Dallas: Initial Impressions
I’ve had about 3 weeks to adjust to the idea that in March I’m moving to Dallas. It hasn’t gotten any less weird in that time. It has, however, gotten a little less scary. I’ve spent the last week in Dallas. I’ve done a lot of training, a lot of house hunting, and a little bit of socializing. I’m actually writing this from a Panera in Addison because I had to be out of the hotel by noon, but my flight’s not until 6.
I think I found a place to live. It’s not 100% yet, but hopefully it will be in the next few days. It’s pretty close to work, which is definitely a good thing for right now since I don’t know the area that well. I did do some exploring this afternoon, and I was able to get around the area without using my gps. The North Dallas/Addison area is actually pretty easy to navigate, and I don’t have a great sense of direction. I can get from the house to the office to Wal Mart to the mall and several restaurants without much trouble. And I think I can make it back to DFW from here with no electronic assistance. We’ll have to see, though. All in all, that’s a pretty big relief because I was picturing myself being lost all the time and never knowing how to get anywhere.
The work part of this trip has been pretty crazy. Most of the time I was at the office was spent in with the guy that’s currently doing the job I will be doing soon. He explained a lot of stuff to me, and then I watched him do a lot of other things that I may or may not actually remember in a few weeks when I get out here for real. I definitely have a lot of work to do to get up to speed on the new system, but it won’t take me long. I hope. They are sending me to another training in South Carolina the week after next that’s going to be 2.5 days of really intense sessions in the system. Hopefully that will help.
The company didn’t get me a rental car until Friday, so Monday through Thursday I was chauffeured around by a coworker that lives near the hotel I was staying in. That turned out to be a lot of fun, because I ended up hanging out with various coworkers after work every day. It was a really good way to start getting to know people outside the office. I’ve been working with a lot of these people for several years now. We’ve emailed and talked on the phone a lot, but now I’m finally meeting everyone in person. It’s so weird finally meeting people in person that you’ve kind of known for a while. No one looks or acts like I thought they would. Not in a bad way or anything, it’s just always different than you think it’s going to be. Probably the funniest moment was when my boss picked me up at the airport, and since we’ve never met, neither of us knew what the other looked like.
So with the work and living situations on the right track, the next big thing on my list is finding a church. I’m definitely taking suggestions, so if anyone has one, please let me know!
Overall, it’s been a good week. I did have a minor moment of “WhytheheckamImovinghalfwayacrossthecountryawayfromeveryoneandeverythingIknow” this morning, but it passed, and I’m feeling pretty good about the transition. Leaving Tallahassee is going to be really hard but I am even more sure now that this is the right move for me. I’m equally excited and nervous about the change, overwhelmed by the idea of packing up everything I own, and really sad to be leaving Tallahassee. Really sad. So sad that I’m changing the subject right now because I don’t want to think about that part yet.
The next few weeks are going to be absolutely insane, though. I’m having wrist surgery at 7:00 tomorrow morning, so I’ll be out of work Monday and Tuesday. Then assuming my wrist heals like it should, I’m off to St. Augustine/Jacksonville next weekend to visit a couple friends. Wed-Fri of the following week is the South Carolina training, and since I’m flying out of Atlanta, I’m going to spend that weekend with my ATL crew. When I get back from Atlanta, I’ll be down to about 2 or 2.5 weeks until the big move. Um, what?! Yeah, it’s going to come fast. Yikes – I need to start packing about 2 weeks ago.
So that’s that for now. It’s going to be a crazy month or so, that’s for sure.
