I'm in Philadelphia!

             Soooooo, I moved to Philadelphia about a month ago to pursue a job opportunity. The picture that you see above is literally what I drive past every morning on I-76 heading east on my way to work. Beautiful right? I know (you should see it at night). As someone who grew up and lived in the suburbs all of my life, the thought of living in a big city was intimidating to me. I always used to tell myself that I was NEVER going to live in a big city like New York City, DC, or even Philadelphia. I thought cities were too crowded, noisy, filled with pollution, and crime. I had a fantasy of living somewhere rural with a lot of open land, trees, and maybe a farm or two. But after living here for almost a month, I must say that my perception on city life has changed for the better. It's not where you live all the time but rather how you adapt to the environment. Though I'm from Maryland and was always just a few miles from DC, I was still only adapted to suburban life; I never had the experience of living in a big city. But now I do :-)

             I'm also slowly getting accustomed to the bike riders as my car coincides with them on narrow streets. Also, I tried my first cheese steak sandwhich...ok...chicken cheese steak sandwhich and I must say that it definitely lives up to the hype (in my opinion). Even better, I bought it from a stand that I randomly came across that was a couple of blocks away from my job. I'm a spoken word fan and there's a few weekly and monthly spoken word events in Philly where I can listen to artists and recite some of my work. Also, musuems! And bars (even though I hardly drink)! And plenty of places to dine, wine, go to school (Drexel, UPenn, Temple), listen to good music (The Philadelphia Orchestra), and meet talented intellectuals and artists alike. Did I mention their public transportation system? It's supposedly pretty good, but I have yet to take the train or the bus anywhere in Philly yet.

           So far, I'm surviving the big city and I'm sure that I'll enjoy my stay. I can't wait to get used to the culture and opportunities here :-) Videos and pictures are coming in the near future.