I Wanna Be Runnin'...When the Sand Runs Out

"I'm gunna stop looking back, and start moving on;

learn how to face my fears.

Love with all of my heart; make my mark,

I wanna leave something here.

Go out on a ledge, without any net;

that's what I'm gunna be about.

I wanna be running, when the sand runs out."

-Rascal Flatts

The V says "Virginia is for lovers,
handle with care"

Greetings from Virginia!! This marks my first post and beginning of my life here. :] Yay! I've been here almost two weeks and things started off hectic. Monday, the 15th was spent traveling. My folks and I left at 4am to make our first flight. There were two stops and we landed in Norfolk around 6. Things got a little bit unexpected after that.

Far too much luggage:
Challenge accepted.

Tiny rental car.

First, our rental car was tiiiiny. And we had, A LOT of luggage. With the careful maneuvering of master Tetris skills, we managed to get all three of us, plus the luggage into the car. And off to the hotel we went. When we got to the hotel (which was further out than we had expected) we discovered that there was no elevator. This might not seem like that big of a deal, but I shall refer you to the picture on the right of our luggage. We did not want to shlep that up and down stairs. We figured it out though, and decided to stay there. Thankfully, I went to check the room out first before we brought the luggage up, because they had given us two twin beds, instead of two double beds. Also, for a non-smoking room, it smelled an awful lot like cigarettes. We talked to the reception desk again and it turns out they don't even have double beds. o.O We reminded the front desk that there were three of us, and they shrugged and didn't do anything. We left and began the hunt for a new hotel. After several phone calls and the wonderful contraption that is the iPhone, we ended up at a nicer hotel near the airport. It was just what we wanted and it was a wonderful experience. My favorite part was leaving my teddy bear on the bed when we left, and finding him all cozy after the cleaning crew had come through.

Hammy (my teddy bear) Being cozy in my bed. :]

Tuesday, we got the apartment!! I went through all the paper work and we were all settled to start moving in. Since there was no furniture, we stayed at the hotel a few more days while we got stuff together. I got to see my school (actually, I can see my school from across the street, I'm that close), and we went to the bookstore. Soooo many textbooks. Although, I'm getting pretty excited to start. We moved into the apartment once all the dishes and pots and pans had been bought. Initially, a lot of things were going to be donated, but so far, all of those plans have fallen through. The first meal we had was, naturally, pasta, chicken and pesto. Threw some broccoli in there, too. This unfortunately set the idea in my mom's head that I would be doing all of the cooking. Thankfully, I made chili one of the nights, and we had leftovers to eat. 


Later in the week, I began to build some furniture. Some of you may have seen my nightmare when I built my desk. Well, immediately following the desk came the table and chairs, as well as the futon. I'm pretty proud of my living room, though. I built it all by myself, haha. Maybe it has to do with the effort it took to build it, but the living room feels very much like home, already. I really like my apartment. The staff is incredibly friendly and the maintenance staff is prompt and helpful. I'm stoked to be living here. Although, living on my own is gunna be interesting. (When I get the chance, I'm gunna post a picture of my bathroom, cause it's awesome. It's the kind of bathroom Joanna would be proud of. ;])

A friend of mine from Northridge has a cousin who lives out here. We got to meet her and have dinner while she told us (me, really) about what to expect at Regent (she graduated a couple years ago). She was very nice, and I'm glad to know someone out here other than the office staff. She had recieved a TV, TV stand, and a DVD player from a friend when she was a 1L and passed it off to another friend who has graduated and is moving so she needs to get rid of her stuff. I get a call, and now it's being passed on to me. It fits perfectly and is exactly what I was looking for. :] My living room really feels homey now. I also got a bookshelf! Which will be extraordinarily helpful when my my books get shipped from Sacramento.

My folks left on Wednesday, and I've been chilling by my lonesome. Haha. It's not so bad, cause Kris is coming out in 5 days!! In the meantime, I'm on a first name basis with my mailman, the office staff said they'd keep an eye out for renters from Regent, and I've begun to read to get ready for the semester. We shall see how it goes. Virginia is a lot different from California, especially from the LA area. The other night, I was wakened by thunder and lightning that shook my apartment. That was new and something I'm very much not used to. The humidity takes some time to adapt to. And finally, it will be interesting to see how well I do without a car.

07/06/2400

I would like to leave you all with something disturbing. If you can see it, check out the expiration date on these hostess cupcakes. I would like to know why it's possible for a food to outlive the people who would potentially eat it.

[[Edit: As my wonderful friends on facebook pointed out, the due date is not as crazy as my dad and I initially thought. Haha. But imagine if it really could be good until 2400....that'd be ridiculous.]]





Anyways. I miss you, California, Californians, and other miscellaneous family members and friends.