With the eve of my big move fast approaching, I have been saying my farewells and with it comes a phrase that is becoming quite tiresome.

How do you feel?

Unlike Spock in Star Trek IV, I understand the question fine. However, my answer is the same. I don't really have one.

Moving several states west is, indeed, a very large "life event" and I am fully aware of this. Working for the company running the fourteenth most visited website in the world is no small thing to sneeze at. This is essentially my dream coming true: living in Silicon Valley making a living programming. I've only wanted this for a very, very long time.

And yet, I don't have any strong feelings about this. My general response thus far has been "I don't think it's hit me yet".

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm very excited that this opportunity has landed in my lap. As stated, it is my dream come true (at least, one of them). Being able to essentially start my life on a clean slate is certainly appealing and the potential for the future is quite bright.

To that end, I'm also saddened that I have to leave such wonderful people behind. My family and all the friends that I've made over the past few years are no longer going to be within quick driving distance. The "clean slate" I mentioned will apply here as well, moving into a state I don't know, full of people I don't know, and a culture that is going to baffle the crap out of this Oklahoma native.

But, I don't feel very strongly any of these emotions. It could very well be that the gravity of the adventure before me hasn't wormed its way from the conscious part of my brain to the emotion part. But, as I was driving back from my good-bye visit to my family, I had another thought.

I'm ready.

Everything I've done up to this point - starting from about the time I started working on YPN in earnest - has been to break into "the industry". I had my shot back in 2009 when I interviewed at Digg, but looking back, I was nowhere near ready, neither as a developer nor as a person. Since then, I've slowly acquired knowledge on both fronts, honing my craft, making friends and learning to better interface with people on a professional and personal level, and just learning how to live in general. It's been a slow but steady ascent to where I am now and every little experience has prepared me for what I'm about to do.

LinkedIn and California... I'm ready for you.