New Job, New City

You heard it here first, folks! I've finally left my suburbian apartment and
made my way to the big city. I got a job as a drafter at a transportation
engineering firm, which I started a week ago, and found an apartment within
walking distance, absolutely ideal! I wound up working at my new job for four
days prior to moving, so I had to drive the whole twenty-five miles each way,
but four days isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things

Adjusting to the city has been easier than I expected. It turns out that an
apartment is an apartment, the specific location of it doesn't actually matter
that much. I've still got to set up my computer---I'm living off of my laptop
right now, which is to say I'm BARELY LIVING AT ALL---and my television and
whatnot, but apart from that it's just kind of the same old same old

This apartment though, this one's got carpet. God damn have I missed carpet.
Hard floors are all the rage nowadays, I simply do not understand it, hard floor
is so awful, and since walls are hard it makes the whole room echo-y, which is
its very own brand of misery. But that's not a world I live in any longer, and
with any luck I never will again!

Incidentally, I think probably that part of the reason I can afford this
apartment is that it's carpeted. I don't get real estate, truly

The new job's been a lot. I've worked in manufacturing as a drafter and designer
(and occasional programmer, when the need's arisen), and that's very much an
environment I'm used to. I use AutoCAD or clones thereof, and I hardly ever use
xrefs or sheet sets. I draw my stuff in model space, I make a bunch of paper
space layouts where I detail it, then I publish a PDF and print it for the shop
to build it

Drafting at a transportation engineering firm is nothing like it is in a
manufacturing shop. There's so much I have to learn, the sheer magnitude of
everything I don't know is bearing down upon me. I'm drowning in a sea of
acronyms and conflicting standards from different agencies and I'm not seeing
land on the horizon. Of course that's a bit overdramatic, of course there's an
end to this, I'm not always going to be confused, but it's a truly daunting
experience

Everyone I work with has been really excellent, truly. They're all kind and
knowledgeable, and incredibly willing to help if I have questions. And that
applies to more than just the job itself! I talked for probably an hour and a
half last Friday with one of my coworkers who lives nearby, she told me what the
best bus route for getting to and from work is and what all is in the nearby
areas. Turns out she actually lived across the street from where I am now, but
her building got condemned, whoops!

Incidentally, the CAD team for this company---me and two other people---is
entirely women. Coming from working in manufacturing shops, this is absolutely
incredible to me; before my interview for my current job, I had never met
another woman who was working as a drafter, now I work alongside two and
correspond with many others in other companies. It's been incredible to know
that there's so many of us out there

And I get to work with engineers! Growing up I always wanted to be an engineer,
but I couldn't pay for school and my apartment so I wound up giving up on that
dream. But now I get to work alongside engineers---some of whom are younger than
I am---and I'm not gonna lie, it's giving me just a little bit of hope. Not too
much, I'm trying to stay grounded here. But if you've got the fingers to spare,
I wouldn't mind if you kept them crossed for me

Anyway, this is more than I intended to write. Thank you for reading about my
last couple of weeks!