Capping off a very busy month (finishing work, packing up the house, getting it listed for sale, two trips to Alaska), we headed east this week. With our one-way tickets and our five checked bags, we flew from LAX to Boston and had a lovely welcome breakfast at Aimee’s parents’ place. It still felt like we could have been just going on vacation, but we knew it was for good.
It felt like a strange sort of homecoming for me, a return to the area of the country I’ve spent the most time in, after Alaska, but somewhere I hadn’t lived in many years. It’s familiar, but in a hazy sort of way. By the end of the day, Lucy had experienced thunder, lightning, humidity, and rain, all for the first time in her eight month old life, all in one day. Grace had mastered saying “Connecticut,” but still struggled with the concept of “home,” which will persist for awhile, I’m sure.
And about that humidity… The weather in general was the thing I figured I’d miss the most about L.A., and though it sounds like a shallow cliche, it’s true. And, naturally, it’s been extremely hot and muggy since we got here. Maybe this is the worst of it? Probably not.
I love the feeling of being on and near a university campus, and Yale’s, though I’m not very familiar with it, is so far quite beautiful and architecturally diverse. I’ve found a few places to run, some OK and some apparently not so great (good in theory, sketchy in practice), and will continue to look for more.
Our current temporary apartment for the next three months is located across the street from my office, which will make for a great commute (which will take longer, waiting for the elevator or waiting for the traffic light?), and it’s in a lovely renovated office building constructed in 1938, with a wonderful lobby, a bank of six elevators, and a roof deck with a great view of the city, Yale, and Long Island Sound.
We’re lucky to have three friends from college who live in New Haven, and we’ve had dinner with each of them and introduced Grace to their kids, giving her some instant friends in town, which is great. House-hunting started this weekend, as well, and we’re busy trying to make the most informed decision we can about where we think we want to buy a place and settle down. It feels like a big decision, but we’re also limited by what’s available now, which makes it all feel a little random.
My first day of work is tomorrow. I still don’t feel like I quite know what the job is going to entail, but I’ll soon find out. Everything else about the place feels pretty great, so I hope the job lives up to the expectations set by the rest of our experiences so far.
