Adjustments

It's not really a surprise that I've had to make some adjustments as we settle into life in Columbus. Most of them have been good ones, like getting to see friends and family on a regular basis. However, there are a few things that are a little uncomfortable.

The first is a certain feeling of isolation that I feel. I know that sounds contrary to what I mentioned about friends and family above, but it has more to do with the feeling I had of always being among people when we lived in Chicago. While it's great in many ways to be able to get in the car and drive exactly where I want to go, exactly when I want to go, I miss the feeling of community involved in public transit. I suppose that I didn't realize how much of a people watcher I had become.

The second thing that's been bothering me lately is downtown Columbus. In some ways, I think it's fortunate that I got a job in the middle of the city, because its the closest thing to Chicago, I'm struggling with the fact that it's missing some of the conveniences I'm used to. For example, there's no post office near by, so although I can buy stamps from the stamp truck, I can only mail things on the weekend. There's no 7-Eleven attached to the building, so I have to walk two blocks to a CVS that has a very odd inventory.

Maybe it will just take some more time until I'm used to my new surroundings. A few weeks ago, I had a dream that we decided to move back to Chicago. We told people that it wasn't as nice as we thought it would be to be close to our families. I can't imagine anything like that ever happening, but there are some things I miss, and probably always will, about Chicago.