Pennsylvania

Hello again,

Well for those who don't know, I've been spending the last couple days looking around the area of Ridley Park where Boeing is located for housing.... when I'm not fighting extreme amount of depression and involuntary crying. So I started looking in the Chester, Ridley Park, Prospect Park areas which are the closest to Boeing at about 3 miles. While I was here however, I swear I drove through 2-3 drug deals and saw a half dozen hookers in the DARKEST streets and houses I have ever seen. So lets just say that I was about ready to call it off and drive back to California at this point.

Yes it really was that bad for those who are understanding the visualization right now. I would say it was blacker than the blackest night of black or more petrifying than a Greece song, but I have been trying to think of a good analogy. In terms of lighting, the best I can come up with is the first scene of the very first Harry Potter movie, where Dumbledore uses his magic cigarette lighter to dim the entire street by taking out like 3 lights. Well most of the houses are located on side alleys that have maybe 3 lights per quarter mile so taking out one would be the same thing. So as you can imagine, by now I was basically crying and ready to just say fuck it.

Noting a common temple that I always passed by, I finally stopped and introduced myself to some of the employee's just to have a tour and talk to someone with a common interest. I ended up meeting a guy named Joshua who was the executive director and took me on a little tour of the place. He started telling me where I SHOULD be looking and it was really about 2 miles up the road from where I was. We also ran into another guy there who talked for a while and affirmed that yea I was basically looking in the ghetto's of the greater Boeing area. Now by this point I was involuntarily crying in front of the guy, why I have no idea but there it is, but it was nice to finally talk to someone a bit better and more mentally sound. So after this event, I drove out to the "new" area and drove around Media, Swathmore, and Springfield where he recommended I look. In about 10 minutes I started to feel much better as I saw more traditional residential homes, mostly lighted streets, and 4 lane roads with a large number of White people. While life out here is MUCH different than in CA, what with small little shops lining the streets, long distances between houses with no fences, and relatively bad lighting by comparison, this was definitely the place to be. All those people in CA be grateful, you are rather spoiled in construction and centralized shopping. On one street there are 2 "malls" which have maybe 4 stores each, and lots of little shops along the way, which reminds me a bit of Douglas but it's just different so be HAPPY in CA, I am almost positive that in 5 years after I have a PhD and some work experience I'm coming back to CA as a teacher and probably to UC Davis if they will have me.

After another day of just driving around, I finally had the chance to look at apartments today for real. After a couple places that just didn't seem to be that great due to size, cost, location, or just too scuzzy looking, I found a place in Media Station, almost by accident, where I got to apply for a place. Hopefully I do get it as it is reasonable in size and location and apparently some other Boeing employees live there too. If I do get it, pictures will be coming for sure. The have a pretty nice tennis court and pool, though they are pretty drab at the moment due to the weather. So now it's time to relax a bit and look for a TV, bed, furniture, and the number of other niceties that make home home.

Unfortunately for me though, the more I get closer to having "roots" here, the more I get depressed and start crying that I will be all alone and on my own in a very short time frame. It seems the commute is pretty simple, whether I take the freeway or surface streets, but lets just say I'm not looking forward to being all alone.

So until I have more news, or the pictures of day 5 or the apartment, that's about it for now, so wish me luck on this adventure called life!