The day of graduation, having skipped the ceremony, I drove down I-81 to I-476 to I-95 which allowed me to sleep in my own bed, to begin my internship two days after our Newhouse ceremony. So, I get up at 6:30 AM, eat breakfast, pack lunch, and get on I-95, sit in traffic, and go onto I-476 which, after sitting in more traffic, takes me to Media, PA, where Allied Pixel is located.
I pull into the parking lot, with only one other car in the lot. I had been told to be there at 8:30. I check the front door of the building, which from the street looks like a house with a sign in front of it. It’s locked. I’m nervous. I walk around to the side of the house, and check another door. Not locked.
I enter a large greeting room, which I recognized from my interview in March. I wander around, looking for someone. No one on the first floor. I try to remember the floor plan from when they showed me around at the interview, and decide to wander downstairs. I walk down the stairs, with no lights on, to the basement where they have all there equipment, where all the lights are off, but one.
In the break room stands a pleasant old man preparing the morning coffee. He introduces himself as Jim, and asks me if I have a driver’s license on me. He then asks me to return a lens to Allentown.
So, as my first assignment post-Syracuse, after driving the previous day from Syracuse to be there, I drive roughly a quarter back to Syracuse to return this lens. Life knows how to make you instantly nostalgic.