Ahhh.... Life.

A fair warning: I'm not sure exactly where this is going to go, or what I'm going to say. I just felt like writing stuff, and it may be terrible. But now that you know that it might be terrible, it might not be so bad after all. Here goes . . .

Over the past few days I've had some time to reflect. Well, to be honest, I've probably had time to build a boat and sail it down the river since I haven't done anything. I've had a looming sense of apprehension since I finished thesis nearly two months ago, and graduated from the GSD just 1 month ago. Apprehension about where I would live, work, and God-willing, be happy. The two trajectories that resound as possibilities stand as San Fransisco or New York City. And every time someone asks me where I am planning to go, I say, "I don't know." But then, I say, "maybe NYC or SF." And I don't know exactly why.

Well, that's not entirely true.

New York is kind of obvious. The tried and true rite of passage for students of Architecture. But the high intensity of the city, and the potential squalor of living conditions that I would be able to afford makes me wary. It could be a great place to work. But it could be a miserable life.

I've never been to San Fransisco. But I've never heard anyone say anything bad about it. It's supposed to be laid-back, beautiful, with a great climate. On top of that, there are some really good firms out there that do some stuff that I like. And it's walkable -- yes, I know about the hills. I'll deal with it.

The other question is who I'll live with. Ideally, I'd live alone, but we all know I won't be able to afford that unless I move back down south, which is not an option for me. I suppose I could look into more affordable cities too, like maybe Portland... but my gut just says San Fransisco, and so far, my gut has served me pretty well--despite the fact that it's getting bigger.

But aside from my future, I've thought about my past three years here in Boston. It's been a great ride (I should probably use a better cliche if I'm going to use one at all, but what ever... suck it up). But what made the experience great was not so much the city itself, but the people with whom I spent my time.

Things I'll probably remember (in no particular order):
...meeting the other Florida guys + Ann during orientation at the barbecue
...asking Emily why she hated me (I was kidding...sort of)
...Dave Brown manning the grill at any and all GSD events
...Shaheen and over-priced food at Chauhaus (the guy never said my name right, but I didn't have the heart to correct him)
...Benny encouraging me to hit on every moderately attractive (or unattractive) girl in the vicinity
...a dirty roommate after living for two years with a super-clean one
...birthday celebrations at Daedalus
...Gator games at McFadden's
...Fox hitting on every moderately attractive (or unattractive) girl in the vicinity
...Justin being approached by Asian women as though they just got off the boat and he was the beacon of Freedom
...JZee and his Petrone
...the hot Vietnamese girl that played pool that I mentioned to my mom to freak her out because she was a smoker and a boozer (but she was Vietnamese, Mom!)
...mid-week beer night my first summer here with Jnasty and JFox
...CK just lovin' Sumo like--well...something unnatural
...my 27th birthday party, "the Tsunami", a keg-stand, and the cooking pot (no details)
...seeing my friends after presenting my thesis and it sinking in that we were finally done
...thesis prep semester, aka, 3 months off.
...Alec, body shots, and Fox's mom.
...midnight BK runs
...basketball, basketball, basketball, and the 2008 NBA Championships
...breaking things that weren't mine (like cars).
...toooooo many burritos.

Thinking back, I wish I had spent a little less time in studio or my room, and more time enjoying the company of friends. The list would probably be longer. But I guess I've got the rest of my life to continue it--wherever the hell I might be.