Growing up is hard.
I thought it would be a piece of cake. I transitioned from High School to College, I mean how much more difficult could it be? To make it worse, I didn't even realize it until my parents left yesterday night. Then it hit me like a truck.
I'm alone.
Not alone in the sense that I have no friends I can call or talk to, or that I can't simply call my parents. But for the first time, I am in a completely new state, with no close friends nearby, away from my parents, and living completely by myself. In college I started out at the dorm, where my meals were cooked for me and everything was paid for so I didn't have to worry about expenses or anything like that. When I moved to an apartment, my roommates were always around and I could talk to them or I was always with friends at school. Now I'm living by myself (my roommate is still in Europe and will be coming back 7/14), paying for everything myself (someone my age should not normally be thinking about 401(K)'s or pension plans), and making REAL decisions. Not the college decisions like, should I stay up past midnight playing super smash bros, but REAL decisions like, What kind of medical insurance should I get? What doctor should I chose? How should I invest my money for the future?
For some reason, the work seems a bit more overwhelming too. As an intern, my responsibilities were limited. I had a couple projects I was working on, had a specific deadline, and I knew I would be done after 12 weeks. Now I'm in charge of two units in the refinery, which are at the very beginning of the line (meaning almost everything we make comes through my units), and I'm here... indefinitely. I haven't even gotten into the nitty gritty of the job yet.
All this being sad, I've had a really difficult transition. I felt it a little bit once I got here, but my parents were still around and a part of me still felt like I was on vacation or at home. However, this time my parents just left without me, and I'm stuck in a foreign place, with no one I really know and close to I can talk to.
Everyone always asked me if I had friends/family in California and why I was moving there. I figured since it was a job offer and California is such a nice place, it wouldn't be so bad. Now I'm convinced that this has truly been a test from God, a reminder that I cannot do this on my own. That apart from God, I can do nothing. But with him, I can do anything. California is a reminder to me that the only reason I am here is because God wants me to be here. It's a reminder for me to rely on God's strength and not my own.
It's a test that I'm supposed to fail, in order to "win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Monday, June 25, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Fun at the DMV
Who thought a trip to the DMV could be so exciting? I guess if you define "exciting" as stressful and complicated. I'll explain...
Moving to California meant that I needed to get a new California driver's license, get my car registered in the state, and register to vote. The first two items could both be done at the DMV (department of motor vehicles. Michigan just has Secretary of State offices, which California doesn't have), so I figured it wouldn't be too complicated. The website was hard to completely understand, but it seemed you just had to make an appointment, fill out some forms, and you'd be all set. It turned out to be a little bit more complicated...
We went this morning at 9am which was when I scheduled my appointment. The appointment system is nice so you don't have to wait behind a lot of people; you get priority. I filled out a form for my driver's license, was called up, and then got my picture taken as well as take a short 36-question written test to get my license. The process was fairly simple, minus the written test, but it wasn't bad (as long as you know that animals must be properly restrained if you're transporting them in the back of a truck).
I went back to get my car registration, and that's when the fun happened. First the representative was saying that my car wasn't eligible for the gift tax exemption because we had already transferred it; then I had to go get my vehicle inspected, so I went outside to get it inspected. After coming back, since my car doesn't meet "California standards" (even new cars have a different "California" version to meet their specific requirements), and it was considered a "new car" (under 7500 miles), she was saying that my car wasn't even eligible to be driven in California. We kept telling her that the car was a gift, so it should be exempt from that... so she finally had my dad fill out some paperwork stating that he gave me the car as a gift. I then had to get it smog certified because it wasn't exempt. However, she first asked me to give her my license plate, and then go out and get it checked for smog regulations. Therefore, I ended up driving a couple miles to the nearest test center,without a license plate. My dad told me not to worry, but passing two police cars along the road didn't calm my nerves. Luckily I wasn't pulled over even though I didn't have a license plate. The car passed the smog test, and then we went back to the DMV.
Once we got back, we finally were able to finalize everything and my car was officially registered! The whole process took about 2.5 hours and about $300. Thankfully, it's all done now and I now have official California license plates. I also got to register to vote when I registered for my driver's license, which was a plus. All that is left now is to get my stuff, which is supposed to come on Sunday!
Moving to California meant that I needed to get a new California driver's license, get my car registered in the state, and register to vote. The first two items could both be done at the DMV (department of motor vehicles. Michigan just has Secretary of State offices, which California doesn't have), so I figured it wouldn't be too complicated. The website was hard to completely understand, but it seemed you just had to make an appointment, fill out some forms, and you'd be all set. It turned out to be a little bit more complicated...
We went this morning at 9am which was when I scheduled my appointment. The appointment system is nice so you don't have to wait behind a lot of people; you get priority. I filled out a form for my driver's license, was called up, and then got my picture taken as well as take a short 36-question written test to get my license. The process was fairly simple, minus the written test, but it wasn't bad (as long as you know that animals must be properly restrained if you're transporting them in the back of a truck).
