the adventure begins

I'm here. I have successfully arrived in Philadelphia (still in the rental car), schlepping the rest of my 'stuff' across state lines and visiting my parents and a few friends in the process. I'm technically "moved in" but still have yet to properly assemble my bed or find a way to hang more than 10 items in my closet. As of tomorrow, I will have made 3 trips to the nearest IKEA and 2 to the Bed Bath & Beyond of my choice, returning items that simply will not fit in my 10' x 10' square. But I'm no longer living in a suitcase, using travel-sized bath products and staying in suburban hotel rooms with only the cable TV to keep me company. That is how I spent much of last week, assured that my car's transmission repairs would be done the next day. Eventually I had to give up on waiting around for Greta, though they tell me that I get her back tomorrow. It's amazing how a crack in your manual transmission can lead to the death of a clutch, leaking of fluid and over two week's worth of worries. Aside from the moving in process and the car troubles, things are great. My roommates are wonderful (but super busy compared to my boring week of furniture arranging and store returns), this house is great (3 stories plus a functional basement, lovely backyard and front porch, well-equipped kitchen) and the neighborhood is blissfully quiet. I'm a 45-second walk from the nearest WaWa which should satisfy my cravings for glazed blueberry donuts and late-night hoagies if nothing else.

I start Americorps training on Monday and will be doing that M-F, 9-5 in Center City for at least the next week. I'll meet everyone in my program and hopefully will learn some valuable skills before I hit the streets, so to speak. I already met my supervisor and most of my coworkers at La Salle University, where my actual placement is, when I was here a few weeks ago during the apartment hunt. This should be an interesting experience and certainly a valuable break from higher education. I still plan on going to grad school somewhere next fall to get my Masters of Public Health, but that could change.

I've said my goodbyes to Harrisonburg, Richmond and New Kent over the last few months but still plan on making occasional trips back as time, money and my car permit. My friends and family are now located over a pretty sizable portion of the Eastern United States, with a few more in the far-flung reaches of Europe and Asia. I'll try not to be glued to my computer and phone so that I can actually go out and experience Philadelphia, but I'm going to try my best to stay in contact with everyone.

Tomorrow entails grocery shopping, bookshelf arranging and what is hopefully the last day of purchasing flat-packaged furniture.