In May of 2010, I graduated from a very happy liberal arts institution in California. Almost everyone lived in the dorms, so I was surrounded by friends 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, had all of my meals prepared for me at a dining hall, and many days of the week could roll out of bed after 9:45 and still make it to class on time (or not, if I wanted). But now I have to be at work every weekday well before 9:45, via a half-hour commute and after having packed my own lunch. I'm entirely in charge of my own meals, which if I don't want to break the bank, requires cooking on a regular basis. And as I was apartment hunting, I didn't have the phone number of a single person living in the city.
The first month was really, really tough. Both professionally and socially. The second month was marginally better, but not enough to make me feel like I was really settling in and making this fantastic city my home. August, though, August has really started to turn things around. I'm still lonely sometimes, and I still do totally moronic things at work on a semi-regular basis. But my outlook is now positive enough that I think I can view awkward situations as humorous, and troubles at work as learning experiences. And hopefully by writing about them, I can help myself do a better job at settling in to this new and awesome city, and maybe even strike a chord with some people going through a similar experience. So, enjoy!
