Welcome to a Series of Increasingly Ridiculous Events

I have had a wild week and a half. It didn’t start well, then became overwhelming, and has ended on an upswing. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

I’d say that everything started to go down hill on the last Friday in February, but I think the grey clouds really started gathering on Thursday…maybe Wednesday. Basically, I left my laptop at the office Wednesday night, didn’t realize it until I was about to start work at home Thursday morning, and had to work extra late. On Friday, I noticed something hanging from the bottom of my car. The car still ran okay, but I had a sinking gut feeling that this was it. My almost 13 year old Ford Focus was done being a part of my life.

Yes, I cried. She was my first car that I owned. She came with me through five moves, three states, several major life events, and I put a lot of money in her to keep her alive.

Then I checked my mail box and I found a letter summoning me for jury duty on my day off. 

While going through all of this, I was trying to hire landscapers to fix a falling retaining wall on the side of my house.

Oh, and the United States bombed Iran. 

Great. Perfect. Just what we need.

I decided to start my car shopping on Sunday. In less than a week, I did a bunch of research, found a few car options through a car buying service I have access to, and got pre-approved for a loan. 

While that was going on, I got my poor old Focus looked at, fixed (for the most part), and locked myself out of my house. 

When I went to pick up my car from the shop, the check engine light popped on. Not the death red one, but the soft “this needs attention soon” yellow light. I asked the shop if it was because I opted to not buy the new battery (since I’d decided to buy a new car and all) with the tariff surcharge. They said no, took my keys (all of my keys), and (after half an hour) gave me the option to leave it overnight. As soon as I stepped out of the Lyft, I realized the shop never gave me back my house keys.

Panic sets in. The shop was technically closed, but I had overheard that they tend to stay a little after official closing hours. I raced back in an Uber, while also having a locksmith on standby. I actually hadn’t thought to call a locksmith until after calling my friends in that blind panic and one of them mentioned that that was an option.

The Uber driver was great. The poor guy from Afghanistan had just lost his job to layoffs and was dealing with my panicking self like a champ. He reminded me how to add a second stop to my trip so I wouldn’t be stranded at the car shop after getting there (my phone was at 9% and dying fast).

This is where my luck started to shift. 

The shop had been closed roughly 45 minutes, but there was still one lone mechanic there. He was just switching off the office lights when I ran up to the window like a hunted rabbit, jumping and waving to get his attention. He carefully approached the front door, not sure if the crazy person outside wasn’t dangerous, and I yelled that they had my house keys.

As soon as I said that I owned the Focus, he knew who I was and gave me my keys. The Uber driver took me home and I spent the rest of the evening thanking the multiverse for my stupid luck.

The work week was otherwise uneventful, minus a bunch of dealerships texting, emailing, and calling me to set up appointments. I finally found a pre-owned car that I’d be happy with. It was a 2026 with less than 1000 miles on it. It wasn’t exact color I wanted, but it wasn’t one I couldn’t live with. I made an appointment to see that exact car on Friday.

Though my luck was starting to turn, some of my friends weren’t having that same experience. One friend was stuck in the Middle East trying to get to their parent’s funeral. The same region that was currently breaking out into violence. Americans were being told to shelter in place or find someway to evacuate. The death toll was rising. 

My friend is okay, but they didn’t make it to the funeral. I’m just so glad that they are okay.

Friday rolls around, I go to the dealership, no car. It was a service rental and they had rented it out. This dealership tried to up sell me on a new car of the same model, but I wasn’t in the mood. Even after they offered me a nice price for the Focus, I said I wouldn’t make any choices unless I saw the car I made the appointment for. 

I waited all Saturday morning, but no progress on the car I’d hoped to buy. So I went back to my car buying service and found a different car in the color I wanted at the original dealership I had done my test driving. It was also a service rental car with a few more miles, but a fair bit cheaper.  

That was the car I ended up buying. The dealership that I had gone to on Friday eventually did get back to me with the car I originally wanted to see, but it was too late at that point. I had a much better deal with this other car and even managed to swing free oil changes at the brand for as long as I owned the car. They even gave me a lower APR than I thought was possible.

