![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Today's Doings
Aug. 17th, 2015 03:05 pmI opened up my change of address confirmation letter from USPS today and it made me unexpectedly sad. It suggested some to-dos like gathering everyone in your house to talk about evacuation routes in case of an emergency, and other things that assume you'll be living with other people. I unexpectedly felt sad about both being far away from my family and partners, not having children of mine to take care of, and being in a pretty empty space. I being me, I started analyzing and unpacking.
What's wrong with being in an empty space by myself? I enjoy setting my own schedule and doing the things I want to do. I enjoy being in control. Why does a letter referencing family and children make me sad that I don't have children? Maybe I'm not raising little ones to be good people right now and thus making the future a little better (and maybe I never will; it's complicated), but what I'm doing at school has the same goal; expressing optimism in the future and making the world a better place.
After thinking about it more, I realized that what I'm really feeling sad about is the tremendous number of happy memories and experiences and day-to-day life of living with my parents, both as a child and as an adult, that such references bring to mind. My home is feeling a bit empty because it is not that place, nor that time, that I am used to. That's rational, and I can accept that and work with it.
And Skype makes this transition so much easier! I've spent time on Skype with Danae and with my parents, playing games together or just talking. Especially with video, it's not that unlike being in the same room and just sharing space. Technology is really marvelous sometimes.
---
Today was pretty good. I went to a hardware store about 3 miles away. I could have gone to the nearby Lowe's on Erie, but I'd rather patronize a local, non-big-box store (And I told the cashier so when I checked out; she thanked me!). Three feet of 1/16" wire rope, crimping sleeves, and a small padlock later, I have a slender cable to lock my panniers to my bike frame. It's easily cuttable, but it's really just to keep people honest.
This town has some serious hills! Going back and forth on Euclid requires gearing down to low and grinding away at five miles an hour or so. And the stretch of Green Street up to my building is even worse; I think it's the steepest grade I've ridden here so far. Good thing it's only half a block. I can see that I'm going to develop even more muscular legs and probably go through a lot of brake pads.
I went to the benefits meeting for incoming GAs today. It turned out I knew most of what they were saying already through reading an introductory meeting and puzzling out how to enroll in insurance and everything. If I assume I'm not going to get any unasked for help in navigating a bureaucracy, I don't have to worry about not knowing what I'm doing and screwing up something major. But it's a pleasant surprise to get a walkthrough. I also filled out my I-9 today, so that's good. Supposedly I will get paid on the 31st!
I need to do a few more paperwork things online, then I might give![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
restoman a call and see if he and his dog would like a visit. There's another way to combat feeling a little alone. Go out and be not alone!
What's wrong with being in an empty space by myself? I enjoy setting my own schedule and doing the things I want to do. I enjoy being in control. Why does a letter referencing family and children make me sad that I don't have children? Maybe I'm not raising little ones to be good people right now and thus making the future a little better (and maybe I never will; it's complicated), but what I'm doing at school has the same goal; expressing optimism in the future and making the world a better place.
After thinking about it more, I realized that what I'm really feeling sad about is the tremendous number of happy memories and experiences and day-to-day life of living with my parents, both as a child and as an adult, that such references bring to mind. My home is feeling a bit empty because it is not that place, nor that time, that I am used to. That's rational, and I can accept that and work with it.
And Skype makes this transition so much easier! I've spent time on Skype with Danae and with my parents, playing games together or just talking. Especially with video, it's not that unlike being in the same room and just sharing space. Technology is really marvelous sometimes.
---
Today was pretty good. I went to a hardware store about 3 miles away. I could have gone to the nearby Lowe's on Erie, but I'd rather patronize a local, non-big-box store (And I told the cashier so when I checked out; she thanked me!). Three feet of 1/16" wire rope, crimping sleeves, and a small padlock later, I have a slender cable to lock my panniers to my bike frame. It's easily cuttable, but it's really just to keep people honest.
This town has some serious hills! Going back and forth on Euclid requires gearing down to low and grinding away at five miles an hour or so. And the stretch of Green Street up to my building is even worse; I think it's the steepest grade I've ridden here so far. Good thing it's only half a block. I can see that I'm going to develop even more muscular legs and probably go through a lot of brake pads.
I went to the benefits meeting for incoming GAs today. It turned out I knew most of what they were saying already through reading an introductory meeting and puzzling out how to enroll in insurance and everything. If I assume I'm not going to get any unasked for help in navigating a bureaucracy, I don't have to worry about not knowing what I'm doing and screwing up something major. But it's a pleasant surprise to get a walkthrough. I also filled out my I-9 today, so that's good. Supposedly I will get paid on the 31st!
I need to do a few more paperwork things online, then I might give
restoman a call and see if he and his dog would like a visit. There's another way to combat feeling a little alone. Go out and be not alone!
