Welcome to Pennsylvania

I've been here for two weeks now, but yesterday I feel was my true introduction to Pennsylvania. I woke up early to shovel my drive and clear off my car. An hour later I had my 10 feet of driveway clear and was likely going to be later to work than I prefer. I was also alternately cold (toes, ears, fingers) and quite warm (core). I made it the 1.2 miles to work without incident and completed the day without thinking about the weather outside. Upon leaving the building, I noticed a snow mobile parked in the lot. Welcome to Pennsylvania.

It was the first real snow since my arrival in the state. I was probably much better off with the negative 30 wind chill than the snow, but I'm still thinking that the groundhog was right and spring is just around the corner. Soon it will be hiking season and there won't be enough time to do all I want. Until then, I'm working diligently and drinking with the coops on the weekends. Living here is cheap when the only options to spend money are Wal-Mart and Payless. The gym is well enough equipped and practically always empty. The whole situation isn't actually altogether unpleasant.

There are some things I could complain about here, like the girl upstairs who plays the same 4 rap songs very loud all the time, or the fact that I had to shovel out my driveway again after work yesterday before I could park, but I think they are nicely counterbalanced. I have a library card which allows me to check out mindless novels and German-on-CD. The kitchen is small, but I'm having a lot of fun learning how to make delicious things. It may be cold outside, but my heater works well and I don't have to pay the utilities.

Work has actually been much better than expected. I've been given as much time as I would like to wander the production floor and really get to know the processes. The people, both salaried and hourly have been friendly and helpful. My boss generally stops by my office just to chat for about an hour a day, then, since it's 4, tells me to go home. My office is actually mine, with the occasional need to share with the wonderfully German consultant. The department is close to gender balanced, a refreshing change from being one of two technical females in the entire plant. Everyone is laid back, taking a half hour break every morning to gossip about people in town. I probably couldn't ask for a much better working situation.

As far as my project, I am somewhat stressfully still beholden to my old plant, meaning that some weekend in the near future and perhaps more in the distant future I will be making the 500 mile trek back to Kentucky to oversee some testing. My project here, a continuation of the last project, hasn't really picked up yet, but appears to be reasonable within the time frame and involves a lot of hands on work. If nothing else, I get to do something new for awhile. I'm generally pleased with work in this small town.

I may live in the middle of nowhere, but at least it's not a bad middle of nowhere. Just a little snowy.