I still cried about selling my old car. An emotional release that was sorely needed.

Now, I’m nervous that another catastrophe is around the corner. Yes, I had a tough week, but it all weirdly turned out okay. 

But we’re still in this tense limbo of whether or not the United States is at war with Iran. Prices are rising like crazy. My friend was stuck in the UAE while Iran retaliated against US allies and angry protests were breaking out. ICE was spotted in the town I grew up in, not too far from where I live now.

Why am I still anxious? 

Before each event I just faced, I was able to prepare. I don’t feel prepared anymore.

If you enjoyed this post, please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week. 

Welcome to Ghost Sightings

Ghosts are real. 

They exist at the edges of our minds to help us deal with the reality that one day we will die and no longer exist as we do right now. We might go our whole lives without ever seeing a ghost, but that doesn't mean we aren't followed by them.

I've never seen a ghost. I probably never will. But I know they're there to keep histories and memories alive for just a little longer.

About a month ago, I wrote a blog post about how ghost stories (at least the best ones) are rarely about the ghosts. You can read that blog post by clicking this link. 

That post primarily focuses on fictional stories and the ones that get passed down from generation to generation as a way to preserve culture or history. It wasn’t my first post on ghosts, nor was it the first time I brought up the fact that ghost stories are a good measure to discover what a culture values. This post will likely not be the last either.

Today I was feeling under the weather. Thankfully nothing COVID related (at least I haven’t heard of a crumbly stomach being associated with the virus). I ended up spending most of the morning under a pile of blankets with a cat curled up next to me and Unsolved Mysteries on in the background. I came back to full awareness when the episode playing was entirely in Japanese.

The episode in question was on the aftermath of the 3.11.2011 earthquake and tsunami. At first I was a bit confused as to why this was on Unsolved Mysteries as I hadn’t heard of anything unusual happening after the tragedy. Then ghosts were mentioned and things began to fall into place.

The episode wasn’t about a murder or disappearance that occurred in conjunction to the day, but about the trauma that happened to the people after over 15,000 were swept away by a wall of water. People began to see ghosts.

I don’t think this is all that unusual after such a horrific disaster. Though the episode does mention that ghost sightings are a rare occurrence in Japan after incidents of mass death (natural or man made), there is a cultural explanation for why this region of Japan had a high number of ghost sightings in the months and years after 3.11 (as the day has become known as).

Mass death isn’t normal. Sudden mass death is traumatic and leaves a gaping impression like a bullet hole.

The amount of death going on right now because of the pandemic feels so much worse. It's like a stab wound that hasn't closed properly and became infected. It'll likely leave a massive scar, if the wound ever heals.

I’ve been lucky. I haven’t seen the mobile morgues. My family has managed to avoid the worst of COVID. I’m still incredibly stressed by the situation.

We’ve seen how humans of the past dealt with pandemics and it was filled with images of death. The great plague that ravaged Asia and Europe in the Middle Ages left us with tons of paintings which featured dancing skeletons and iconography we still closely associate with death. The Dance of the Macabre is familiar enough to most modern people - even if they aren’t aware of its exact origin.

That particular disease really did look like something out of a zombie movie. COVID doesn’t have the tell tale disfiguration or gross puss filled boils like Bubonic or one of its similar plague buddies has. It’s not flashy and easily hidden away from the public eye. 

But the stress and trauma is all around us. I do wonder how our modern world will deal with it.

In the mid-2000s there was a huge uptick in paranormal investigative shows. I won’t deny that I enjoyed them back then. Although, now I much prefer seeing the story unfold rather than watch 40 of people wander around in the dark and then spend 10 minutes trying to tell me that there was a “ghost” on a recording. I like to think I’ve matured in taste since then, but it’s unlikely.

I’m not saying that the trauma of 9/11 was the reason for this sudden splash of TV shlock, but the timing is there. Kind of like how it wasn’t necessarily the counter culture of the 60s and 70s that led to the satanic panic of the 80s and 90s. 

But after traumatic events, we as humans seem to be drawn to what comes after life. Many times the trauma takes the form of ghosts.

