Adjusting

I started an entry on Sunday, but I never got around to finishing it.  That one was about leaving town.  I came home one day to find that a roommate had scrawled dates on the refrigerator whiteboard.  These dates indicated that I needed vacate my room nearly a week before I had planned.  So this is why I’m sitting in my “office” in my parents’ house in the boonies.  I’m adjusting.

I’m adjusting to the fact that I decided to move home to finish writing my thesis.  This isn’t how I expected to finish.  I’ve entirely justified my reasons, but part of me can’t shake the stigma of living with your parents’ when you’re in your twenties.  I guess it’s more acceptable now than it is in later decades of life.

I’m adjusting to both the quiet and the noise.  I’m adjusting to the quiet of living in the boonies.  There are no neighbors’ dogs barking at all hours (though there is the occasional cat fight).  There aren’t cars driving by a few feet from the house.   There aren’t people walking by, or biking by, or jogging by, single or group. I’m adjusting to the new noise of three other people – people I actually know well and interact with.  It’s odd being in a house where I need to pay so much attention to those I’m living with.  I get a good chunk of time to myself, but there are certain times of the day – early morning, a little after 5 pm, and around 10 pm – when they are coming and going from work.

I’m falling back into nature.  Everywhere I look outside there is green.  Sometimes I feel like I could just stare at the trees for a while, admire the bark and leaves.  I spent part of today working outside in the sun.  The oppressive humidity finally passed last night leaving us with warm, but tolerable conditions outside.  I soaked up the sun and wrote out some of the discussion section.

I sadly have to adjust to slow, limited internet, and extended family.  There is a capped limit on the internet here – we can only use so much, download so much, in a month and if we run out then we’re out of luck.  This means I can’t watch video clips or download anything big.  This definitely puts a crimp in my internet style – I have a large music file I want, but I have to wait until I go somewhere else with free Wi-Fi to do it.  And extended family… The first day I was back entailed becoming a chauffeur for my grandmother.  I will have to adjust to all of the extended family now that I’m in the same town again.

I'm adjusting to a herd of outdoor cats rather than one big indoor dog.  This adjustment is relatively easy since the cats are nearly always around while the dog needed to stay with my roommates.

If I can get myself back on track I think that I’ll be pretty productive here.  I will have to see how it goes.  For now I’m still adjusting.