Breaking up, Moving (On), and Starting a New Semester (Pt. 1)

As promised, here is the first part of the mega-post of what is going on in my life. A lot has happened since the last time I actually had enough time to write a post (and to be real honest, I still don’t have the time, but I need a study break). I will split it into 2 (or maybe 3) separate entries to keep it manageable. The next part will be put up after I get back from a wedding in BG this weekend (of course, including details of that awesome event). I hope you give it a read though, as I know many people have been curious to how exactly I came to be sitting in my own apartment in Camden Live Oaks. And if you didn’t know that Abby and I broke up (or worse yet, didn’t know we were dating), then we don’t hang out nearly enough, and we should get together soon.

So yes, Abby and I broke up. I won’t get into too much detail because as much as I probably say more on this blog than I should, our personal business is our personal business. The basic premise is that living together shined a light on the fact that we just didn’t have the ability to live together. I thought I was doing everything I could to be the best co-habitator I could, since it was my first time living with a girlfriend. She, I assume, was trying to make it a comfortable experience for me as well. Nonetheless, we both felt out of place in our own home, which led to almost bi-nightly discussions. I am all about communication in a relationship for sure, but that is more often than one should be having state-of-the-relationship conversations. So in the end, she wanted to break up, and by then, I agreed with her that it was the right move. To answer the question that everyone either asks or is too tactful to ask, no, I don’t regret us moving in so soon. It was learning experience for me in a lot of ways, and we were confronted with issues that might have taken months or years to confront. Instead, we were able to get out with the least amount of pain and complications as possible.

That left me looking for a place on one week notice. I spent a full day going to several different places looking for affordable one bedrooms. Let me go ahead and tell you, unless you are willing to compromise the type of area you want to live in, “affordable one bedrooms” is an oxymoron. But I found a place at Camden Live Oaks (my 2^nd stint in that particular complex), that wasn’t too bad, and has free cable, which helps me save a few dollars. So I lived in our old apartment for a week (a week during which, despite having recently broken up with someone, I was actually quite happy, a fact that I think speaks volumes about this being the right move), and then moved all my stuff to this place during a surprisingly quick afternoon (special thanks to Jon, Alvin, & Jeff on that). I was actually able to pretty much get unpacked and settled in a day and a half (special thanks to Shyam & Lucky for donating their old futon which really helps “tie the room together”). And other than the large rent and full utility checks I write every month, I am absolutely loving living on my own! No offense to any of my former roommates out there, but at the ripe age of 27, it is nice to finally have my own place, and I don’t think I’m going to give it up until its time to move in with a fiancée (notice I didn’t say girlfriend for the next move-in experiment). As I get ready to head to the airport, let me leave with some of my favorite and least favorite things about living alone so far.

Things I Love About My New Apt

1. Leaving stuff where I want to for as long as I want

2. Doing whatever I want whenever I want

3. Related to #2, only wearing pants when I want

4. My own fridge, my own kitchen, no confusion about if something is mine, where a pan currently is, or bumping into people while cooking

Things I Less Than Love About My New Apt

1. My direct neighbor who has two small, very high-pitched dogs that bark at everything…all the time.

2. I’m not suppose to have a grill, I do anyway, but I hate having to hide it.

3. The free cable is great, but I miss my DVR. I’m not willing to pay for a full cable service just to have a DVR.

4. My own kitchen mentioned above happens to be pretty low on counter space, but I get by through being creative, and I may use the kitchen table in the other room if I have to.