I think there’s a reason Gettysburg is known for its battlefields and ghosts more than any other US city. The town and surrounding area was bombarded for three hot days in July. It’s the bloodiest battle to take place on US soil. And the town is filled with ghost stories about those three horrific days.

Will COVID correlate to another surge in live action ghost shows? Will we get more shows or movies like The Haunting of Hill House or Bly Manor? 

If anything, I do hope that the pandemic brings the end of the zombie. For years zombies were equated to disease and that we could fight our way out of it. Nothing remotely like the zombie apocalypse has happened. Please creative types, make zombies go away.

I’m still feeling a little queasy. The only other time I’ve felt like this and didn’t actually get sick was when I had a horribly stressful month at work while I was still new to my career. I couldn’t eat for a couple weeks. COVID has wrecked my nerves in a similar way - don’t know why this was the week for my body to freak out.

I have never seen a ghost - though I wouldn’t mind the experience. I think it’s important to understand that ghosts are very real. Whether or not seeing them is a response to trauma or a suggestion of the mind to rationalize the unknown or they are in fact real is up to you the individual. Right now my body is physically responding to the stress of the pandemic. Years from now, my mind might process the trauma differently.

And boy has my generation lived through a lot of traumatic events. 

If you enjoyed this post or it really (pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Stay safe everyone.

Welcome to Stress in Motion

Moving sucks. It’s painful, emotional, expensive, and an all around pain in the butt. My current place is a mess and I’m grumpy about it. I have so many things to do and I’m freaking out on how to do them all.

I wish I had a teleported or time machine to get me through all of this. I can’t wait for it to be April or May when all of this is over. I’m tired of being emotional and stressed.

I’ve heard that moving is one of the biggest stresses that a person can go through. I believe it. It’s up there with getting married, funerals, and having kids. I’ve only ever moved so I can’t speak on the other major stresses in life. I can tell you all that I hate it.

How have I been dealing with this newly stressful situation?

By taking it one day at a time.

That’s all I really can do. I’ve made a list of everything that needs to be done. I’ve spent time with friends and called my family. I’ve started throwing away and donating things that I no longer want or need.

I honestly sometimes wonder why I have the things I do, but that’s not a question I can answer now. I just need to put everything carefully into boxes and figure out how to get my couch out of my apartment (we got it in somehow so we can get it out).

Stress sucks. My muscles tense up and I have a hard time falling a sleep. I pace and can only think of every worst case scenario that could possibly happen - instead of the good things. My mind won’t freaking shut up.

It’ll pass...eventually. Everything will get done...eventually.

This is how these things go.

This is me screaming...

But if anyone ever tells you that it’s easy to pick up and leave a place laugh. I get annoyed when someone says that if there are no jobs near you to move near the jobs. It’s never that simple and it’s  very expensive (especially if the job isn’t helping you out).

Seriously, can someone get to inventing a teleported?

Thats all I have for tonight. I don’t know if I’ll have a new blog post up for you guys until I’ve made it to my new home. So until next time everyone!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me.

Welcome To Focus

Between meditation, yoga, and practicing mindfulness, I like to think that I'm getting better at staying focused. I make an effort to notice everything I do and try to think about my actions before I make them. It doesn't always work, but I keep trying. After all practice makes prefect. So I better keep practicing right?

When I'm really focused on something I can block out everything. The whole world seems to melt away and it's just me and the task that I have set out to accomplish. More often than not, I have some epic music playing in the background that keeps me pumped (and make me feel more important than I actually am). I call it zoning (because I'm in the zone - yes it's a bad pun) and I get so focused on what I'm doing that other people have had to resort to some creative ways to get my attention. Loud noises are often involved.

I love it when I'm super focused. I don't notice time moving forward, I tend to be more relaxed, and I feel very productive.

Then there are the days that no matter what I do, I can't seem to focus on anything. It could be anything from something I love doing (like writing this blog) to something I find very boring (like reading an instruction manual). I know I need to focus on these tasks, but there's something far more interesting going on in my mind.

Those days are very frustrating. I honestly do want to get my task done. It's just that there's a whole world outside of that task that is begging me to explore it. Or maybe my mind is jumping from one thought to the next with no signs of slowing down. What do I do?

