The last bit of my summer has been a very interesting experience on the whole. There's been a bit of everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
For one thing, I went hiking out on Dungeness Spit, which is over 5 miles long and both very beautiful and quite the workout. Highlights included chasing seagulls, eating mochi, being unable to see when a bunch of fog rolled in, watching not one, not two, but three cruise ships go by (most likely heading to Alaska), and nearly freezing my feet when I decided to take off my shoes because we were almost back and the tide was coming in.
Oh right, if you hadn't heard, I got a haircut.
More recently, I have moved to Berkeley, CA... or rather, I would consider the moving process close to complete. My roommate and I only have one piece of furniture so far (and that one thanks to Laura) and there's no internet at the apartment yet, but I think those things are relatively minor.
My parents and I took a nice little road trip down from WA so I didn't have to leave as much of my stuff on their hands and because it was fun and they were kind enough to understand that I really didn't feel like heading off alone to live somewhere new for the, I guess, third time in 4 years? MIT, Paris, Berkeley, does that sound about right?
We stopped in Portland on the way and had lunch with Emma, which was both fun and delicious! Unfortunately I did not remember to take any pictures together, so you'll have to take my word for it and maybe Emma will back me up.
When we arrived in Berkeley, the crazy search for an apartment began, and I discovered that my roommate used to live with Adam's brother. *Cue* It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all... OKAY I'll shut up now.
Anyway, the difficulty of finding a place to live led to the next phase: Camping on Daniel's couch. Daniel, an LMF alum for those who don't know him, was nice enough to let me stay with him for what turned out to be longer than I had hoped; much gratitude is sent from me to him and his roommate.
All turned out well, however, as I now have a very nice, if unfurnished and not terribly cheap, place to live.
The chemistry department here has "orientated" me not only up the wazoo, as the saying goes, but also back down and all around the merry-go-round, while still managing to leave a lot of logistical glitches for me to work through (I really never appreciated just how much MIT spoils you from the standpoint of being organized, taking care of you, and making sure you know who to talk to if you have a question until now). Classes started Thursday, I start teaching next week, and I'm in the process of finding a research lab to join, so wish me luck! All in all I'm feeling pretty good about my situation and although I miss you all, I'm looking forward to the next however many years I will spend here. Here's to the end of one era and the start of a new one!
P.S. Thank you LMF for being one of the most important reasons I've loved being an MIT student so much, and I will be in touch with you peeps, so watch out :P
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