I went back to get my car registration, and that's when the fun happened. First the representative was saying that my car wasn't eligible for the gift tax exemption because we had already transferred it; then I had to go get my vehicle inspected, so I went outside to get it inspected. After coming back, since my car doesn't meet "California standards" (even new cars have a different "California" version to meet their specific requirements), and it was considered a "new car" (under 7500 miles), she was saying that my car wasn't even eligible to be driven in California. We kept telling her that the car was a gift, so it should be exempt from that... so she finally had my dad fill out some paperwork stating that he gave me the car as a gift. I then had to get it smog certified because it wasn't exempt. However, she first asked me to give her my license plate, and then go out and get it checked for smog regulations. Therefore, I ended up driving a couple miles to the nearest test center,without a license plate. My dad told me not to worry, but passing two police cars along the road didn't calm my nerves. Luckily I wasn't pulled over even though I didn't have a license plate. The car passed the smog test, and then we went back to the DMV.
Once we got back, we finally were able to finalize everything and my car was officially registered! The whole process took about 2.5 hours and about $300. Thankfully, it's all done now and I now have official California license plates. I also got to register to vote when I registered for my driver's license, which was a plus. All that is left now is to get my stuff, which is supposed to come on Sunday!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Arrived!
I made it to California! My parents and I took an 8:30am flight this morning and arrived in San Francisco at 10:30am PST. We got our luggage and made our way onto the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to get to my new apartment. It's a very convenient train ride directly from the airport that ends up around 10 minutes from my apartment. It's also quite affordable, as it only costs $10 one way for the 1 hour 10 minute ride. When we got off the train, we were surprised to find out that it was about 95 degrees! We were therefore pretty sweaty by the team we walked to my apartment ...
When we opened the door I was quite surprised and pleased. It is much nicer than the pictures showed, with hardwood floors in the living/dining room area, a skylight above the stairs to the bedrooms, and nice/new appliances. My roommate is currently in Europe with Shell right now, so I will have the whole place to myself for a couple of weeks. We basically just took a look around and put our stuff down, and my dad and I went to go pick up my car. I drove my roommate's car and my dad drove my car on the way back.
For now, we are checked into a Holiday Inn Express until my stuff arrives on Sunday. We will basically just be doing basic errands the next few days, while possibly exploring the area a bit as well. I need to get groceries, apply for a California driver's license/registration, amongst other little things like finding where the bank is and paying for my rent. I will do my best to keep everyone updated! Prayers would be appreciated too, as I'm starting to feel the weight of being here and can feel myself getting kind of overwhelmed.
When we opened the door I was quite surprised and pleased. It is much nicer than the pictures showed, with hardwood floors in the living/dining room area, a skylight above the stairs to the bedrooms, and nice/new appliances. My roommate is currently in Europe with Shell right now, so I will have the whole place to myself for a couple of weeks. We basically just took a look around and put our stuff down, and my dad and I went to go pick up my car. I drove my roommate's car and my dad drove my car on the way back.
For now, we are checked into a Holiday Inn Express until my stuff arrives on Sunday. We will basically just be doing basic errands the next few days, while possibly exploring the area a bit as well. I need to get groceries, apply for a California driver's license/registration, amongst other little things like finding where the bank is and paying for my rent. I will do my best to keep everyone updated! Prayers would be appreciated too, as I'm starting to feel the weight of being here and can feel myself getting kind of overwhelmed.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Introduction
Today I left Ann Arbor to go back to Rochester for 2 days before flying out to California. Someone told me to keep in touch, perhaps by creating a blog. The last time I blogged was the summer of 2010 when I went to China (see China Blog), but I figured this would be a great way to keep in touch with everyone back at home.
I had to come up with a name for the blog, and I came up with the name "Golden Ticket." California is known as the "Golden State," and the phrase "Golden Ticket" may be familiar to some of you from the movie Willy Wonka. I see this experience of moving to California as my "Golden Ticket." For one, I got the job in a somewhat unexpected way, which I'll explain at a later post. Secondly, California is a new experience that I'm completely unfamiliar with but have heard so much about. And lastly, I will definitely have many exciting adventures and interesting stories to tell from my journey. Thanks for following!
I had to come up with a name for the blog, and I came up with the name "Golden Ticket." California is known as the "Golden State," and the phrase "Golden Ticket" may be familiar to some of you from the movie Willy Wonka. I see this experience of moving to California as my "Golden Ticket." For one, I got the job in a somewhat unexpected way, which I'll explain at a later post. Secondly, California is a new experience that I'm completely unfamiliar with but have heard so much about. And lastly, I will definitely have many exciting adventures and interesting stories to tell from my journey. Thanks for following!
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