Shutting down and rebooting, part 1

Ok. Granted. That is a LAME geeky computer metaphor for how I am leaving the plush student life and starting up in the "real world". Which of course will still not be the real "real world" as long as I keep traveling around the world sampling different internships and avoiding settling down in a career and paying rent and utility bills.

But graduation weekend has a tendency to bring out the nostalgia in most people, and, being a famously (or, infamously) nostalgic and sentimental person, I'm feeling this transition away from college pretty fiercely.

For example: yesterday afternoon brought a bunch of fantastic brilliant funny caring dynamic thoughtful passionate people to my house for a graduation picnic/bbq. They were friends I had met thanks to a variety of activities I've done in my past six years of school. Seeing them all together really knocked it home that I have been stunningly lucky to have shared time-space with them at this crazy academic institution we've called home. And in a few short days, I feel that I will have to turn and walk away from it all, to leave the voices and bodies clamoring in collegiate activities -- the fountain hopping, the rocking out to the Band, the co-op cooking, the midterm frenzy studying, the ultimate playing, the problem set writing, the all-nighter pulling, the campus loop running -- and face the uncertain edge of my world whose sights sounds smells and actions I don't know yet. It's enough to tug at the ol' heartstrings just a li'l bit.

Wow, ok. That was enough introspection for now. I've got to get back to some last minute research before my meeting this afternoon...