In the beginning

I've lapsed on my blogging lately just when I moved to Somerville to start grad school. I should have all kinds of things to write about, but at the moment everything is so natal that it's hard to analyze any of it. I can say that there are very nice people in my program and the professors are cordial and casual. My roommates are more than I could ever ask for on the social scale. They've had three barbecues in three weeks. I'm fantasizing about all the great road trips I have to take; I've already gone to New York for a day. And my calendar is packed with class, homework, and social outings. Nothing is wrong except that I can't get my student Id because the university's computers say I'm an employee and not a graduate student (I work for a professor in my department.) The weather has been wonderful and now fall is sweeping in.

My tasks are all related to momentum--keeping up with the work, the socializing, and the exploring. I have to ignore my shortcomings and demons for now and assume that my better qualities are those that are on display. I have big challenges ahead, like completing my first writing assignment and inviting new friends on outings and to parties at our house. I also have to finish painting my room from blue to lemoncello, which takes about four coats of paint.

I don't have much of anyone for comfort right now except for three sweet but skittish cats. I'm looking forward to having some close friends sometime soon. It's sort of nice that I've spent so much time alone in my past because I'm perfectly comfortable with it here, and it pushes me to socialize at every opportunity, which I had hoped would happen.

I don't know if these two years are a destination or an intermediate step to something yet more foreign to come. If I didn't feel the pressure of the clock it wouldn't matter. I guess it can't matter in any case unless I decide that I'm in charge of my future. My aunt once told me that if I don't make decisions in my life that someone else would make them for me. I think I'm taking the reigns now, but I'm timid about steering.

So as to not end in metaphor, I will say that I recommend big changes to everyone whenever they have the chance. I guess it's one of the debatable benefits of being solitaire, or free of a self-run business or what have you. I've also thought a lot about this idea of saving up to go to school every ten years. It's too bad more people don't do that; I can't imagine mingling with 20-somehtings when I'm forty. I may have to do that linguistics masters in the privacy of my fire-lit den.

So long from east coast daylight time. The blue is going away, the kitties are not.