It’s my second Monday at lynda.com today.  I’m such a fresh n00b here it’s kinda funny.  I do the expected n00b things like show up in the wrong conference room at the right time, call people by the wrong name, and refer to Adobe as ‘us’.  All of which I’m expecting will smooth out in the next week, but hey- I haven’t been ‘new’ anywhere in 12 years so it’s all a bit fresh to me.

We’ve got most of the boxes unpacked now – at least upstairs in the main condo – and one half of our two-car garage packed full with the remainder of the moving van.  Although everything was labeled carefully, we’ve now reached that awkward part in a managed move where that ‘one thing’ you need is not in any of the boxes that seem appropriate, so we’re now putting off the inevitable – unpacking everything else, sifting it out and seeing what stays and what goes.  A few items are still unsighted yet, including my two guitars (a 7-string Schecter and the tried-and-true modified Fender “Super Strat”).   Were I still in Oakland this would be cause for concern, but this is Carpinteria and people don’t really walk off with things – or break in and take them outright – down in these parts.  I’m reasonably certain if I left the garage door(s) open all day the only ill effect would be my next-door neighbor calling me on poor form.   A far cry from having to double-check windows and doors every time I walked out for even the smallest errand, and expecting to see anything not locked up or bolted down stolen at the earliest possible convenience.

It’s so odd to feel so comfortable here, and unthreatened in the least.  Now sure, I had come to know most of the sketchy folks in my old neighborhood and broker an uneasy peace there, but Oakland is not where you want to live if being paranoid about your home and safety is unwelcome.  Just being here 2 weeks I feel as if a huge load has been taken off my shoulders – part of which I’m sure is the complete change of job/career/home, but part of which is most definitely feeling less watched than before.  Less scrutinized and inventoried.  And feeling much less anxious as a result.

Fresh.  It just feels fresh.  Which is totally awesome.