The mentality of finality

When I was in college, I didn't make much of a big deal of graduation, which loomed ever larger as the years went by. There was too much to do to think about the bigger issues in life beyond finishing the next homework assignment or cramming for the next exam. But in the end, graduation came and went, and now I'm part of the workforce.

It's different. That's not necessarily a bad thing - I enjoy the people I work with to a large extent, but being in a semi-academic setting for as long as I am right now is a big readjustment - but the mindset to approaching life changes. In particular, there are no longer any formal milestones to define the path ahead - no more exams, no more semesters or vacations. Training goes on for a little over another month, and that's it...we're a bunch of small fish in a big-ass pond. For someone who likes structure, it's mildly disconcerting for myself to get used to the idea of the endless here and now...but I'm sure I'll get used to it in due time.

Overheard in the apartment

"It's difficult being cool." Even more so when it costs money to be 'cool'. It's also vaguely interesting to reflect on how the meaning of the word has changed markedly since the early days of elementary school, when being 'cool' was largely an intangible attribute aside from all the kids wanting to be friends with that person. Nowadays, even the dorks and the nerds have a shot at being the man.

Not quite what I had in mind

If there's anything that my 1 week+ of training has shown so far, it's that I should be prepared for things that I don't expect - particularly on the business end of the program. It's been good meeting up with some familiar faces from last summer, but I'm struck by how few (at least to me) there seem to be. I'm also settled into the apartment here, for the most part - I have some random odds and ends I need to clean up - and I'm thankful we finally got air conditioning in; it definitely makes a difference.

That's about all for now. As plainly evidenced, I'll likely be writing less for the foreseeable future, but that's the way life goes. I've come to accept that there's really only so much complaining one can do before facing the music.