What a ride.

Today I signed a lease. I signed a lease that I negotiated down (helped in part by the current state of the real estate market), essentially decreasing rent per room in our five-bedroom by $200.

Today I ended a stint with a startup. I ended my time at Aardvark as part of The Mechanical Zoo, and on Tuesday I start my time at Aardvark as part of Google.

And to think I could have been five months into my Master’s thesis, wrapping up the first month of my last semester at MIT.

I laughed out loud to myself today as I was waiting for the bus to take me home from the landlord’s office - I like this life.

Last week at around this time, I had just been told that my four roommates were moving out, and that I either had three weeks to fill four rooms or find a new place for myself. I got the rent down, two roommates stayed (plus the dog and the cat), a friend moved in, and we did the Craigslist dance to fill the last room. So now we’re good, with a little terror, stress, and hopefulness thrown in.

Two months ago at work (plus change), all of us piled into a room like we normally do for our end-of-the-week meeting. We were told that a term sheet had just been signed for us to be acquired by Google. Due diligence was done, HR negotiations occurred, and secrets were held for far too long from far too many people. We start at a different office in three days - and I’ll be bringing my personal little knot of excitement, apprehension, and curiosity.

In looking at life post-college, I was worried it’d be too routine - I thought that without “landmarks” to look forward to (winter break, summer vacation, finals, formals, trips), I might be bored and let time slip by without noticing. Well - now school looks methodical and predictable and the extraordinarily safe option.

What have I learned? That question will, hopefully, be answered thoroughly in the future in frequent intervals, but for now, a brief summary of my favorite learnings of the last several months:

• How to fix a flat on a bicycle (and a little about how the bicycle works to begin with)
• How to pick a health insurance plan to fit my needs
• What an acquisition looks like from the inside, and how many things could go wrong without a strong negotiator on your side
• French men are the most amusing members of a tech startup
• Socializing and quality alone time are most beneficial in a carefully maintained balance
• I still don’t take enough advantage of the opportunities around me! (Talks, meetups, people)
• Everything usually works out in the end

But I know I continue to be extraordinarily lucky. So I’m extraordinarily thankful - and am excited to see what else is in store!

Let me know what you think on Twitter.