DH|Personal

I survived. It was a long trip, and the first few days were tough, but I’ve survived this far, and don’t see a reason I won’t be able to continue.

I’ve been rather busy with work and getting settled that I haven’t been able to publicly give an account of the latest events until now. Being busy is nice, and I feel productive, so I don’t feel all that guilty for not updating sooner, but I do think it’s important.

For those who didn’t read my last update, I’ve moved to Oklahoma for at least a year. I am working with [redacted] as a [redacted]. I help maintain websites, design new content for the Web, and do any small jobs that I have the skills to complete. My job is ever changing: whenever I voice an interest or potential skill in any subject, I find myself eventually doing at least one job in that field.

I left for Oklahoma on September 12. My first flight was from Detroit International Airport to a small municipal airport in St. Louis. From there I went on a connecting flight to Tulsa International Airport, where I was given a ride by one of the volunteers to the long-term-volunteer apartments. I met my roommate there, who is a Korean man who is volunteering for International Ministries, which is located in the same building as my “employer”. We ride in to work together with another volunteer every weekday. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Back to the beginning of my adventure – Detroit. Most of the staff there were friendly, and when my camera bag was searched (apparently cameras are on the list of things that requiring a visual inspection), the security officer was very friendly and respectful. It’s perhaps a little strange giving such compliments to a person snooping through my belongings, but it’s how I felt. A woman behind me felt a little differently about it, saying she felt like she was living in a third-world country: she had a prosthetic knee that required a wand-scanning and even a pat-down, so I could understand her dislike for the security screening.

After making it through security, I noticed a train ran along an elevated track to connect the various gates, and while my feelings at first were that it was only for lazy people, I realized my mistake after walking the mile to the gate in which I was to disembark, which ended up being the late gate at the end of the long hall. I was appreciative of the few minutes I had to sit and relax, as relaxed as I could be, considering I was moving to a new state.

The first flight was delayed forty minutes due to what was originally claimed to be a “leaky (or creaky, I couldn’t hear) galley door”, but later escalated to “the cabin won’t pressurize”, which isn’t an encouraging thing to hear for the first flight in years. The plane felt very small, but the view through the window was worth the wait and squashed conditions.

It was funny how I fretted for a day or two about the size of my carry-on luggage, to end up seeing it be dwarfed by the luggage every other passenger was carrying on-board. This observation wasn’t lost on the passenger who sat beside me, an elderly gentleman who seemed a little cranky about the other passenger’s habits. I tried to avoid annoying him, as he had the aisle seat, and therefore all the power.

Because of the delay in the first flight, I realized with ever-increasing palm-sweatiness, that I was potentially going to miss my next flight in St. Louis, which was due to be boarding at the same time I was still flying in the first plane. When the man sitting next to me heard this, he chose to make it his mission that I get off the plane as soon as possible. When we began to disembark, he jumped up, swung his arm out into the aisle and ordered me up and out of the plane. He went so far as to cut an old lady off from moving up the aisle so I could make it out in time. Chagrined, I quickly exited before an angry mob formed.

The airport in St. Louis wasn’t in that good of repair, and neither were its staff in top form. When I asked for directions, the quick reply seemed trustworthy, but I discovered it was anything but. Fortunately, I found my way to the proper gate, and panting from the exertion, I bounded up to the window to see…

…no plane at the end of the gate.

This felt both wonderfully dramatic, and appropriate for a movie-esque panic-attack, as well as terrible for my mental health. The staff member manning the gate dryly revealed that the plane hadn’t yet arrived, which would explain why there were so many amused expressions in my direction from people occupying nearly all the seats in the embarkation area for the plane I was about to board. I sheepishly skulked over to an empty area of the room and pretended I didn’t exist.

That flight ended up twenty minutes late, which meant my ride in Tulsa looked somewhat bored by the time I got there. After forty-five miles, nearly as many minutes, and one car-ride full of stories of missionary activity that put all my efforts to shame, I finally made it to my new home. There I met the roommate I mentioned earlier. He’s still getting used to speaking English, but he’s doing far better than he claims. We’ve had many discussions in the last week that have kept us up far too late, and we seem to agree on doctrinal issues, which makes for a relaxing atmosphere after work.

I panicked a bit for the first few days when I discovered how a single-speed bicycle wasn’t the best idea for a five-mile trip down busy roads, including down a freeway and across a highway. Fortunately I have a ride with my roommate until June, when he leaves, and the panic returns. That’s the distant future though, so I’m not thinking too much of that. My ride into Bartlesville was kind enough to let me stop and get some food, of which I still have plenty.

At work, I have my own cubicle, two LCD monitors, phone with an extension, office supplies, network drive folder, and plenty of drawer space. Because my cubicle was unoccupied for some time before I started, and is located at the corner of a busy walkway, people frequently walk behind me and apologize for walking in my “office space”, which doesn’t bother me, yet seems to greatly disturb all those who fear they are intruding. Several times a day I hear apologies called out behind me from people walking by.

Each workday is much the same: the team I’m assigned to has devotion time; I get to my desk and work a bit; I visit with my boss in his office to get updates on current projects; take a lunch break; and then repeat the pc-to-office-to-pc process until I leave for the day. In the morning, I have great plans for the afternoon: by the end of the day, I just go home and relax, all the plans discarded. My increasingly-busy social life changes a lot of things, too. It’s a new experience for me, but I’m liking it. I realized during one of the visits that this is what all my coworkers at Ritz Camera were telling/teasing me I was missing.

I’ve been trying out some Korean food and have found all of it very good. My roommate warned me that I might not like the smell, taste, or spiciness of the food, but I’ve been pleased with it so far. Considering the varied nationalities of the staff in the office, I’m excited that I’ll have quite a selection of foods to try. The staff seems to enjoy a new “guinea pig”.

On weeknights, my roommate and I generally make supper together, making food for ourselves, but with enough that the other can try it if he so wishes, and then watch a movie or TV show before going to bed around 10PM-11PM. We both admitted we were used to 2AM-3AM bedtimes, but the 7AM waking to make it to work on time removed that option.

So, that’s my life so far. I’m liking it. I wasn’t sure I would when I started, but I also knew I have a tendency to loathe change, even though it would do me good. I’m trying to step out of my comfort zone and try new things as often as I can (within reason, of course), and I’m finding the new experiences to be very exciting, but often draining. I’m having too much fun to stop, though.

Today’s Image is the sunset outside my apartment, which is out in the middle of nowhere. Really. It’s surprising how remote it is. I apologize if it looks horrible: I’m getting used to my laptop that doesn’t have the greatest monitor on it.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 21st, 2008 at 2:41 pm and is filed under Life, Work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.