Starting over…again
I just realized the title of this post sounds like a self-help book for divorcees! Awww. The fact remains that I am starting over yet again, with a new place, a new job, and new faces. I also realized that even though I didn’t act on earlier ideas of traveling around in Central America before settling on a job, living in south Florida is the next best thing! I have no doubt that this will be a new cultural experience for me even though it’s only a 4 1/2 hour drive down from Gainesville. Moving all my stuff down here wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d anticipated. I really don’t have all that much stuff, considering I sold off all the furniture I had last year once I’d graduated. Still, I had an inconceivably large pile of boxes that I had absolutely no idea of what might be contained inside. It’s amazing to think I lived out of a backpack all last summer, and out of one huge suitcase for the six months I was in London and didn’t really miss any of it, but I packed it all in a moving truck to bring down here just the same.
Dad took off work Wednesday and Thursday to help me move everything down here. Loading up the truck wasn’t so bad at all, and driving down wasn’t a big deal, but the worst part of moving is unloading and unpacking everything. I think we managed to get it all in within an hour and a half, but it was hard going and we were spent afterwards. Once we’d got everything piled in the living room and I was dripping with sweat, my landlord showed up. Great timing! When I answered the door I could barely understand the guy’s accent, so I was happy when his realtor showed up and acted as a translator…literally. My realtor came and talked to his realtor, who then translated in Spanish to my landlord. Only in south Florida. I love it, it’s great practice for my listening skills! Heliodoro (the landlord….how cool is that name?) is very nice, and I think I made a good choice in coming here. Although I had enough stuff to fill a 14-foot U-Haul, I don’t have any living room furniture to speak of apart from a hand-me-down chair I got from my sister-in-law about three years ago. It is hideous. Comfortable, yet very, very hideous. So, after a delicious lunch of jerk chicken, yellow rice and plantains (I love south Florida!), Dad and I stopped at a few furniture stores until I found something that would fill the empty space in my apartment. Now I just have to pray that my first paycheck comes before my next credit card statement!
Just as soon as all the boxes were unpacked it was back up to Gainesville for my little sister’s high school graduation. My dad’s parents drove down and my brother and his wife flew down from Philadelphia Friday. Originally we thought my mom’s side of the family might make an appearance, but it was hectic enough with the addition of just four, so it was probably for the best. The graduation itself went well…for a graduation. They’re just so predictable! Thank god at least the speaker opted for a non “Oh the Places You’ll Go” speech. The one cool thing about having to sit through two hours of roll call was seeing some people I knew way back when. My old American history teacher, Mr. Shelnutt, is now the assistant principal at Buchholz. I saw one of my friend’s sisters with her little baby, and I saw some other guy I knew from BHS there with his girlfriend. It’s so odd to see these people after so long! It’s only been five years, but I guess that’s a long time at this time of life. The only bad part of the graduation was that I burned myself pretty badly with an iron as I was trying to press my clothes ahead of time. It burned like the dickens all night long, and now it’s just swelled up into an ugly blister. I’m just hoping it won’t turn into a scar, because it’s right across my inner forearm and would make people think I participate in self-harm.
The rest of the weekend went by pretty quickly. Saturday Britt and I went shopping for her dorm supplies and that night the whole family went to see The DaVinci Code (no, it’s not that great). I hadn’t seen my brother in a year, so it was good to get to spend some time with him. I guess now it won’t be until Christmas I’ll see him again. He and Emily, his wife, are going on a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale the week before Christmas and want me to go with them, so we’ll see if that comes to be. When he told me about it he was quick to point out that it was a good deal…for couples. For singles, like me, I’d have to pay a single-occupancy penalty fee, or find someone to travel with. Oh the joys of single life! It’s not enough to be single…we have to be financially penalized on top of it all. No cruise for me. This morning I drove back down to Fort Lauderdale for the third time in two weeks just about. And after the cable guy came by I now have digital cable and high speed Internet (joy!). The cable guy was really interesting to talk to. Turns out the guy lived in London for several years (and knew right where Acton was!), and had been a sniper in the military who had then been assigned guard duty for diplomats. He’d been all over the place, then came back here to get a computer science degree and realized he could make more money as a cable guy than as a computer technician. At least he’s not taking bullets for politicians any more.
My apartment is still very empty…and very quiet. I talked to Kevin online tonight and he asked me if I was lonely. I haven’t had time to be lonely yet, but I wonder if I will be soon. I’ve never been the kind of person who’s minded being on my own; I can entertain myself for hours on end, and with digital cable that’s prolonged indefinitely! It is scary being in a new place and not knowing anyone, but hopefully that won’t be the case for very long. Worst case scenario…on craigslist there’re postings for people looking for friends/activity buddies! And I even saw some guy looking for a beach tennis partner…so who knows! Tomorrow is my first day at my new job. I was supposed to do some online training stuff before attending training this week, but I looked at the schedule and the technical portion of the training doesn’t start till Tuesday, I figured I had one more day. Plus, I had a glass (or two) of wine earlier to celebrate moving into my new place, and I don’t think I could adequately process any technical information at the moment. There’s always tomorrow…
One last thing before I go. This week has been unique in that both my dad and my best friend have had some concerning medical news. Kelly called me earlier on and said she had to go to the emergency room Friday and found out she had an ovarian cyst. Now she’s on pain killers until she finds out if she has to have surgery or not, and it’s really frustrating knowing I can’t go up there and be with her with this new job and all. Then, my dad had a biopsy done on a spot on his neck and had it come back with abnormal cells that require further testing. Not exactly the kind of news any of us wanted to hear, but hopefully it will turn out to be nothing. This is all weighing on my mind constantly, so I can’t even imagine what is must be like for both of them…and Kelly’s boyfriend and my mom. Fingers crossed this week brings better news on the medical front.
So now it’s off to bed, or at least off to watch TV in bed. It’s hard to believe these are my last few hours of freedom before I’ll start a job that could last…who knows how long. Weirdest of all, it’s not a job…it’s a career. Wow, how scary does that sound? I guess, one whole year after graduation, it’s about time! Hmm…what to wear…
Tags: Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville, graduation, jobs, Travel, work
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