I'm not overly risk adverse, in the sense that I don't feel overly afraid to take option two or three. I was in a pretty long relationship, and I always told her that if I was single I'd probably do one of those two options - and I did mean it. Just like I told her I'd never talk to her again very easily, which seems to have shocked both her and my friends. I sort of just build something into my narrative and go with it.

Option two is my right hand path, option three is my left hand path. I'll likely take one or the other, unless something else rears its ugly head (my brother has said his goal for the next year is to keep me out of a serious relationship, a task which I hope he's successful at).

As you mentioned, I can get more involved locally, which I've done through political organizations. Switching jobs within my company would be worthless; it'd be like exchanging a Macintosh apple for a Cortland - I'm still holding an apple, it's just the acidity has been slightly altered.

I'd say the slightest modification of my life would be GRE to some decent school in Boston, and then trying to make some bank.

I really appreciate your reply, because I'm looking for that sort of advice. I will say: I'm not a regret person. I don't have tons of problems and I don't dwell on things - I move past them. So I wouldn't burn a year in Seattle and never be able to get over it, because that's just not how I work, which is to say, I'm no more afraid of living than I am of dying.

Off to work, which is still a nice thing to be able to say.