Syracuse Stuff
I'm basically settled in to my new place. There are boxes all over, but there's also space to walk between the bathroom and my desk, so the most important part is done.
I don't think that the reality of being approximately 700 miles from my partner, girlfriend, and family has fully sunk in yet. I feel it in pieces here and there. I was drifting off to sleep last night, nestled on new sheets on an old mattress, and dream fragments were drifting through my mind. My dad and Evil Bob and Dwarf were here, helping me unpack. Then I realized they were probably somewhere in Ohio by then and it made me a little sad.
I talked to my mother on the phone last night. Things are going well for her, and that makes me really happy. She and my dad are going to have a very empty feeling house, especially while my youngest brother is still away in Redmond, Washington for the next few weeks. But she seems to have a new friend in Kenosha! She's quite shy and introverted, much like I used to be. She thinks that she's on the autism spectrum, a concept that I introduced her too back when I first learned about faceblindness and autism spectrum disorders. It's a little ironic that I'm pretty convinced now that I'm not autistic (not that it's a binary state; I have little neurological bits that are consistent). When my dad told me that she had a lunch date with someone it made me really happy. Mom says that the woman wants to get together again and maybe play some board games, and they seem to get along well. I don't know that she's ever really had friends outside of the group of people that she and my dad have known for decades, so that's really nice to hear. It's so good to have people to be social with. That's on my list to find here, too! I'll have to look into that local gaming group.
I talked to Danae via Skype last night. In the past, I've used Skype primarily for communication with my family downstairs while we all play a computer game together. It's a really wonderful thing to be talk to my partner and see her face as we catch up with each other's events. I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day when we talked, but there were times that I just looked at her face and smiled. It's not the same as being snuggled on a couch with our respective work and/or reading, but it's a good substitute.
Scheduling visits feels like more of a priority now that I'm here in New York. The idea of two or three years of Skype seems very disconnecting, but a series of month-or-two blocks of Skype punctuated with in-person visits seems very doable. I'm going to have to learn to accept flying sooner or later, so it might as well be soon. I'll probably take a plane back to Chicago over winter break.
The folks who made the drive with me were simply invaluable; they went so far toward making this possible and with a sane level of stress. I'm forever grateful to them. They all bought me housewarming / commitment ceremony presents. A set of knives and kitchen towels from Evil Bob. Green bathroom towels for signalling alien space ships from Dwarf. And from my dad, so much food, dishes, chairs from Goodwill, and so many other little things for my household. Thinking about how much love and support they gave me makes me tear up a little. I'll miss them, but so many little things here will make me think of them and feel cared for.
We arrived at my new apartment in the late evening on Monday. My landlords (a mother and her adult son) were there awaiting my arrival. They helped get the trailer parked, signed the lease with me, and even helped unload a few things! I've interacted with them a couple times and they seem like great people. One was here yesterday making sure that my internet was working, and I offered to show her my loft bed since she'd been so interested in it when I told her about it on the phone. Her son is a graduate of SU from the MPA program I'm considering too, so I'm looking forward to talking with him more about the program and the city in general. They also told me about some neighborhood meetings I'm interested in attending. I want to start learning how my city and its neighborhoods work.
Before my dad and friends left for Wisconsin, we drove around Syracuse a bit. We visited a thrift store, a hardware store, got some Chinese, and went through the SU campus bookstore. My dad wanted a shirt for himself and a cup for my mom. Even Evil Bob bought an SU shirt, which was strangely touching to me. He said at one point that he will likely never be able to do this for his own children, and he wants to do it for me. That I'm like a son to him. He was a huge part of my life growing up, and with so much bad stuff having happened in his life, and not having seen much of him for a long time, that really moved me.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon and evening intermittently unpacking clothes while listening to NPR and browsing Facebook to see how my dad's trip home is going. I guess other than the new immediate surroundings, things feel a lot like home. I found the local NPR station (broadcast from Syracuse University I think) and there are some familiar voices on there. It's good to have my tuner and FM dipole antenna set up.
Perhaps I'll feel further from home today as I get out on my bike. I'm going to visit the campus and drop in at the geography department. I may head to the nearest thrift store and look for a microwave too. But I'm mostly going to bike around my neighborhood and get acquainted.
I have to plan a meeting with my advisor on Friday to talk about my academic interests. I'm still feeling a little intimidated by all of this, but I also feel like my situation here is coming together. This will be a good place!
