an obvious immigrant

As I hurriedly approached my snow-covered car this morning, hot cup of Wawa coffee in hand, I noticed a message written in the snow on my passenger side rear window. "Go home." Then I turned my attention to the conspicuous absence of my Phillies National League Championship Series bumper sticker. Nice. This comes two weeks after discovering that my back bumper was puked on while parked on the next street over.

I get it. My Virginia license plates stick out like a sore thumb in this all-Philly neighborhood I live in. But really, shouldn't you save the aggression for an Arizona Cardinals fan, or someone with a Mets/Giants/etc. bumper sticker? I was watching the Eagles game last night, rooting for them just like the rest of you. Don't let my lack of a Pennsylvania license plate distract you from that fact.

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.

misadventures and time wasting

It's the little things that matter when you're several hundred miles from "home" (which in this case includes both New Kent and Harrisonburg, VA) and are spending your days and nights alone in hotel rooms while waiting for news of your car repairs. I got into this situation when I drove up to Philadelphia last Tuesday for one more attempt at apartment shopping. I had met with several people already but was still searching for the right combination of good location, affordable rent, and likeable roommates. I've been spoiled in the past by these qualities and kept up my high standards by visiting Philly 3 times in as many weeks to lock down a decent place for the next year. In retrospect of this experience, I certainly would have started earlier had I known my Americorps position at La Salle was a definite, but this wasn't confirmed until late in July. I've done what I can in the time allotted, but it definitely hurt my car.

Greta, my 10-year-old manual Volkswagen Jetta broke down on me last Tuesday afternoon around 4PM while in the left lane of I-95 around Chester, PA just a little bit outside of the city. Yep, left lane, rush hour, I-95, the whole shebang. I was sitting in stop-and-go traffic as it was, and when I put my left foot down on the clutch to start going again, it sank to the floor and stayed there. Much cursing ensued. After I made the requisite phone calls to AAA and the highway police, some nice construction workers from Georgia pushed me out of the road and onto the median.

After getting towed to a local car repair place, I got a rental car from Enterprise (a Dodge Charger, the only one left at the end of the day) and still made it to my roommate meeting appointments on time. I then made it to my hostel (which I had already booked), watched the Olympics and went to bed in my all-girls dorm. I went on a 5-hour walking tour with hostel people the next day, and effectively traversed all of Center City. I saw City Hall (and the naughty-at-certain-angles statue of William Penn), ran up the Rocky steps, viewed some Mural Arts Program visual treats and made friends with various Europeans, Kiwis, a South Korean and a Canadian. The guide referred to me as 'Virginia' and I had to answer tough questions about American politics, history and pop culture. The whole hostel experience reminded me of my travels in Europe, but with English as the lingua franca for once.

I eventually switched out cars, drove to Harrisonburg, Richmond, back to Harrisonburg, then up here on Saturday with my parents to move stuff into my chosen new apartment. I've been up in Philadelphia staying in hotels and at my friend's house ever since, as the news about my car keeps getting worse. Crack in the transmission, difficult repairs, etc. No matter what happens, I'll be up here for good by Monday, September 1st when my lease starts. My position (or Philadelphia Healthcorps training, really) begins September 8th, so I'll have a full week up here with nothing to do and my own place to stay. I plan on researching the best routes to work, as well as figuring out where to buy groceries and such.

So, back to the little things. Mainly, I just had a moment of zen the other day when purchasing my lunch at 3PM from Trader Joe's after making the decision to stay in a hotel. I was ravenous but having so many delicious options kept me sane. Also, I perused the wine & spirits store next door and settled on a 4-pack of Pinot Noir. And having so many lovely friends check in on me via the internet has been lovely as well. I'll attempt to write more background later on how I decided upon this route, but I'm going to follow my Dad's advice and read a book here instead.