I'm Here

So I'm in Atlanta now, embarking on a new journey of my life. I am currently sitting in a Starbuck's because I cannot get wifi anywhere else. Anyways, the past few days have been filled with a lot of fun, excitement, and definitely new experiences. I started on my trip down here on Tuesday evening. Tuesday was a really hard day for me. Not only did I have to worry about all the stuff I had to finish packing, but I had to say goodbye(for now) to my family. I went in town Tuesday afternoon to say goodbye to my grandma Jackson, and she supplied me with a whole pan of delicious turtle brownies, half of which I ate on my way down here. It was hard saying goodbye to her because during my time at home in the Quad Cities, I was over at her house constantly, doing miscellaneous tasks for her. We would also go to lunch every once in a while and she always treated. She was sad to see me go as I was to leave her. I miss her greatly. My grandma and grandpa Bush left for Oregon I think on Thursday, so when I said goodbye to them, the reality hadnt really hit me that I was going this far away. I have worked along side my grandpa for the past several years, so I kinda got choked up when I said goodbye to him after I spent one last day working with him. I'm also going to miss my grandma's home cooked meals at lunch, I got really spoiled these past years. They were sad to see me go but were very supportive of me, so that helped.
I went back home and had to say goodbye to my parents. I knew my mom would get choked up and was going to be able to deal with that, but I never expected my dad to, so I obviously got choked up as well. We said our goodbyes and I pulled out the driveway and headed to Champaign. As I started down the road, the song that was playing in my car was Details in Fabric by Jason Mraz. Seeing how I was crying while driving, it really soothed me. The opening lyrics are Calm down, deep breaths, and then it goes on to say Hold your own, Know your name, Go your own way. I realize it's a song more for after you break up with someone, but I felt it was still very fitting. So I drove to Champaign and arrived at around 630. I went to the house to hang out with all the guys which was very bitter sweet. I hung out with them for a while, we huked and euched for a long time, then visited some other friends of mine, and instead of going out for one of the guys 21st, I had to be responsible and call it an early night. I woke up early Wednesday and took off for Atlanta. Luckily a lot of the guys were sleeping when I said goodbye to them so I dont know if they knew what was going on, but it made it easier on me because I know I woulda been a mess if we had a long goodbye. Nonetheless, it was still hard to think that this was really the last time I'll see them for a good 2 months. I know thats really no time at all, but still its hard. I said goodbye to my other friends as well which was also hard, but hopefully theyll come visit me on their way down for Spring Break.
The drive from Champaign to Atlanta wasnt all that bad. I had to stop along the Illinois/Kentucky border to take a little power nap, but other than that it was pretty much straight through. Illinois and Kentucky were boring but once I got to Tennessee, the scenery changed and I had fun driving. I got into Atlanta around 730 eastern 630 central, and checked out Valleycrest, the company I'm going to start working for next week. It was dark, and the gates were closed, but it looked like a nice place with a big nursery. I called my friend who goes to Georgia Tech, and plugged her address into my GPS. We met up and went to dinner at local little Mexican restaurant, which was really good. After I ate, I was extremely tired and fell asleep at her apt/dorm.
Thursday I went exploring/apartment hunting. I just drove around mostly, but I stopped at a few places to check them out. The hunt continues however. I got to experience Atlanta traffic during rush hour, which one lady at one of the apartments said was 3rd worst in the country, so that was fun..... I went to a Panera to have lunch and get on the internet, because like I said, I cant get it anywhere else. I drove around some more looking at apartments and got a couple prospects that hopefully will work out. Later in the evening I went and visited the Delta Chi house on the GT campus and met a couple of the guys. I think I'm hanging out with them tonight, so I'll get to experience party life at GT.
Today was filled with more apartment hunting and filling out paperwork for my job, loads of fun let me tell you. I think I'm getting the hang of driving around the area, at least I think, so thats one plus. I have a two apartments in mind now, so hopefully I'll have a place to live within the next couple of days. There's a GT baseball game tonight so I'm going to go to that, then go over to the DCHI house. Anyways, I think thats all for now. Thanks to all of you who have called or talked to me online. I miss all of you. I'll keep you posted on my apartment search.