All Growed-Up Now

I've been DYING to post about this for almost a week now but I wanted to hold off until the decision was final and everything was signed. In summary:

I got offered a job at Fluke. And I accepted it. And I am so unbelievably stoked.

I'm still having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that this is now my JOB - in some corner of my mind it always just seemed like graduation would happen and then the world would promptly stop turning as life as I knew it came to an abrupt end. But now I move into a new chapter, one that promises to be even more exciting and filled with far more big milestones.

It's interesting to look back on the whole process and really see God's hand in it, how it all fell into place the way that it did. I'm so grateful that things have turned out the way they have - and I am so happy that I get to move back to Washington and start my career there. There is a whole lotta life coming up in the next two to three years, and I'm excited to see what's in store.

Bus

Today was the first day, having secured my bus pass yesterday, that I was able to take the bus to campus instead of drive. And I really only have one thing to say about it.

Wow.

I am very fortunate in that the bus takes me almost from the door of my condo all the way to the west edge of campus. I got on the bus at 8:15 and 15 minutes later and one changeover, I was on campus. That was actually FASTER than driving, if you can believe that. Even better, it was FREE and AIR CONDITIONED. I had to walk far, far less distance out in the excruciating heat than I do when I have to drive. That alone was a good reason to take the bus.

The one thing that sucked was that I had to stand the whole way inside the bus, which is never very comfortable because you're flying all over the place - but the air conditioning made up for it. Plus, this new bus-commute of mine will double as the perfect time to catch up on the podcasts that I never seem to have time to listen to because they demand my undivided attention.

This is going to save me SO much on gas this semester.

It's Friggin' Hot

I had forgotten, until I arrived in Tempe two days ago, just how unbearably, unbelievably, inconceivably ridiculous it is to be outside when it's 114 degrees Fahrenheit. The air conditioning in the car, predictably, chose this moment to stop functioning at full force. I spent two hours and $130 at Jiffy Lube today getting the freon in the car recharged and still no change - in fact, I can't decide whether there's no change in the cooling level or whether it's even worse now than before. I am torn between writing it off to the weather and just assuming that 110 degrees is just too hot for the car to deal with, or going back to Jiffy Lube and demanding a refund. Probably both.

In the meantime, I spend another $8 on a sunshade for the windshield.

I've also pretty much hit the ground running as far as schoolwork goes. Today was our first day of classes, but mine are only on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I have a free pass until tomorrow. Yet, here I am, sitting in the library (on the first day of classes!) preparing to dive into my thesis again. I can already see what kind of semester this is going to be. Still, I'm looking forward to it.

I. Need. Coffee.

Yesterday was a trying day in more ways than one. I slept 10 hours last night and still didn't want to get up when it was time. Downtown Seattle today with my good friend Addy, and then furious packing and preparations for the start of the road trip tomorrow. Busy day, but all the makings of a good one too.

And that's about all I've got to say about that.

Having survived my presentation to the executives of the company, I set about finishing the rest of the deliverables on my summer project. Yesterday was my last day, and it was a very bizarre feeling to walk out of the building for the last time. Then again, pending an offer from the company it may not prove to be the last time at all. It's been a great summer and I'd be happy to go back.

With the internship complete, I'm now focusing on finishing my other summer projects, including a paper for a course and compiling the thesis research I've done so far. I am further behind on my thesis than I'd like to be, so there's a lot of catching up to be done on that end in the next few days. On Thursday morning I will be hitting the road for Arizona, which I am definitely very excited about.

And that is about all that is on the radar screen right now.

The Home Stretch

And we move now into the final week of my internship, which includes, among other things, my report-out to the executives on Wednesday and a round of interviews for a permanent position at some point.

Oh, and I have to finish my project too. Hello, 12-14 hour days! Goodbye, sleep!

It's also been decided I'll take the family Dodge down to AZ with me for this last semester. Good news there is that I get to drive down to Phoenix, which I love, and have a car with me for the semester, which means I actually get to go to the grocery store - which means I get to eat. Bad news is that it's the Dodge Durango, which gets an unbelievable 18mpg on the freeway. Why we even bought this car in the first place with mileage like that is so far beyond my comprehension.

So anyway I'll be hitting the road on the 15th, maybe the 16th. Classes start again on the 20th - woo!!