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I haven’t written a post in a very long time. Maybe it is because I’ve been filling my journal instead. It’s almost full and I need a new one. My journal is where I let my crazy out so that I can appear sane to the rest of the world. Do you have any suggestions of where to buy one?
In the past week I’ve heard from a flood of potential roommates. I really hope one, preferably one with a house that I can afford, works out. Also, I pray that they are not murders and they wash their dishes.
In fewer than two weeks I’m making a big move. I’ve started looking for housing and it is not going well. Finding roommates on Craig’s List has been a little bit sketchy. Who would have thought?
Here are some questions to ask yourself if you begin house hunting:
Prospect 1: Do you want to babysit again? As we pulled up to condo one, there were hypodermic needles on the sidewalk. Ok, that’s a stretch, but let’s just say that wouldn’t have been surprising. The apartment, conveniently located down a dark alley, was also home to a man with several children who happened to be doing laundry that day. Awaiting us in the apartment lobby was a man also there to see the place. He informed me, in broken English, that the man who was to be showing us the apartment wasn’t the landlord, but one of the tenants who had a wife and newborn baby. That would have been fun, right? … Unfortunately, the landlord or tenant never showed. So very disappointing.
Prospect 2: Do you like it fast and dirty? This apartment, only slightly nicer than the one we saw earlier that day got bonus points because it was five minutes from work. And, we were greeted us with a loud barking dog. Cute … While the girl assured us that he only barked when people came to the house, she was also looking for a roommate ASAP. She was very sweet, but must have forgotten that we were coming because she didn’t bother to clean up. The television was propped up on two dining room chairs and piles of dirty clothing, food, and miscellaneous crap provided decor. The smell of fried food seemed fitting and sealed the deal. Cross it off the list.
Prospect 3: How do you feel about polygamy? A man, with a name I can’t pronounce, welcomed us into his home. It was a beautiful brick home in a nice community. The man was probably in his late 30s or early 40s and specified in the ad that the room was for females only in their 20s. That should have been a red flag. I was hoping that if we met the girls it would put me at ease. Sadly, none of the girls were home to meet me. And while the man was very nice, I was just a little uncomfortable with the situation.
Prospect 4: Do you have a life alert necklace? This neighborhood was beautiful. I thought I had finally found the place. The woman, we’ll call Janet, greeted us and took us directly to the storage room that was filled to the brim. That set the tone. The 85-year-old woman, was renting out rooms in her house and it was definitely packed with everything she’s ever owned. It smelled of old people which is tolerable if it’s your grandmother or you’re at a nursing home, but this would have been my roommate. When my friend asked how long she’d be living there, she said, “since it was built.” That was a truthful answer and I can only assume it was built in the early 1900s.
This is not going well. New criteria for a roommate: 20-30, childless, not an old man living with young girls, and cleans up, especially for company. Is that so much to ask?
When I post on Tumblr, I like to say that I’ve tumbled. However, tumbling by definition is clumsy and awkward. With the exception of New Year’s Eve, my start to 2012 has been anything but.
I’m determined to make 2012 the most amazing time of my life. A simplistically wonderful summer in 2010 is currently holding the title.
So far, I’ve begun running. I have always wanted to be able to say that I’m a runner, but my lack of physical talent paired with my hatred of running always seemed to nip that in the bud. However, in 2012 I haven’t let myself down. Three weeks into the year and I’m still committed to the Couch to 5k Challenge. I plan to run a 5k in March or April.
Next on the list is figuring out more about myself. I’ve determined and set goals and am starting to understand life a little more. This will be my most challenging task, but it’s doable.
Also, I’m newly employed. I start on Jan. 30 and this life endeavor is totally pushing me outside of my comfort zone. I’m moving nearly six hours from home, to a new town, job, friends, etc. I am looking to start fresh in every aspect of my life. It is insanely intimidating, but I’m up to the task.
I will not be tumbling this year. I will move quickly and I’m sure I’ll have my clumsy moments, but this year has focus.
It’s a bad habit, but I love to live in the future.
Assuming I get the job in DC, I’ve started to figure out a budget. I think I’ll need to budget $2,000 a month for all expenses including insurance and rent. I really like http://www.crown.org/Tools/Calculators/Budgeting_SpendingPlan.asp. Does anyone have any other good websites or tips for creating a budget?
Well, it seems that the planets may be aligning. This Friday I have my third interview with a company in exciting DC!
I went through a staffing company to find this position kind of by mistake. I thought I was applying for a position with the staffing company because normally it says company confidential. (I like to assume that it was my way of getting my blonde moments over with before I started interviewing.) Anyway, I applied for this and it ended up being a great situation. There is no charge to me for the staffing company’s help and my representative couldn’t be sweeter. When I talked to her today she said the feedback from my interviews was great!
I’m trying not to get ahead of myself, but I’m very hopeful!
Today, I had the worst interview of my life. It felt as though the woman wanted me to fail from the beginning. She only asked questions about where else I had applied, nothing about my experience.
I usually ace interviews, but today was a failure.
