Aaaargh (Recovered from LiveJournal)

I guess leaving work meant leaving my journal to sit, alone and shivering, for weeks on end. To say nothing's been going on would be entirely incorrect. I've been a busy little bee, burning every Dreamcast game available on Hotline while I still have access to Jeremy's CD-R drive. I mean, uh... I'm... buying every Dreamcast game I can find. Yeah, that's it.

My collection's suddenly well over 20 games, and I've only had the system for a month or two. God bless the Internet.

Anyway, Autumn and I made the trek down to Virginia and back without incident. Things are well down there, and I met most of her extended family. Her Aunt Shirley was a bit intimidating, but i think that's just the way Shirley is. Her Aunt Linda was pretty much the opposite of the rest of her family, in that she was a bit overbearing and in-your-face. Linda likes to talk, and I'm never exactly forthcoming when I first meet someone, so that worked out just fine.

I really got along with her Aunt Ronita and family. Animals have overrun that house, and I love it. They had this little dog, Max, who was a fat black monstrosity. When you enter the house, he barks. When you pet him, he barks. When you play with him, he barks. Later on, when he settled down a bit, her cousins showed me a special trick they taught him. Her cousin Andy gave the dog the middle finger, and he just lost his mind. I thought the little ball of energy was about to kill somebody.

So we stopped by their place twice. The drive up the mountain, where Ronita and Autumn's grandparents live is always a unique experience. Gigantic drops of death await on either side of the road, and the guard rails are few and far between. Autumn boldly makes the drive in her manual transmission implement of destruction without a second thought, but I don't think I could cope with that from behind the wheel.

Tyler, Autumn's younger brother, fell in love with my Dreamcast... as predicted. He couldn't get enough of 18 Wheeler and Silent Scope, with a little Crazy Taxi thrown in for variety.

I think before the trip, Autumn and I saw A.i. with Brian. What an odd film... a boring, predictable, overly mushy beginning that led to a surprisingly fun and original adventure of a middle, closed by one of the most bizarre, out of place, ridiculous endings I've ever seen. It was like a joke I'd make around Kevin and Joe... "yeah, and then... 2000 years later... the aliens came..." But, for god's sake, they actually DID! I almost pissed my pants.... soooo stupid.

While we were down in Virginia, I got an e-mail from Yosef telling me his boss was willing to offer me a full time job. This was actually perfect, since I hadn't heard anything from the people in Anderson since I called earlier in the week and they told me "second interviews are being scheduled." I was up in Michigan Tuesday and Wednesday, both enjoying his father's cottage on the lake and discussing the finer points of the job.

It sounds good, with one exception; the pay won't be great. I'll start at $10 an hour, but if business picks up so will my salary. It's full time, but I can still freelance if I want. Joe will effectively be my boss (which would be a little weird), but in all actuality it'd just be the two of us handling the entire creative wing of the company, while the guy who owns the whole schebang takes care of the business end. Basically, it's Joe and I starting our own firm, which was something we'd discussed as a possibility for WAY in the future, and we won't have to worry about putting our necks on the line to get it started.

In short, it's a chance to make a big impact right out of school, and I'm willing to take the risk that's required. Autumn loves the idea of moving to Sarasota, which is where the place is, and I love the idea of both working with and living near Joe, and restarting our old high school band, Kilt. For once, graduating from school seems like it may have actually been a stepping stone, as opposed to the anchor it's resembled in the last couple months.

We'll be headed down there Monday to look at apartments and chat with the man behind this job offer, and if everything goes according to plan the big move will happen just after my 22nd birthday. I want to start working in the first week of August, but we'll see what this employer has to say about that.

It's a time of hope... I wonder if, 20 years from now, I'll look back on this decision and regret it or pat myself on the back.