Orientation is just around corner. That's pretty literal. It's 3:15am now and it begins at 9am, practically now, and the university is physically around the corner from where I live now. As of today the summer is really over. This whole past week has been the beginning of the end, though.

I've been setting up for orientation with ABTech. I've been excited for the usual traditions: Tech, move-in, BBQs on the porch, meeting freshmen, playfair, etc. I worry that the reason I'm still stuck here doing the same old thing is because I don't know how to let go. I've always hated change and loved doing the same things I've loved before. But things do change. As much as I enjoy every tradition, every traditional thing I do also hurts. I have to consider every time that it might be the last. Also, every time might not be just as good as before.

Even though I was gone, I've still spent all my contiguous summers in Pittsburgh, but maybe this really is the last. I'm too old to care about the freshmen even if I do still want to participate in orientation to help them out and give them a good start like I had. I was looking forward to the beginning of this year, but now I'm not so sure.

Some of my close friends returned to Pittsburgh today. I've learned to get along without them: the year in Boston and this summer. Seeing them now, though, makes me realize that doing it with them, my friends, my brothers, was one of the things I loved about move-in. This year they won't be there, most have left town and the ones that are here have moved on past doing it.

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It is later. When I wrote on Tuesday, things were slow. Things hadn't really gotten started but I thought it was all my fault. I was being narrow minded thinking that the week starts on Monday. This week clearly started on Wednesday. It has been a flurry of positive activity since then.

Wednesday

Wednesday hosted a Welcome reception under the great dome, the first real orientation even. Although initially I felt like I looked or acted a little young, it went very well. After some initial hesitation, in my usual fashion, I met a lot of cool people and realized I wasn't so alone, wasn't so different.

The next event that night was at a bar. Some people I had left the reception with said they were planning on going. When I arrived at first I had a very young and out of place feeling again, but just as I was going to leave, the people from earlier showed up and we had a good time. I met some new people there as well, and then when I might have turned in, Monzy called me so I went to hang out with him at the other campus pub, where he works. More new friends. Still the first night I'd met anyone and already I was running into people I had met before.

Thursday

The first event of the day, quite early in the morning, was Media Lab orientation. I met the other student I will be working with as well as many other Media Lab students (including some I had already met). I did not see my advisor. I still have not been able to figure out if our group has a name or if we have space or what we do.

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I just moved into my new room at MIT on Sunday. I'm excited but at the same time worried. I can't wait for things to really get started so that I have work to do. I think I'll be doing some neat things and at least it will give me something to do. This week is a tough one for me. I'm starting over. As an undergrad you have a plethora of "temporary friends", people you can hang out with if you aren't comfortable in social situations on your own, until you meet your real friends. Roomates, people down the hall, RA's, OC, and more. That's not the case now. It's hard for me to meet people. I can usually find something to say, I have all sorts of stories for any situations, but my friends have made fun of me for that, so I hesitate instead of saying what I want to. And if it's some welcome speech or something I can probably say hi to someone around me, but I've never been good in real social situations, especially when I'm by myself.

So far I've gotten my room mostly set up, I still have some more unpacking to do, I've done some errands for things I've needed, I've done a little exploring, I hung out with a friend of mine that works in Cambridge, and I went on grad student campus tour. I know it will get easier and I'm looking forward to that. More later I guess.

It has been 6 days since I last wrote because a lot has been going on. Tuesday we moved in all the freshmen. It was pretty fun. Lots of people had LCD monitors so things weren't as heavy as usual. I was back at Donner again for the 3rd year. Later that day I helped out Tech with setting up Tartan pars. That's the thing where we light up the columns of Purnell and the UC with Tartan colors. Then we had to set up and do Playfair.

That night and every night the rest of the week there was a lot of chillin' on the AEPi porch. BBQ and meeting freshmen. Fun. I met a whole bunch of really cool people. I don't exactly wanna mention names or anything in a public journal, but if anyone I'm talking about actually reads this, you know who you are.

Friday night the jew crew assembled a large posse and headed over to Chabbad. I went. It was fun and the food was good. So far this year I've met a lot more jews than I think I have in the past, other than in my house of course. I really feel the jew thing happening this year.

Last night was House Wars on the cut. It was very muddy because of the rain earlier. I'd say it was the muddiest event I've seen at CMU since Fiesta de Primavera my freshman year.

I was at House Wars because I was with Tech. I've been doing a lot of Tech this week. I hope I'll really be able to keep that up this year, assuming my class load doesn't get to bad.

I'm also really happy because I got to start really using my new digital camera. I Have a whole lot of pictures from Orientation

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Well, everyone is back now. It is kind of hard to make the adjustment. Before it was just a few people and it was very relaxed. Now there are all these people and everything is organized and it just makes me feel like a second class citizen of a fascist regime.

Tomorrow morning all the freshman arrive and it all start. First we have to move them in, but that is only the beginning. Then there are lots of Tech events and meeting freshmen and stuff. It is fun because as a senior I'm basically the king of CMU. Carrying heavy stuff and being useful is what I live for, and after that I get to be the old wise man. neato.

Well I better get some sleep so I'll be ready to do some moving. Goodnight.