it's still surreal

Life’s changing and it’s changing quickly. I can barely keep up with it. New job, new home, an entirely different structure to my life. I worked my last shift at Spring Valley Starbucks. Bittersweet, to say the least. I’ll miss that place. One of the biggest things I had to decide was whether or not Cincinnati was worth leaving Spring Valley. Starbucks is a great company to work for, but what made Spring Valley so great was the people I worked with. Great people who made nine-hour shifts not just endurable but enjoyable.

I’m thankful that I already have a solid base with several people down at Tazza Mia, and I look forward to becoming friends with the others. Rob told me I’ll fit in quite well there. Many of the rules that I’ve had to abide by for the last couple years have come from working for corporations; Tazza Mia isn’t corporate America, and the rules are much less stringent. I’m thinking, of course, of the dress code. If there’s one thing that I love about Tazza, it’s that I can (within reason) wear whatever I want whenever I want. Now I won’t have to spend money accommodating my work’s dress code; I can spend money buying clothes I like, and justify it by calling them “work clothes.”

I’m excited about living in community with people I love. Amanda told me yesterday, “I don’t really know what I want to do with my life, except be with friends.” At this point I’m not sure, either; but I know that friends make the world go ‘round, so-to-speak, and as long as I have great friends who’re there for me and for whom I’ll be there, I’m hoping everything will be okay. The Claypole House is filled with much laughter and good conversation, not to mention late-night adventures and spontaneity.

I’ve been asking myself, “Why have I made such an effort to get down to Cincinnati?” The reasons are numerous, and that’s a post for another time. But I’m confident I made the right decision, and I’m looking forward to launching into my new Cincinnati life once we get back from South Carolina. So much change in such a little amount of time. Excited but nervous. It still feels surreal, it really does. Half my things are in Cincinnati; half are in Dayton. I’m 12 hours away and currently “unemployed” (though this will last only another couple days). I feel like I’m in a dream that’s threatening to be interrupted. I keep thinking maybe I’ll wake up. But I won’t “wake up”, and I’m cool with that.