signalnoise

Today is one of those days where moving hits me hard - in the not-so-good way.

Yesterday, a friend invited me out to a fund raiser at The Long Room. It was a fantastic way to spend a warm Chicago afternoon: everyone there was smart, interesting, hip, fun, and stupidly good looking. Quite a few folks from my program were there. We just hung out, got buzzed, and shot the shit.

It hit me, on the train ride home, that my life wouldn't quite *be* like this anymore. This is, for me, like graduating high school. I think that's the only analogy that works. Currently, I'm surrounded by all these people who are just, really, pretty great. We know each other well, we have a lot in common, and we have a good time. But now, no matter what kind of job I took or where, that's all different. Grad students have a lot of time to bond, and joining a grad program is like getting 75 brand new friends at once. Obviously, there will be new friends at the new job - but it's not that same kind of camaraderie that comes from slogging through linear models together or ditching afternoon reading to drink beers. These are *good friends* - like high school friends, the kind you carry with you forever. And, you know, it's time to leave them behind. I'm excited, and I'm ready - but it's bittersweet, no doubt.