I don't think that the reality of being approximately 700 miles from my partner, girlfriend, and family has fully sunk in yet. I feel it in pieces here and there. I was drifting off to sleep last night, nestled on new sheets on an old mattress, and dream fragments were drifting through my mind. My dad and Evil Bob and Dwarf were here, helping me unpack. Then I realized they were probably somewhere in Ohio by then and it made me a little sad.
I talked to my mother on the phone last night. Things are going well for her, and that makes me really happy. She and my dad are going to have a very empty feeling house, especially while my youngest brother is still away in Redmond, Washington for the next few weeks. But she seems to have a new friend in Kenosha! She's quite shy and introverted, much like I used to be. She thinks that she's on the autism spectrum, a concept that I introduced her too back when I first learned about faceblindness and autism spectrum disorders. It's a little ironic that I'm pretty convinced now that I'm not autistic (not that it's a binary state; I have little neurological bits that are consistent). When my dad told me that she had a lunch date with someone it made me really happy. Mom says that the woman wants to get together again and maybe play some board games, and they seem to get along well. I don't know that she's ever really had friends outside of the group of people that she and my dad have known for decades, so that's really nice to hear. It's so good to have people to be social with. That's on my list to find here, too! I'll have to look into that local gaming group.
I talked to Danae via Skype last night. In the past, I've used Skype primarily for communication with my family downstairs while we all play a computer game together. It's a really wonderful thing to be talk to my partner and see her face as we catch up with each other's events. I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day when we talked, but there were times that I just looked at her face and smiled. It's not the same as being snuggled on a couch with our respective work and/or reading, but it's a good substitute.
Scheduling visits feels like more of a priority now that I'm here in New York. The idea of two or three years of Skype seems very disconnecting, but a series of month-or-two blocks of Skype punctuated with in-person visits seems very doable. I'm going to have to learn to accept flying sooner or later, so it might as well be soon. I'll probably take a plane back to Chicago over winter break.
The folks who made the drive with me were simply invaluable; they went so far toward making this possible and with a sane level of stress. I'm forever grateful to them. They all bought me housewarming / commitment ceremony presents. A set of knives and kitchen towels from Evil Bob. Green bathroom towels for signalling alien space ships from Dwarf. And from my dad, so much food, dishes, chairs from Goodwill, and so many other little things for my household. Thinking about how much love and support they gave me makes me tear up a little. I'll miss them, but so many little things here will make me think of them and feel cared for.
We arrived at my new apartment in the late evening on Monday. My landlords (a mother and her adult son) were there awaiting my arrival. They helped get the trailer parked, signed the lease with me, and even helped unload a few things! I've interacted with them a couple times and they seem like great people. One was here yesterday making sure that my internet was working, and I offered to show her my loft bed since she'd been so interested in it when I told her about it on the phone. Her son is a graduate of SU from the MPA program I'm considering too, so I'm looking forward to talking with him more about the program and the city in general. They also told me about some neighborhood meetings I'm interested in attending. I want to start learning how my city and its neighborhoods work.
Before my dad and friends left for Wisconsin, we drove around Syracuse a bit. We visited a thrift store, a hardware store, got some Chinese, and went through the SU campus bookstore. My dad wanted a shirt for himself and a cup for my mom. Even Evil Bob bought an SU shirt, which was strangely touching to me. He said at one point that he will likely never be able to do this for his own children, and he wants to do it for me. That I'm like a son to him. He was a huge part of my life growing up, and with so much bad stuff having happened in his life, and not having seen much of him for a long time, that really moved me.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon and evening intermittently unpacking clothes while listening to NPR and browsing Facebook to see how my dad's trip home is going. I guess other than the new immediate surroundings, things feel a lot like home. I found the local NPR station (broadcast from Syracuse University I think) and there are some familiar voices on there. It's good to have my tuner and FM dipole antenna set up.
Perhaps I'll feel further from home today as I get out on my bike. I'm going to visit the campus and drop in at the geography department. I may head to the nearest thrift store and look for a microwave too. But I'm mostly going to bike around my neighborhood and get acquainted.
I have to plan a meeting with my advisor on Friday to talk about my academic interests. I'm still feeling a little intimidated by all of this, but I also feel like my situation here is coming together. This will be a good place!