I should probably notice that I'm super distracted. This is a lot easier said than done. To work around this I try to plan out one or two major breaks where I can evaluate how I'm feeling physically and mentally. This is when I realize that I've been sitting too long and need to stretch my legs (and make a few notes about what movements to request at yoga this week).

Physical movement help a lot. When I'm thinking really hard about something I have a bad habit of pacing. As I get a lot of weird looks when I do this, I try not to pace at work. There aren't a lot of reasons for me to walk around while I'm at work (usually I'm getting up to get more coffee). I try to get some form of exercise at least three times a week. The exercise is helpful, but it isn't always enough.

My yoga teachers have been teaching us different breathing techniques. These are used to help us stay in our movements and not forget to breath when holding a position. These techniques are also really great ways to stay focused on my yoga practice.

If physical movement isn't enough to keep my mind on what I should be working, focusing on my breathing does. The breathing techniques I use are also how my yoga teachers start our classes. They are meant to be used to draw our awareness into ourselves and leave the outside world behind (which can be tough when people in the main gym drop heavy weights on the ground).

I love it when I can focus on what I am doing and accomplish it in the time frame I want to. Distractions are tiring and can really throw off the rest of my day. I need to accept the fact that when I'm distracted I can't force the issue. I need to take sometime to check in mentally and physically. Afterwards, I  can get back to work.

Now, I'm going to make some tea. I hope you guys had a great weekend and are ready to greet Monday morning. I know I'm not.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from me readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome To Making Important Decisions

Oh, April, you can't ever be a simple month. There are so many things that go on during the month of April that it's sometimes hard to keep it all straight.

It's not even like April was ever an easy month. When I was still in school, April meant the start of exam season. Sure, I was excited for summer break to start, but the amount of work I had to due to earn that time off was annoying at best and down right depressing at worst. Then for senior year, add in the stress of finding a job, well, I was going just a tiny bit bananas.

At this time last year, I was freaking out about my living situation. Now I am once again freaking out about my living situation. I have to either find a new roommate or a new place to live. If only everything (*cough rent *cough) weren't so expensive in this state. There's also my taxes I have to think about, making sure my car is state approved, etc, etc, etc. Being an adult is a never ending cycle of things that need to be done.

Important decisions are inevitable. There are a lot of times where I have no idea which option to choose or which path to take, but I have to do something. There's always the option to do nothing, but it's not as realistic as I like to pretend that it is.

Making decisions while stressed is a bad idea. At least for me. Some people thrive under stress. Now me, I question myself too much. I like to be calm when a make decisions. I know I've though things out and am ready for whatever comes next.

One of my yoga teachers recommends standing on one foot before making a major decision. She insists that it works. I'm not sure if it's a psychological calming technique or if it's a coincidence, but she swears by it. Do I personally think it works? Well I'm not going to say it doesn't work. I find that standing on one foot helps me focus, almost like meditating.

The other major factor in making a decision is my gut. I used to watch a lot of NCIS and the character Gibs always made a point of listening to his gut. He's totally right. Nothing is more important than gut intuition. A good or bad feeling can make all the difference.

So the next time I'm faced with a major decision here's what I'm going to do. Take a deep breath, lift one foot, focus on the moment and go with my gut. Hopefully I don't question myself too much after that.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome To Staying Welmed

I have been very overwhelmed this week and it doesn't look like this week is going to be any better. I have so many things I have to do that half the time I have no idea how they are going to get done. I've taken to keeping a list, but that list just keeps growing and growing. To quote Robin from Young Justice "why isn't anyone just whelmed?"

To deal with the fact that I'm going crazy trying to get everything done, I started a posting my webcomic. It's another hobby that I'm trying to keep up with. It's on Comic Fury (if you'd like a link, pleas let me know and I'll post it).

This is not distracting me from all of the things I still have to do. The big thing is hiring movers (because I can't move myself out without some form of help). I decided to ask people for references instead of putting my information online. I made a few calls and I set up appointments to have them make a few estimates. From my research I've heard its best to get around 3 estimates to compare and that the lowest might not be the best.

