I'm here! And tomorrow is my Birthday!

So probably not the best timing to have a birthday. In a new town a day before I know anyone. Well, almost anyone. My neighbor downstairs introduced himself to me today. The place that I am living in is brand new construction. As I had expected, there are some ups and downs associated with such a place. As with any new apartment, there are things that just weren't quite ready before I moved in. Most of those are forgivable and fixable. Some, are not so easy to live with. For instance, no cable or internet have been run to the complex yet. I have been aware of the situation for a couple of weeks and have called pretty much every day bugging everyone I could to get the work done so that I could have internet. Needless to say, I am currently sitting in a Starbucks using the free WiFi. I am a little bit (maybe a lot of bit) of a control freak. When things become out of my control, it freaks me out. Not one of my shining personality traits, I totally realize. But one that exists none the less. I am trying hard not to get frustrated and let things work...let's be honest, at this point I don't have much of a choice in the matter. I need to constantly remind myself that there will always be things that I just have to hand over to God and trust that he will make sure everything is fine. I may have to find a cheaper drink at Starbucks if I have to come in here every day. On the good side of things, the apartment is very nice. Granite counter tops, nice appliances, an electric fireplace, a green accent wall in the kitchen and over all a nice place for the price that I pay. I am a firm believer in "getting what you pay for" and I guess what I am paying for now is just being the only "real" resident in a place literally still being built. Next year, it will be a very nice complex.

For now, I have been getting my fill on Sex and the City and trying to enjoy alone time. Of course, hour long conversations with Steph and Jon help my cause. Yesterday I went to Kroger. For those of you that do not know, I grew up with Kroger in Virginia but when I moved to North Carolina, Kroger's did not exist. It was horrible because Kroger is an awesome, fabulous, fantastic place with all of my favorites. Well, Morgantown has not one but TWO Kroger's and I had a fantastic time yesterday grocery shopping (hahaha, I'm a nerd).

Kroger also has a fantastic wine section where I found my new favorite wine, "12 hands Merlot." If you haven't tried this stuff, try to pick it up because it is great. I also got an aerator for my birthday from Dad and Mary and I think I am just the wine specialists now. Too bad I don't have any friends to enjoy a glass of vino with yet. I would really like to go to Napa Valley at some point. I think I will add that to my "to do" list.

So many people made this whole transition so much better than it could have been. From saying goodbye to my friends at work, to family helping me pack and clean my apartment, family and Jon helping me actually move the furniture and making sure I have everything to be successful. My old boss at work said to me "do you feel loved?" on my last day of work and I have been thinking of it ever since because I do feel so loved and cared for. It is a wonderful feeling and I couldn't help but thanking God for putting so many loving people around me. I hope he does the same here in West Virginia. It's not really things or possessions that fill your heart, it's the people that you encounter and impact (and that impact you).

This time next week...

This time next week...I will be officially moved to West Virginia.

I have three days of work left and it has had me reflecting over the past two years of my life a lot. I have had a lot of personal growth over the past two years and am at one of those points where I can look back and appreciate the good and the bad. The first year out of college was the worst. I had no idea the transition to working full time would be something that would be so difficult for me. I have never been afraid of hard work and figured it would fall right into place in the "real world." Funny that I just now feel like I've got my footing and I am getting ready to leave.

Every particle of my body seems to resist change in a way that I can't quite explain. My mind is totally driven and wrapped around the idea of making a better life for myself while my body says "really, we have to pack and leave AGAIN?" I've never been a girl to "roll with the punches," I pretty much get knocked out and come up swinging. I like to have control and I don't like when things don't go my way. But I have learned that it's when I put myself in these uncomfortable, new places that I have the most substantial growth. Hopefully, this will prove to be the same. I know I sound like I am going to a foreign land or something but to be fair, I have never lived more than 45 minutes away from at least one of my parents.

There is so much left to do. I hate packing more than I hate refilling the brita pitcher of water in the refrigerator. I procrastinate until the very end and then let my Dad totally stress me out by just throwing my things into boxes without any regard to organization. The divorced parent plan of action goes as follows: Mom will come and help me pack/clean on Thursday then I will ban her from my townhouse (trust me when I say this with total love and emotional protection) so that my Dad can come and help me load everything into the U-haul on Friday. Dad will then pull the U-haul to WV and I will drive my car up. We will unload on Saturday and then on Sunday I will be left to unpack and re-organize my life. Monday and Tuesday I will have to myself to get everything up and running and ready to go for Orientation on Wednesday and Thursday. Oh...and Tuesday is my birthday. So I will celebrate the day by doing whatever the heck I want (a.ka. being totally lost in the mountain terrain of Morgantown). Take that year 24.

More to come.