serious about for another six months (which coincidentally is the time I'll know more about my job state in terms of renewal, full-time, or moving on to something else).
Did I mention I've done a lot of driving? Some of it has just been testing the water for drive times and avoiding tourist congestion. I'm getting a pretty good feel for that now. Our new place is just down the road from the local grocery store chain in one direction, and Super Target in the other direction. Win-win.
I played a little tennis with Kara and her roommate today. That was a bitch. I didn't win at all. Between not playing in a year, and almost never playing outside, I couldn't put together a good swing to save my life. It's worth noting that the weather felt oppressive, but also worth nothing that the same would be true in Cleveland, which was hotter today, with the same humidity. Summers are very warm here, but in a consistent way.
I've also got a feel now for interesting stuff to do. I mean, there is no shortage of things to do here, obviously, but as a tourist, most of what I know is the theme parks, as visited from their resort hotels. There's more to it than that!
Tomorrow I go back to work, and I'm pretty excited about it. I'm not thrilled about the time it will take to actually get paid, which is a problem with this particular agency I'm working through.
Good first few days here, but I've got about two more weeks of being transient. That's not going to be very much fun. I've gotta stay positive and try to roll with that.
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