Well, here I am in Arizona. I don't know if it is the humidity (!), or the increase in elevation (~7000 feet), or the 1000 mile trip to get here from Montana by myself, but I am weary. My right shoulder has a stabbing pain that really needs some massage therapy, but most of all I need to find a place to live. A place I can curl up in my nook and not need to interact with the outside world. I have arrived here before the worst of the student rush, but not by very much time. I have called numerous places that have been posted around the Student Union, but without any success so far. I may need to take the plunge and get my own place. That would not be so bad, but I am still at least trying to be frugal.
I should probably not be trying to move so fast yet, as I only arrived here 48 hours ago, but the amount of time left to me before lectures start becomes shorter with each passing hour. I toured the new laboratory facility yesterday, and spoke with the facility organizer today about furniture fittings and other elements of design. There are some very high expectations here about what I can accomplish, and I hope I can live up to them.
I will not be driving to meet Kadie this weekend as we had hoped. I simply was not going to have time, and she wanted to see family and friends that she has in Portland. We will see each other in San Francisco soon enough.
My trip was a lot of fun. I drove down through Yellowstone Park and then the Grand Tetons Park, and which was an amazing drive. I made it the corner of Wyoming by about 5 pm, and was too tired to go any further that day. The next day I was on the interstate through Utah, and made a lot of miles. Certain sections, such as through Provo, were very treacherous due to ongoing construction. I made it through Kanab and Page and saw some of the most desolate lands I have yet seen in the US. A few more hours after that got me to my destination.
Monday was busy, with meetings and greetings. I received my keys and ran about between the international office and payroll, and then everything was in someone else's hands. I lifted and shifted boxes of equipment into my new office, and spent much of the time finding what I needed to get started.