On the Road Again

Sahoodi here, reporting from the heart of Wacool, Texas (I'm trying on some optimism and I can just about zipper-up if I hold my breath). In today's fluff news, my dream of visiting the Dr. Pepper Museum has now been realized with ridiculous photos to follow. I had a nice conversation with a local old timer and fellow Dr. P aficionado. I told him that since committing to moving to Waco I have been telling all my friends that I must go to the Dr. Pepper Museum (mostly because it's the only notable tourist site in Waco), which he wholeheartedly endorsed. Thankfully it lived up to my lofty expectations.

Dr. P and Me

In more conflicted news, it's finally real. I signed a lease and I'm now truly committed to this adventure. I also had lunch with my lab and practicum supervisor and a current student, both of whom succeeded in making me feel welcomed and at ease. Despite my sadness and reservations about leaving my comfort zone in Colorado, I am truly excited to have my mind fully engaged and be immersed in academics once again. I'm a nerd like that.

I still feel removed from the notion that I will soon sleep under a sky of Texas stars... sandwiched between a church and a cornfield. My father made an excellent point in a message to me the other night. He said, " I suspect you may find Texas somewhat different from Colorado, however I find comfort in the probability that you will come to understand Texans and to appreciate their culture as you would that of any other foreign nation." I find comfort in that too... and have already come to appreciate the friendly and smiling faces I have thus far encountered in Texas.

So, I guess you can't judge a book by it's cover after all. Though I do have flashes of that Dave Chappelle stand-up where he describes being taken to the ghetto: "Gun store, gun store, liquor store... where the hell are you taking me?" For purposes of adapting it to Waco I must remark, "Gun store, pawn shop, enormous church, Bush's Chicken... where the hell are you taking me?" As with any "foreign" culture, there's a certain degree of "What are these people thinking?" But then again, a Waconian coming to Boulder, Colorado would likely feel the same way. "Mountaineering store, organic restaurant, Buddhist temple, overpriced boutique... where the hell are you taking me?" It's all relative.

Gun store, gun store... me looking uncomfortable at Guns R Us

I take comfort in adaptation and appreciation. Maybe I'm just in a hopeful mood as my return to Colorado looms tomorrow. Maybe I'm just developing a healthier and more balanced perspective surrounding this change. Maybe I'm just overthinking this as I do everything else. Maybe, just maybe... everything will be okay.