New Things

The last few days have been busy and exciting. I got a job! I had been looking since February, before I even graduated, hoping it would be a fast process. Thousands of resume submittals and five interviews later, here I am, sitting in my new (and also old) bedroom in Hickory, NC.

It's old as well as new because this is the same bedroom I lived in from when I was 2 until when I was 10. My father's job moved my family from my birthplace in Rhode Island to here, and then later to Virginia. My parent's bought the old house back a few years ago, and it was vacant until my aunt and uncle moved in a few months ago. They bought a house in Conover, the next town over, and are staying here until it is finished. I am excited to be able to continue my rent-free lifestyle. It is almost like living at school again...except my roommates are almost 60, watch golf on TV, and go to bed at 9:30.

Since the house was all ready for me to move in to, my transition from VA to NC happened over a 48 hour time period. Who would think two days could change my entire life? I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to my friends, just a text or a facebook message to most, because it almost felt like I was leaving for vacation. Only now, the night before my first day of work, is it setting in that this move is going to be permanent.

Athan was able to come up on Friday and leave today, so at least I had some familiar company during my transition. I kept thinking how nice it would be if he could live here too so that we wouldn't have to drive so far to see each other. Also, with him here it's easy to forget that I'm in a place without any friends. The town is familiar but I can't say any of the people are. Even if I saw someone I recognized, how do I begin? "Hi, I think I remember you from when I was 8." Not exactly cool. Sort of screams "CREEPER!"

I know developing friendships will take some time, but I have a few plans for meeting people:
1. Work. There are a lot of under-30s from what I saw when I came by for the interview, so I am confident there will be people I can bond with beyond just a coworker level.
2. Joining a gym. Not only do I need something to keep me from melting into the couch and spending my evenings alone with Food Network and a tub of ice cream, I have heard the gym can be a place to make friends. At the very least it will provide interaction with people my own age, even at a very basic waving-only level.
3. Church? The question mark is there for many reasons. I haven't been to a church I was actually a member of since I was 10. My mom wants me to go to our old church here, not so much for religious fulfillment as nostalgia. Athan and I went to church when he was here, but he's Catholic so we went to a church I had never been to when I lived here. I liked it, but can you join a church that belongs to a religion you are not part of? Everyone here goes to church so at least it would give me something to do on Sundays. Also every church has free coffee/donuts aka delicious breakfast. The penny-pincher and recent self bill-payer in me loves anything free. We'll see if I ever get the guts to join a congregation.

The hardest part about all of this is that I have to do things...ALONE! I have never been much of a loner, and I prefer to try new things with a partner. Living here is going to require me breaking out of my shell and leaving my comfort zone, and all other kinds of cliches about change. Even in the first few days of college I had a roommate I could convince to follow me around (although, for those who know, that ended up backfiring in the long-run). I already know that I am going to learn a lot in the next few weeks as I get settled.

As this is the night before my first day as an editor, I thought it would be fitting to read The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White. It's a fantastic reference for any writer and I know I will be utilizing it for my job. I have five grammar and compostion related reference books I plan on bringing to work - hopefully it won't make me appear either a) overzealous or b) poorly trained.

And as a final note: have any other working girls noticed that female office attire is somewhat of an enigma? All day I have been mentally dressing myself for work tomorrow not knowing whether the office is business formal or business casual. Everyone was dressed so differently at my interview I don't know which person to base my attire after. I know to err on the conservative side but honestly, there is no easy answer for what a woman wears to work. This is good in the sense we aren't bound by annoyingly rigid rules, but also bad in the sense there is a very fine line between appropriate and inappropriate.