Uncool Greg

I arrived in McLean after a fine drive from Missouri. The GPS was re-assuring as I navigated into the dense DC metropolitan area traffic. My furniture should arrive tommorrow. I’m using a communal internet room since the network+phone installer couldn’t come yet.

As you get off the elevator for my 12th floor apartment, you can easily see the Washington Monument eight miles to the southeast.

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However, my apartment’s windows face northwest.  I can see the hills of Virginia, another large apartment complex, and the courtyard between the two complexes.

There are around 250 units at this apartment complex. The most visible categories of people I’ve met in the halls have been little kids and retired people. I’m guessing that those in between are either at work or inside.

The staff have been friendly and helpful. The movers have to keep their schedule but at the target time two other units want to move in.  Sharing an elevator just slows progress; parking three huge vans might be impossible.  I’m anxious about how tomorrow will proceed.

For the trip here I had only my car key to carry.  That was a nice light load while it lasted.  After touching base with my new employer, I have an impressive weight of keys, two radio-frequency badges, and pages of rules for using them.  And then there will be computer entry codes and other things to remember.  Oh my achin’ mnemonics.

A busy day.  I’m going to walk up the street a block to Safeway and get some odds and ends.

Update 6/26:  The movers arrived and unloaded smoothly.  The internet installer put me online. Grocery stores and other shops I would use regularly are within walking distance, as are several tempting restaurants, hee hee.  However, to get book shelves and an office chair from big box stores, I’ll have to drive 30 minutes or more.

My first work involved logging on and some hours of form-filling.  This reminded me of a dog my family used to have.  One could place a dog treat on his nose. He would wait until you said “ok”, then flip up the treat, eat it, and grin.  I had to exercise similar restraint with a new computer system waiting to be explored.

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