I'm also significantly downsizing and hoping to give away or just get rid of my stuff. I will be moving from a one bedroom apartment to a room in a shared apartment, so I won't need that much stuff. I'm getting a storage place so that if I do decide to find my own place, I won't have to buy everything all over again.

It's a process.

My best advice when trying to downsize. Make a list of what is most important to you and get rid of everything else. Unfortunantly I think everything is important so it's becoming a bit of a problem. Hopefully I figure this all out soon.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post or it really pissed you off, please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Now I just need to stay whelmed.

Welcome To Exhaustion

It's winter. Once again snow is in the forecast and it's still cold (obviously if snow is on the way). All I want to do is hibernate until spring. Unfortunately I am obligated to get my sorry self up and work tomorrow. How I wish I was still in school and could enjoy a snow day.

It's not uncommon for me to suddenly become a complete sloth in winter. It's not "cabin fever" where I'm restless and need to get out of my home (though if I'm stuck in my home long enough I start longing for an excuse to see the world).

I remember coming back from rugby practice one weekend, passing out and sleeping for 12 hours. I vaguely recall one of my roommates asking if they should wake me up to go see a show and another saying to just let me sleep. I woke up the next morning feeling great and ready for another all day practice. I hurt all over Monday morning, but it was worth it.

So my first question is, how do I beat the urge to sleep my weekend away? Perhaps I should try to get enough sleep during the week (haha like that will ever happen). It might work. Perhaps I should drink more coffee (I probably drink way more than I should already).

Then there are the days I'm so tired I can't sleep. I think those days are the worst. I am ready to drop off into dream land and I can't.

Why?

Usually I'm stressed or obsessing about something (never a good thing). It's been a tough couple of months and I think the stress is finally catching up with me. I sometimes just wish that the world would stop and let me catch up with it. Most of the time I feel like I'm being dragged by my ankles behind the unstoppable flow of time.

Other times I don't know why I can't fall asleep, so I drink some tea and curl up under a blanket. It usually works a little faster than staring at my ceiling. I think I'll do that after the Simpsons tonight. If only the fan in my heater wouldn't stop squeaking (supposedly that's getting fixed tomorrow).

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome To Down Time

I didn't realize until yesterday just how busy I've been. Work has been crazy. Typically I have some energy when I get home from work, but lately I've come home and just crashed on my couch. I  still try to go to the pool when the weather is nice and get a quick swim in, but that's all I really do. Making dinner has even been a chore. I've also had pretty full weekends with Bronycon, my family reunion and visiting my parents (cough* doing laundry *cough) and a few friends.

On Friday I was very stressed out and tense. I also had nothing to distract me. It was not the best way to start out the weekend.

Then, yesterday I woke up and realized I didn't have any plans. Well I had had plans with my anime club, but they were canceled because of the rain. I spent the morning watching cartoon (seriously who didn't see that coming), until a humongous spider crept out on to my living room floor. If you didn't  see my Facebook post, I somehow got myself to kill the unfortunate guy. It was terrifying.

I was so traumatized I went on a huge cleaning spree, though if my sister walked in right now she'd complain about how messy my place is. I have a few places I still need to dist and disinfect, but overall I think my place is pretty nice looking. That will probably change tomorrow. It was kind of nice not having any plans. I divided half way through cleaning that I wanted Mac and Cheese, so I went out in the pouring rain to Noodles and Company and then the library for some more manga.

Today I went to church, which was nice. I went shopping for a few things I needed. Spent a ton of time by the pool. It was finally bright, sunny and warm (good bye polar vortex, hello fall). I also made chicken surprise soup. Cooking is a wonderful thing to do when you have free time.

The best part is I feel great. I'm not feeling anxious or stressed out anymore. I fell like I've accomplished something without doinig all that much. Heck I even brought the first Season of Duck Tails (I blame the Nostalgia Critic). I think I really needed to do well nothing. It allowed for me to recharge like I haven't in a while.

If you enjoyed this post, please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers. I hope you guys enjoy reading.

Also here's a random picture for Facebook.

Welcome To Winter

It's Not The Wonderland It Used To Be...

