blueswede

end of the line

Criminy, it's actually been three months since I wrote in
this. Guess that's what happens when you have fun.

So here it is: the end of the line. In less than a week,
I'll be back home for the holidays. And then, well, there's
the interesting bit.

I have an on-site interview with Google at their office in
New York City. It should be interesting, to say the least,
especially since I'm on deck for a five-hour session. But I
guess if I've gotten this far, my chances must be pretty
good at this point.

If that doesn't work out, I have another offer from a place
in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, they're pushing me to make
a decision, and if I don't have feedback from Google by the
end of next week, I'll be in a bit of a quandary. Normally
I'm a fairly risk-averse kind of guy, but in this situation,
I'll probably turn down the offer I have, and hold out for
the offer I want. I'll only be a freshly-minted degree once
in my life, so why settle?

If the worst-case scenario happens, and I end up with no job
at all, I still have graduate school as a backup plan. And
considering that I've already gotten into one school, with
two others on deck, all good schools in decent parts of the
country, I'd say it's a pretty solid backup.

One way or another, I'll have something to do by next fall.

So now the moment you've all been waiting for: how did the
semester go? Academically, it went pretty well. I don't
have many grades back yet, but I think I did well in all my
classes, especially considering that there will likely be a
pretty heavy curve for the challenging ones.

And socially? Well, I had a great time living on the music
floor, and I'll be sad to leave. My biggest regret from my
college days is not joining up sooner. But, I'm done with
my classes, and it's time to move on, because as much fun as
I'd have living here, I'm still sick of college, my classes,
and the obligations that come with it.

And of course, no romantic prospects worked out, so I have
essentially nothing keeping me here. This fall was rather
unique in that I didn't really even have any prospects. A
few women here and in town struck my fancy at one point or
another, but those prospects proved false for various
reasons. Fortunately, I'd made no real investment in any of
those situations, so no harm was done.

So that's that, then. Three and half years of college, and
I'm in the same place I started with respect to dating.
It's funny; all through high school, there's this impression
created that it's going to improve, and you'll get to a good
college where girls dig smart guys, and it'll be an equal
playing field for once because most people start single in
college or at least end up that way very quickly.

But it doesn't happen. In fact, that's all bullshit; the
reality is, if you had a hard time in high school, there's a
pretty good chance you'll have a hard time in college. It's
not all that far removed, and the experiential gap starts to
get a whole lot wider as time goes on.

Now I admit, I didn't make it easy on myself. I came in fat
and out of shape with a whole bunch of hangups. I wouldn't
have wanted to date me either. Then I fixed that, and got a
little overconfident. So I took a step back, but this time
I was in a miserable housing situation, living with a couple
of antisocial dickheads and not really having anywhere else
to go at the end of the day.

Finally I get it right, but now it's time to leave. And as
much as I wish I could stay, there's no way I'm putting up
with more class, and the university won't let me live here
if I'm not getting schooled.

So where's the break gonna come in? Who knows. I'm pretty
confident that I made the right choice of colleges, at least
for academics. Socially, who knows. Maybe there's too much
money, maybe the gender ratio is bad, maybe I'm just a putz,
but however you slice it, that's the way it turned out.

Who knows when I'll get another great social opportunity.
Maybe in grad school, but that's not really of much import
at that level. In the end it'll probably boil down to where
I end up living and what sort of stuff there is to do, and
that's why I'm so concerned about getting a job that isn't
just a good job, but is in a good location. I'm not 100%
sure what's going to work for me, but I do know that where
I've lived thus far hasn't done the job.

Anyway, enough griping. It's late at night, I have a lot to
get done in the next few days, and for better or worse, I'm
out of here next Thursday.

Who knows if I'll keep this up. I imagine there will be a
bit of a resurgence, but then again, maybe I'll get so busy
that I won't have time. We shall see.

But at any rate, I've detailed the end of my college days,
and now a new chapter in my life is gearing up to begin.
Good or bad, it's gonna be a hell of a trip.

So recalling the classic ending: this is Dave, signing off.

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