"I've lived in this place, and I know all the faces..."

...Im moving on."

I signed a lease today. This is really exciting for me, but bittersweet at the same time.

I have lived in the same place for 2 years and, besides rearranging my stuff 4 times within my room, nothing has changed. I have lived with the same 3 people for the past 22 months, 1 of them for the entire year previous to moving into this apartment and another for 3 months previous. It hasn't been a cake-walk by any means...in fact it has been downright hard a lot of the time. But we made it through.

I have learned a lot about myself in finding this apartment. I am not a gambler--I do not take risks. However, the method to get this apartment was a huge risk; most of the 1-bedroom apartments in town are taken by this time. I had no guarantee that I could get into this building, but I had to wait until June to find out if I could so I sat and watched other people get apartments, biding my time because I knew where I wanted to live. But this gamble worked--my new apartment is fantastic. And I get a deck!

Now I officially have a 1 bedroom apartment all to myself. I have never lived alone. I love people; I thrive on people interaction. I get lonely after being alone for a weekend. Now I will constantly be alone unless I make a concerted effort to spend time with others. I won't have a built-in social life. Privacy is a good thing, yes; being a loner is quite another. Still, I am ready for a change.

Bring on the moving boxes!