I'm getting used to the fact that all those posts and threads will be gone soon.....which is not easy. This feels like moving to a new house, and even though the new destination might be livable enough, sometimes it's just hard to leave the old place.
The new layout doesn't bother me, I quite like it, maybe even more than the other one (though orange is definitely not my favourite colour). And as for the newbie status, I really couldn't care less.