Today was the first time it snowed since I moved out and no long am a student. It was not as exciting as it used to be. When I was a little kid snow meant a day off from school and fun in the snow. I might build a snow fort out of the piles of snow made by the snow plows in my court or start a snow ball fight with my friends. In high school I had a day off to do more studying and get a head start on projects. In college, snow meant beautiful pictures, lazy days sleeping in and a higher chance of breaking something on the brick paths.

Snow now means checking to see if the roads are safe enough for me to get to work on. If they are I have to brave the highways with crazy Maryland drivers (I have finally realized the reason they are such bad drivers is because they have zero clue how to merge). If the roads aren’t safe enough to drive on (read been clear of ice), I get to work from home. This wouldn’t be so bad except I might end up with a huge cell phone bill from overages and I only have one screen instead of two to work on. I am not sure which idea is worse.

I actually can drive in the snow. I proved that today coming home from church. The first time I drove on the highway was in a blizzard driving from Michigan to Ohio. I distinctly recall my mother telling me to not be a baby and drive like I normally would. Since I had never driven on a highway I decided to get behind a truck and hope for the best. It was a wise decision because soon after I started out on the highway we hit white out conditions and they only thing keeping me in a straight line were the truck’s tail lights. I was finally able to give the driver’s seat back to my mother in Pennsylvania. It had been a very stressful two hours, but I learned how to drive in a blizzard.

Honestly the way people are acting you would think we had been hit with three feet of the white powder and all power had been knocked out. It thankfully hasn’t, but we live on the East Coast. We are far more likely to have a power outage because of a thunderstorm and that doesn’t seem to be a huge deal. Okay yes it would be really cold if we lost power because of snow, but that’s why you have plenty of blankets and jackets ready. I even made sure to have a few pairs of socks ready just for going outside.

Alright so maybe I’m making a horrible disaster waiting to happen sound trivial, but I have been in Michigan and Ohio in blizzard conditions. Parts of Texas and lower Midwest losing power do worry me a bit, but I checked the weather reports and it didn’t look like it would be that bad here. Heck one Christmas I had to shovel my Aunt’s driveway before opening presents while it was still snowing. I was unhappy, but we did get to go to my grandmother’s house.

So yes I am grateful that nothing too terrible happened during my first snow fall. I’m waiting to see what tomorrow looks like before I try going into work. I might just have to email my boss and say, well there’s ice everywhere I think I’m going to work from home, but that’s tomorrow. Winter might never be what it was when I was a child (let alone student). It won’t be magical and a break from the crazy school work, but I can still enjoy its beauty. Right now I’m going to curl up with some hot chocolate and Skype the Significant Other.

If you enjoyed this post (or made you laugh, smile or go on a ranting rampage of anger) please post a comment or share my blog’s link. Who knows I might actually meet Ellen someday.

Welcome to Self Reflection

My last post was, though I hate to admit it, pretty much all angst. I have been a bit stressed out and am for some reason a naturally high strung person. I know I am not perfect, no matter how much I pretend to be in my own mind. I fear failure, though I tend to learn best from it. I have several ways to combat the stress. Here are my five ways to calm myself down. 

5) I work out after work. I almost always feel better after I have burned a few calories. When I was in college, rugby was my way of beating the stress out of me.  Currently I cannot afford a gym membership not is it convenient to join the rugby club in the nearest city, but I do have a few good workout DVDs. I enjoy the high intensity workouts that are between ten and twenty minutes long. I can replay them for however long I have, which is not always very long. 

4) I eat healthy “comfort” food. I cannot eat a lot of milk products, so instead of ice cream I eat frozen fruit or smoothies. On a hot day (or even a cold one wrapped in a blanket), I love munching on frozen strawberries or peaches. I also love making my own chili and soups. I’m not saying to stress eat or over eat, but food is comforting and having something that reminds me of when I was a little kid just makes everything seem better in the morning. 

