Roughly this time last month, I graduated from the University of Kansas with my shiny new BS in Computer Science. I still can't believe they actually gave me a degree, really. This puts me squarely in the ranks of the unemployable, unless I take the diploma off of my resume and apply for food service work, or maybe sitting behind the counter at a gas station. In any case, 2003 has the worst environment for college graduate employment in the past forty years, at least according to some piece of journalism that my mother read. So much fun.

In any case, I have to find something before the next four or five months are up, and the student loan bastards start wanting payment. So, myself and my girlfriend have devised A Big Plan. Instead of hanging around Kansas some more, which we have done for the past twenty years and are sick of, we are going to San Diego to live in beachfront paradise for a while. Responsible, yes? On the rational side, it has an order of magnitude more CS jobs than the Kansas City area, at least as reported by monster.com. But besides that (and on the list of completely irrational reasons to move), it has better clubs, nicer temperatures, and a far more laid-back attitude toward reality. Plus, Christina is thinking about going to graduate school there, and I might end up on that path myself.

In any case, it will be an adventure. I figure that if I fail miserably out there, I can still pack up the exact same carload of crap I took back into the car, and bail back to my mom's house like the other 60% of 2003's college graduates. Moreover, if I even marginally succeed, even in the forty hours a week at Super Target sort of way, even in the ramen and potatoes every day sort of way, then I've still done something far more interesting with The Actual Beginning Of My Adult Life than a lot of people in my graduating class. Best of all, if the cards fall down right, and I succeed in the $40k to start, entry level research and development job sort of way, I get the self-satisfaction of having made good for myself without the rich father or good connections or scholarship bonanza or trust fund bonus that most "successful" people seem to start with.

If anybody reading this has any news or knowledge about the SD area they think would be relevant, I'd love to hear it. Any and all job offers or requests for resume also accepted ;-)

In other news, turned 23 on June 17th, which was yesterday in this time zone. Actually I thought this would suck quite a bit more than it did, and I have managed to stay almost completely free of I was supposed to be somebody by the age of 23 style angst and consternation. Not much to tell. I spent the day with my mother, and we went to the Greek restaurant which has been a family favorite for like a decade now. We also discussed getting a big plastic shed in which to put the subset of my belongings which wouldn't fit in a car bound for San Diego, along with some stuff she has in storage. Uneventful. Later that evening I visited Christina, who had baked me an entirely sumptuous strawberry rhubarb pie for my birthday. The crust had a lower case letter pi ( π ) and everything. Went out for dinner and drinks, and all-told had a great time. She promises presents when they arrive in a week also, even though I said that I didn't want/need anything. Yay!

Still need to get things all in order here before I can think too much about the move. One thing I need is a domain and a few email addresses to go with it, so my school and ISP email accounts can have something to forward to. Also, I need to pack. A lot. A friend is taking some old computers off of my hands, so I can be glad they're going to a good home. Not keeping any furniture, I don't think, besides two folding tables and some big industrial shelving that I love. Maybe a mattress too, as it has always been comfy. There's a used furniture dealer hereabouts, and I'm going to see if they will give me like $50 for the lot of the rest of it. Hope I can get some cash, or at the very least get it out of the house. Fat person clothes from when I weighed 80 lbs more also have to go, probably with a bunch of other crap to the Salvation Army.

On the keeper list is a metric fuckton of vinyl, along with the bulky stereo equipment to play it. Welcome to the one downside of owning speakers big enough to be buried in. Also, lets see, most of my clothing will go in the car, along with my desktop and laptop, because I'm a junkie. Three big footlocker-style containers can hold just about anything. Studio gear is already packed, except for the three largely worthless casio synthesizers I can't make myself toss out. Argh, lots of other crap too, but I just decided I don't want to think about it.

I'm really worried about keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances, while being 1500+ miles away from most of them. That's part of my wanting independent email and web presence, to help them get ahold of me, and give me a handy place to keep an (encrypted) copy of their contact information. Really, though, it's no substitute at all. Blah. My own little fears of abandonment make me loathe to do it to others.