Moving out, moving on.

Tonight was the EE department's graduation ceremony. I'm not attending the main ceremony because it's too large and impersonal, and my parents don't like huge crowds. So that means I really have graduated now, huh? It didn't feel like much. For some reason these big changes never do. I turned in my last paper this afternoon, said my goodbyes to professors, and made sure I didn't leave anything in the lab. I got a call this evening from Jerry, one of the guys I had a bunch of classes with this year. He's graduating next year due to co-op he just accepted. It was very interesting to hear his message. It was the same things I've been saying to everyone, but it felt so much different to hear it from somebody else.

Most of my things are in boxes or packing limbo. The room's surfaces are being laid bare and they seem slighted to have their furnishings removed. I have a downtempo shoutcast station playing on winamp. It lends an eerie surreality to the process. Of course I'm very tired too, but tomorrow will be another longish day. It will probably take two trips because I have Tia's stuff too. It doesn't seem like I'm leaving UCU for the last time, but then, it didn't seem unnatural to be going to Japan last year. Perhaps this is what it feels like to know you're in line with His will.

It's always more fun to share your feelings late at night. The eve's miasmas and our bodies' circdian rhythms impress a separation from the body on the consciousness. It feels akin to stepping back from yourself and instead observing your actions third person. I wonder how weak one's faculties must be to need drugs for this experience. But that's beside the point.

I formally accepted Lockheed's offer by faxing my acceptance letter to them earlier today. Now my life careens towards a new era: A new place, a new task, a new opportunity to retune my behaviors, eliminate habits I've become dyspeptic of. Nevertheless, it won't be stepping into wholly unfamiliar territory. I have family relatively nearby, and I found out two friends from the department will be close too: one whose folks live in San José now and the other is attending Stanford, not 15 miles to the northwest. Plus, L-M has a great policy for ushering in new hires to the area.

My mind is going to fall apart soon. It's been an interesting ride though, college. My sympathies resonate with mom's; it's hard to believe it's already been four years. My only regret is that I didn't get more involved with the people around me. Guess that's one thing I'll have to change in Sunnyvale. Farewell till my cognition is more coherent.