Japanse New-Girl Monkey Network
OK, That Didn't Take Long
I start work on Monday. So far, it's a short term "contract" deal that may grow into a permanent position. At this point, I'm happy to have anything that will pay the student loans, and this company seems like a good one to work for. I got the position on an inside deal via friends of Mr Wiggins. It pays to have connections. Everything seems to be falling into place...
A year ago right now I had just moved to Bellingham from Oak Harbor, anxiously wondering when I'd be hearing from the Australian government, getting more and more tired of the politicking at my former job and general dissatisfaction and stress. After all that stomach-wrenching waiting, feeling like I was suspended in some kind of living purgatory, recent events (visa, new job) are coming at me in a rush of adrenaline and elation.
Here I am, two years away from my 10 year high school reunion, I've obtained a college degree, started a career, then packed up everything and moved to another continent and restarted my life with a partner in a fulfilling relationship, in the meantime having managed to travel, maintain my own web site, write poetry, and volunteer for things like Blogstickers.
Not bad for a shy little geek girl who used to be afraid of talking to strangers, and would refuse to order pizza because she hated talking on the phone.
The only high school friend I still really talk to is my dear friend "Miss Pinky." She just recently married a Mexican opera singer. No, really. I wonder what some of my other friends from high school have made of themselves, where the roads of their lives took them. I knew one went to UCSB, one went to Humboldt. One got a job doing Photoshop stuff for a company contracted by the Marines. One went to community college and went to New York to become a writer... Beyond those vague details I don't really know much.
I'm at a stopping point on my own road, where I can look back on where I've traveled. On the way up to the summit of Rangitoto Island, there were places where the trees gave way to lava fields and I could see glimpes of the blackened trail behind me. The view stretched all the way across the bay and the tall buildings of Auckland were little tinker toy constructions. When I got to the summit, everything was below me, and I could see for miles around, I could track the path the ferry took to get to the island and I could see how far below the wharf was. It gave me a huge buzz.
I'm on another kind of summit now, one that simply leads to another mountain to climb. But despite the work ahead, for the moment I'm still buzzing.
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