Saturday!

Wow, what a day. What a week!

Things are going well. I’m falling in love with my job or at least my new routine. There is just so much energy on the Hill and though I’m not doing amazing stuff (yet), I feel that I am learning new things and brushing up on important skills. My new job has afforded me my first opportunity of managing interns, and I’m really enjoying that.Most of all, I love the fact that I still have the opportunity to write and edit. Sure, I’m writing and editing letters to children. But the range of topics that little kids write about is what makes the work so fun and interesting everyday.

My search for shared housing isn’t really going anywhere. I’ve seen three places so far. The first, which I really loved and totally cliqued with the roommie, was way out of my new budget. Once I finally got into the mindset that I have a lower salary now, I started looking at places that max around $750 with everything included. So far, I’ve seen two places in that range. A tiny (and I mean tiny) room in a fun shared house one block from my office building and a medium sized room in Columbia Heights. The thing that struck me most is the fact that both open houses were attended by at least 10 people. And I found myself reluctantly competing with the others for attention from the potential roommates. So very odd. I didn’t realize that I had to bring my game face. I’ll definitely bring it to tomorrow’s open house.

One problem is that I’m competing with folks that are ready to move in today. I’m willing to “move-in” on the 15th but I’m not going to show up with a checkbook and bucket full of charm. I still have three weeks but I am panicking.

Besides finding a place, I need to figure out a plan for all my current junk. My mother offered to fly-in at the end of the month to help me get stuff shipped and to Goodwill. And I pray that I’m ready by then. I just have so much stuff and I’m finding it so hard to part with much of it.

I really like my place. I’ve lived here for three years and it’s treated me well. Sure, I have loud neighbors and the commute to work and DC bars is a pain but I’ve made it my home and I will definitely miss it. Before I move, I plan on having a last hurrah at the dive bar down the street.

One more thing. Pete's New Haven Style Apizza in Columbia Heights is amazing. I had the chef’s special which was artichoke, black olive and spinach. Very tasty! I’ll definitely be back.