3) I go to church. I know many of my friends are either not religious or are a different religion than I am.  I do not like fanatics. In fact the way fanatics act is the exact opposite of how we are told to act in the Bible. I also do not always agree with things that are said and taught. That being said: I do find comfort in the belief that there is a higher power that is not out to get me. I do not feel that a higher power that has so many other people to watch out for would come strike me down just because he needs an entertainment source. The pastor at the new church I started to attend also pointed out in his sermon today that the Bible is full of imperfect people. If a higher being could put up with Jonah or (ugh) Saint Paul, I think he can put up with me. 

2) I drink a cup of calming herbal tea. I love tea. My personal favorite is oolong (not herbal), which is sometimes hard to find in the US. Luckily international food and drinks have become more popular, so it is now easier for me to get my hands on.  However I would not use oolong tea to calm down, instead I like ginger (helps with stomach problems), peppermint (stomach and head), and chamomile (head) for calming effects. They are great for the days I have trouble getting to sleep. 

1) I call a friend, family member or my significant other. The best thing for me to do when I am stressed out is call someone and talk it out. I do not always like to annoy them with what I am going through, but hearing another person’s opinion is always helpful. Sometimes I cannot calm myself down and need someone to remind me to take a deep breath. This is why roommates can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. 

I am currently trying other methods to keep me calm throughout the day. I have started meditation and would like to pick up Tai Chi. Keeping sane and healthy (both physically and mentally) is a high priority.

Welcome to your New Home

First you have to find it...

First I would like to give a shout out to Shark Week. Once again I am afraid to go into the Ocean. Beware the awesome power of the deep!

Finding a place to live was a lot harder than I had thought it was going to be. I had thought that I would search on the internet, go to the apartment place and (WHAM!) I’d be living on my own. This was the first reality check. Not only did I discover that cheap places to rent in the areas that I wanted to live were virtually non-existent, but if I did find something in my price range, it was already occupied. I also discovered that income requirements are another hurdle.

All of the places (except the first that did not have any free apartments in a normal price range) had income requirements. I also came to dread the term luxury in front of apartment ads. Honestly I don’t think luxury apartments are worth it if there isn’t any affordable housing anywhere else. Heck I’m still trying to figure out where poor people live in Fairfax County.

My mom and I went back home without any progress. I at first was convinced I would be living out of a cardboard box (or driving over an hour and a half commute to work). A few frustrated tears later led back to the internet. I was hoping to find a room for rent or a roommate. I found plenty of people looking for roommates, but I wasn’t sure how much I’d like kids, three cats (I’m allergic) or 18 year old French guys. There were a lot of 18 year old French guys looking for roommates. I finally found, with a good bit of help from my mom, a guy renting his basement with all utilities included. A phone call later and we had an appointment in two days to go check it out.

We also discovered that about twenty miles from where I was going to work was a small town with apartments with a rent that was at least reasonable. My mom started sorting through apartments while I just kind of nodded my head and agreed with whatever she said.

The next “new home hunt” started in the further away town very early in the morning. The first few places I looked at were nice. Mom helped me to identify what was lacking and what was a plus in some of the different places we looked at. One of the coolest things we discovered was that some apartments offer move in deals. If you move in by a certain date they cut the rent, wave fees for the pool or even give you a month free of rent (but check to see if it’s a 12 or 13 month lease).

After another long day of looking at apartments and still having an interview for a basement to rent, I found a really cute place that was in my price range. I decided to cancel the interview and put in an application for this place. There was also a lot of paper work required on my end. They are very serious about not doing illegal activates and knowing where the money for the rent is coming from.

About a month later I was ready to move in. I managed to bribe two of my friends, along with my dad, to help me to move all of my worldly possession to the new apartment. When we finally got everything in, just as it was starting to thunderstorm, I discovered that my apartment was a lot bigger than I had thought it was and that I did not have as much stuff as I thought I had. Don’t get me wrong, I have more stuff than I know what to do with sometimes, but I still don’t have a couch or a coffee table. For that matter my dining room is currently folding chairs and a card table. I guess I never realized how much furniture makes a home. My dad had to suggest the card table and folding chairs before I realized that I even needed dining room furniture.

After a few weeks, and my book case being rebuilt, I had finally managed to make my apartment seem more like a home. I especially love having a dishwasher. I didn’t have a dishwasher in college and I now realize how much I love them. I like having my own home. Now I just have to keep it clean.