net gain

a few steps back,

-having a car. Before I can park close to my apartment, I need to apply for a residential permit. Before I can apply for a residential permit, I need to have PA license plates. Before I can get license plates, I need to register my car and transfer the title here. Before I can do that, I need to get insured here. Before I do any of that, I need to have a PA license. Before I can get a PA license, I have to have proof of residency. To get proof of residency, I have my lease, but need to wait for some kind of official mail as second proof. In the intervening who knows how long, where do I put my car?

-accidentally going to New Jersey. It doesn't cost to get in, but every way out has a toll.

-tolls in general. Don't accidentally go through an EZPass only entrance.

-cash. Not just for all these tolls I end up paying, but for everything less than $10, because otherwise I can't use my credit/debit card, unless I want to buy excess food that I don't want/need just to be able to use my card. And for subway rides--because they take exact change only (inconsistently though--be aware that some stations have change machines, others don't). I guess it gives me a reason to carry around all those extra nickels and dimes.

-minutes to drive will always exceed number of miles. By a factor of at least two.

-gnats bite. A lot. And their bites last a lot longer than regular insect bites. This is somewhat reminiscent of that first day in Taiwan...those mosquitoes were almost enough to make me give up right then. I can't sleep at night because I'm paranoid they're feasting on my ankles...


but more than two steps forward.

-people are friendly. Maybe it's because when they see me they see this naive, innocent little girl, but so be it. It's left a great impression on me :) I had a little run in in a parking lot where the guy started yelling at me, but once I started talking to him, he was very supportive and helpful even, defending me (now "baby girl") against other angry drivers and then guiding me out of the parking lot. Another guy looked at me awkwardly as I attempted to parallel park on a busy street but wasn't being assertive enough to just block traffic for a minute to reverse. After asking me what I was trying to do, this guy stood on the curb and walked me through it. I'm sure he had places to be, but I was grateful for the friendly, helpful gesture.

-people are genuine. And patient. Even though I ended up having to wait for 3 hours at the UPS store to pick up a package (that beautiful orange chair, if you're wondering), I was so amazed at how calm all the workers were, even though they were open 1.5 hours after their hours to finish handing out packages. Granted, they have the most inefficient system (I wouldn't even really call it a system), so it's kind of their own fault, but still--not a single angry word from any one of the employees. In fact, they were still pleasant by the end of the night.

-there seems to be so much more to talk about! I don't think I've talked about dating once. I hate even mentioning that here, but it's just the residue of Provo's tight grasp. It just seems so much easier for me to make friends here.

-diversity along those same lines. We can talk about ideas! And people have differing ones. We discuss for the sake of learning and discovering and people don't get freaked out/over-impressed by my (sometimes, admittedly extreme) excitement for learning.

-eclectic Philadelphia. At first I was really turned off by it, how the city doesn't match at all. But it's starting to grow on me, how they've kept some of their historic places right in the middle of developing areas...next to the ghetto...next to modern art...

-Kelly Drive two blocks from my house. As soon as I tune my bike, I'll have a place close by to just breathe.

-my PhD program. I LOVE it. This is what I have always dreamed that school would be :)