My thoughts have given me a physical pain in my head. I am reeling with a headache because I thought too hard. I literally thought TOO hard and hurt myself. …and I’m not done thinking yet. That’s what happens when you’re nearly 23 and only now learning what it’s like to balance your own happiness with others instead of letting people walk all over you. Yup. That was me all my life. No more. Conflicts happen. It’s a matter of which ones are worth a compromise and which ones do you have to put your foot down no matter what the consequence? So where do these thoughts originate? Let’s talk Georgia adventure!
I got back from my first stint in Atlanta for the apartment hunt. Mom and I drove practically all day Thursday after going to see a burlesque show Wednesday night. Bad. Idea. It won’t happen again. All we did when we got to the hotel was eat dinner at Papa Deaux seafood restaurant right next door and then crash to crappy television. Bliss.
We got an early start Friday morning for the apartment hunt. Because of that I figured it wouldn’t be the all day affair I first assumed it would be. It still was. The first complex didn’t have the unit I wanted for viewing. They all together seemed very unprepared for visitors. Not a good impression. The woman wanted to show me a two bedroom apartment with upgrades that would tell me nothing about the actual unit I was looking for. At least she was nice about it, but we moved on. All the while I was waiting to hear back from Corey from PROMOVE. They’re a really great company when you can catch them on the phone. But seriously, he’s been excellent about helping me. I just couldn’t get him on the phone that day.
Anyway, we moved along to the second favorite. The woman was also very kind and clearly knew her stuff. She immediately showed us the apartment. It was small, kinda boxy, but could be good for one person. The price was kinda high for that kind of place, but it was also a really nice location. So she took us back to the office and went through the application with us in case we decided to sign that day for the discounted price…still high. But we thanked her and went to my favorite place. (By the way, she was like the third person we ran into that had family in Jersey. I wonder why so many people are relocating to Atlanta…or do I really need to wonder?)
Lastly was the loft I had been eyeing from the start. I knew it had the 12 month lease, but when we took the cute little golf cart to the model unit and opened the door…heaven. Beautiful open space. Nice carpeting. Kitchen right off the living room with a little window so it’s not totally closed off. Powder room downstairs. Big window. Spacious bedroom loft. Master bath upstairs. HUGE closet. WOW! Mom and I agreed it had to be mine. So when the kind woman said it was the only one available, mom and I rushed back to the hotel and started the harrowing online application. I was bummed that the search really became an all day tiring affair, but…
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I GOT THE LOFT!! It is MINE! So I now have a home for 12 months (I think. I hated that stupid online app. It said 13 months so I really don’t know just yet.) in Stone Mountain, GA! The nice side of town I’ve been told. I’m so excited to get settled and start looking for work so I can afford to maintain the apartment with more than my savings. 😛
To celebrate, we went to Nakado for sushi and spent Saturday exploring. I rode MARTA for the first time. Easy as pie…which I still wonder why people use such a phrase. Is pie really that easy? We found Five Points and Underground Atlanta. So cool! It’s an old train station converted to a mini mall. There’s a whole arcade underground! Then we went to find Horizon Theatre Company in Little Five Points. We came to the conclusion that Five Points and Little Five Points are in fact different. But as we got off the train we ran into a STREET FAIR! Perfect timing landed us in Little Five Points on the day of the Inman Park Spring Festival! WHAT?? We walked around, bought me a Pandora bracelet, watched the cool parade go by, bought some raw honey for cheap, and eventually found the theatre. It was a lovely walk and it didn’t rain on us! Yay! Finding dinner than evening was another trial, but I guess karma was balancing out the amazing morning/afternoon we had.
Sunday we set off bright and early. Breakfast at Waffle House at around 4:45am. Never thought I’d have a negative experience at Waffle House. This one had a poor set of graveyard shift employees. There was a shell in my eggs and she almost forgot my waffle and we didn’t have utensils or drinks for a while. Oh well. And then we drove on til morning! …evening! It was a great trip down. Very productive. And I’ve got a year to situate myself with southern hospitality.
A year is a long time. That’s where the thoughts begin to really pick up steam. It’s really just a matter of where do I see myself in a year? But more than just myself, there are other people in my life to consider with this big adjustment. And remember, being a writer isn’t helping matters. And then those snowball into other thoughts and that’s why I suffered through typing this on a bright white screen with a raging headache. I figured if I got thoughts out of my head it wouldn’t hurt so much…it still hurts.
Diary of an Ordinary 