I'd emailed my boss to ask if he had some time to talk yesterday morning, only to discover he's in the Ukraine for the week. After a mad dash to Palo Alto to fail to catch him at the office, we finally spoke on the phone, and I told him I was leaving. He seemed to indicate he wouldn't tell anyone until he landed in Kiev, but I may have misunderstood, becaus by 4pm it had been announced in a team meeting on the other side of the company.

I got an apartment! I'm moving around the block, .3 miles along the street, about 400 feet as the crow flies. I probably start paying rent on the 22nd, so I have a bit more than three weeks of overlap. Not too bad (I don't need three weeks, since I'm planning to hire movers).

I realized tonight that I haven't been hallucinating, that I'm feeling a little distance between me and my friends, connected to my being a bit harsher in my speech, louder and sharper. Work has been remarkably negative since my boss left, and I've been venting at my friends on chat, and I think that's become a bit of a habit that's bled over into meatspace. Luckily everyone will continue to love me for a couple of weeks while I adjust my behavior.

I had a phone screen this morning for another job option, this one in San Mateo. I realized afterward that I've grown up into a Senior Software Engineer, and it's a lot more fun than being a junior person. I'm much more skilled at my work, I can casually talk off the cuff in expert terms, and people want to pay me well and talk about hiring me in at a "senior level". After the phone call I realized that I could go in for an interview, and they would offer me a job, because I'm even more worth having than I used to be, and I'm able to make that apparent in an interview. That's a nice feeling, not only that I've learned a lot and I do my job well, but that I feel settled into the role (even more so since having a minion these past few months.).

Don't believe the hype! Growing up kicks ass. If it doesn't, you're not doing it right.