it's the beginning of the end

today is the first day of summer as far as the official academic calendar at PSU is concerned. so, i suppose that for all practical purposes, i am no longer a student here. that sounds pretty ridiculous, doesn't it? graduation goes down next sunday (5/15), but i am doubting that that will make anything feel any more finished. i've got a list of things that i really really want to be done or nearly done with when i move to wisconsin at the end of july. my guess is that that will mean working as much as possible between now and then. it will be somewhat difficult during the six weeks that i teach, but i am hoping that i can get far enough ahead with teaching stuff that i can still be productive. we will see.

in an above-and-beyond move that is a true testament to their overall awesomeness, my mom and dad made the trek today from buffalo center to madison to look at potential apartments for me. this was an effort of a combination of rationales, not the least of which was a unanimous desire for me to not live in some sort of unexpected madison slum. as far as we know. . . mission accomplished (i hope that doesn't guarantee that my car is going to be stolen at some point next year. that would make me ridiculously unhappy).

they really were troopers today, though. driving for 10 hours, calling frequently, taking pictures, asking questions, pretending that the itinerary that i sent was even remotely adequate, and then listening to me free associate on the phone for 45 minutes while i tried to make a decision about where i should live, when i should move in, and list the various pros and cons of places that they had already spent the entire day telling me about. sadly enough, this was likely an expected progression of events - it kind of epitomizes any big-life decision that i've had to make ever (in related news. . . no big progress on the wedding plans).

The teeny-tiny kitchen (and main drawback of the apt)

but these efforts were not in vain. i think we ("we") found something. partially based on quaint character and partially based on availability, i am probably going to be going with an old, old but (i think) very pretty apartment on the isthmus between the two madison lakes. mom sent me a few pictures on her phone that i will pass along.

Bedroom (looking into hallway)

The living room (looking into kitchen and den)

i must say that i have been duly warned that this will be the smallest that my living space has been in quite a while (i'm mentally preparing myself for a central townhouse-esque experience - though without karen around as a roommate :/ ) and i'm not super-thrilled to go back to coin-operated laundry again. but, i think it looks like a place with more character than any of the places that i've lived in. and i'm guessing a building described as having a "young professional" population will probably not mean that i have neighbors who host what can only be described as a techno dance party 1 - 2 times per week. as lacey could attest, this will be a clear step up from our current living situation. although i may miss the house a few doors down that play rock band really, really loudly with all of their doors and windows open in the summer. the singing is so incredibly bad, it still shocks me every time. so, assuming that all of my phone calls go well on monday, you've seen as much of my new apartment as i have.

i was thinking today, though, that it was just 5 years ago that i was calling Mom and Dad and freaking out about whether or not i should move to pennsylvania. that - by itself - is kind of weird to think about, but even more strange is that i had no lacey in my life. no thesis. no dissertation. no clue what my career pat was supposed to be. no idea if i'd ever be living close to home again. and no clue that i had a lifelong future with matt. that's like a whole different person and a whole different life. 

as i alluded to before, i do still have a few things to check about and clear up about this apartment, but assuming that things work out, i feel a huge sense of relief about the impending move. presumably, within a week i would have a start date, a move date, and some sense of order in an otherwise very overwhelming situation. i can feel myself getting excited to get things underway. more excited than i was to move from MO to PA. more excited, even, than i was to move to MO in the first place. it's more like coming home. and it's so, so close to settling in to "real life" as it has been defined for me so many times. it's another two year position, yes, but what an exciting two years it will be!!

not the least exciting which will be a necessary change in the blog name. nothing will be coming from appalachia anymore. so, to all of you with creative minds, start brainstorming!!