...And A Beginning

We left off with me sobbing like a child as I drove away from the safety and comfort of my apartment, school, and friends. It was 9:00 in the evening, and I had a bit over a three hour drive ahead of me. I tried calling some friends and family to pass the time, but my cell was all "LOL NOPE! :)" I was headed for Webster Groves where I will be living for the summer. My high school friend, Joey, goes to the conservatory there and has a house with two roommates. One of said roommates will be gone all summer, so I get to take his place.

I arrived exactly at midnight. Joey had already left to see family in Florida, so I didn't get the comfort of a familiar face right away. The other roommate was there though, and he was nice enough to make me feel welcome and help move a few things in. I was beyond exhausted, and he had to catch a plane the next day, so we both just got to bed as quickly as possible. I didn't even have enough energy to think about how strange it was to be in a new place before slipping into my dreams.

The next morning, I still had training for the Institute of Reading Development (IRD). By the time I was done at 5:00, I could finished moving in. Moving in was a lot more fun than moving out. My room is much smaller in this new house than in the old apartment, but the house itself is really nice, so I won't spend much time in my room anyway. Also, there is this magical device in the kitchen that washes dishes for you. Crazy! Can I also bask in the glory of the washer and dryer in the basement? I'm sick of needing quarters to have clean socks.

The lawn also cuts itself, right?

Inside, my room is pretty small, but it meets my needs just fine, so I can't complain.

For sleeps.

It will definitely stay this organized all summer.

My favorite new setup is my "office" that I arranged. It's kinda in the middle of the dining room, but that just means I can multitask by having dinner and working at the same time.

This will also remain immaculately organized all summer.

I'm really excited to be in such a nice house. I've had it to myself for the past few days since the others were all gone for beginning of the summer trips, so I did some cleaning because what else do you do in a strange new city in a house all by yourself? I think I'm done with the nesting phase though, so we'll see how much my cleaning matters after a few weeks.

In work news, Phase 1 of my training is officially done! This means I've completed 6 days of guided study and conference calls, each lasting from 8:00-5:30. It also means I'm moving on to Phase 2, so this post is coming to you from Atlanta where I'm starting in-person training to work on teaching skills. I flew out of St. Louis this afternoon, and got to my hotel room just a couple of hours ago. I've met some really cool people already, and all expenses are being paid by the IRD, so I'm diggin' it so far. We start tomorrow bright and early. I'm nervous, but all the traveling has made me too tired to let it affect me too much.

And so my train keeps speeding on. I caught most of what was whizzing past me, but I wish I could have stopped to savor each of these moments just a little bit longer. Yet, I'm beginning to feel comfortable with the breakneck pace my train is chugging along at. I keep stealing glances at what's behind me, but more and more, I find myself looking at the tracks ahead and wondering what will come next.

-Anthony