Philly: first impressions

Even as my plane descended into Philadelphia and I saw their version of a downtown skyline, my mind had still not wrapped around the fact that I was moving to this city. Now, approximately 48 hours later… it still hasn’t.

I’ve decided to make my debut Philly post one of first impressions (which I’m notoriously bad at) of the city of brotherly love. That way, in x months I can write a “final impressions” post and I can make a Venn diagram comparing the two. That’s be fun, considering I haven’t created the conjoined circle chart in centuries. (Obviously centuries is an exaggeration, I just wanted to keep the alliteration going as long as I could). So without any more useless jabber, first impressions:

House/City: When we first pulled up to the house I’m staying in I thought, “man… this is really the city”. What I mean is that it’s surrounded by one-way streets, cars parallel parked everywhere, everything is tall, and everything is crammed. There’s very little open/green space, few trees, and lots of trash. Now back to the house: It’s a row home, approximately 20 feet wide and 50 feet deep, three stories high. I’ll provide pictures soon, which reminds me of another first impression: there are countless places to take good pictures in this city. I walked in and was greeted rather aggressively by Oggy.

Dog: My first impression of my new German shepherd friend was that he was bigger than I’d imagined, and I’d imagined him pretty big. His back is taller than my crotch, which he proved when he invited himself to make my legs a tunnel. Good news though: he’s really not aggressive. He likes me.

My Room: Well, it’s was amazing. It’s not fancy, just a 12 by 12 square with a bed, desk, and a dresser, but compared to the couch I’d been sleeping on in the Station, it’s real nice. Another thing I really like about my room is that I have two windows, a front window (facing the street) and a back window…

…which faces… well, that. This is my view from the desk I sit at when I do Internet things or write in my journal.

Beauty: Though I wouldn’t consider what I’ve seen of Philly so far to be beautiful (as my co-workers seem to believe), I will say that it has one highly redeeming quality: it’s murals. They are everywhere, and though many of them make little sense, the color and life they add to the otherwise dull city blocks is truly wonderful. Again, it is only a matter of time before you will enjoy pictures of the things I’m seeing. I’m still getting my bearings. I’ll treat myself to a camera day soon.

Work: I’m writing this blog from my second morning at work. My very first impression of the place is that it’s nice, they have some really sweet video editing gear, and they all know their roles… but they aren’t sure of mine. I’m still not entirely sure what it is I’m supposed to do here (see my updating my blog at work), but I’m sure that in time everything will make more sense. It’s worth noting that earlier when I said “lots of trash”, I meant more in my work neighborhood than in my house neighborhood. They are only 3.5 miles away, but they’re pretty different, to be sure.

Public Transportation: I love it, I think it’s going to end up costing about the same as driving would, and my getting lost or missing a stop is eminent.

Friends: Well, I don’t really have any Philly friends yet (people aren’t just real nice here… again, a first impression), but I have been very blessed and encouraged by my existing friends and their emails/facebook messages/phone calls. Thank you guys a lot. That’s not a first impression. I’ve been impressed by you guys for years.

Alright. So there’s first impressions. I’m going to go ask if I’m supposed to be doing something. I don’t feel about about doing the blog though, since I’m not getting paid to be here.