The long awaited update
So its been forever since I have updated my journal with a real update. Its not that a lot hasn't happened. I feel like my life has been turned completely upside down most days. I think I have mostly not been ready to put it all into words. So here goes nothing.
Two weeks ago I moved in with Paul. I think I had all the dreams that most girls have of their first real place with the person they love. The expectations I had were sky high. The move and living together was actually ridiculously hard at first. Everyone has always teased that Paul and I had lived together before but I can tell you that none of that prepared me for what it was really like. I can honestly say that never before had I doubted that I wanted to get married and spend the rest of my life living with Paul but that first week was hell on earth. I cried far more than I laughed. It was just miserable. I became all the parts of my personality I hate the most. I was hell to live with but let me tell you Paul was no piece of cake either. I guess I don't really want to go into a ton of details about the situation. I am happy to report that after a particularly nasty spat things righted themselves. Paul worked hard to change the pressures that were causing us both to pretty much combust. I think we learned that the level of classes and work he had this semester were not sustainable to us for the future. This means that he will probably take much longer to graduate but if Paul can do it while letting us both have some sanity the extra years will be well worth it. I thought long and hard about if I want to share this part of the story at all but I do think it is worth sharing. I shouldn't have come in with such a fantasy vision. It really stressed an already stressful situation. In the end though, it was all more than worth it.
Now that I have the depressing part of my post down lets talk about some of the exciting and good stuff.
Paul and I live in a hispanic neighborhood in Viriginia. It has been an interesting experience for me so far. When we moved in, we had a Mexican man named Jorge that helped us move all our things. By help, I mean he carried the heaviest items all by himself and refused to let anyone else touch them. It was incredible. I couldn't believe how much he could move. He spoke almost no English so I was stuck with my incredibly poor spanish. It was quite amusing. I think sometimes I was just adding "O" to the end of English words but it seemed to be sufficient to communicate. Who knows what crazy things I probably told him. I am sure my grammar made me sound about two but he was really nice and seemed appreciative that I could at least attempt his language. In the end, we paid 40 bucks and got all of our stuff moved in in less than two hours. I was amazed. Although we had about 10 times as much stuff as I have ever had before on a move it was the fastest I have ever got all my stuff in. The people in the apartment complex are so nice. I hadn't even lived here a few days and the desk people called me by name. The lease agent who got us the apartment remembered I was getting married and asked about the wedding and then told me how excited Paul seemed I was here. It really made me smile. One of the nicest people is our next door neighbor. She is from Sri Lanka. On the day we moved in, she brought us over dinner, drinks and dessert because she figured I wouldn't be able to cook. It was really sweet of her. She always says hi and asks about the move when we see her in the hallways.
I have no transition for this thought but its my jounal so if you want updates you'll just have to deal with the jumpiness.
You would not believe the way Paul was living before I came here. I have no idea how he survived. Paul lived in this apartment for about 3 weeks before I did. If you saw the state of affairs of the place, you would have thought he had been here for about three hours. This is just a short sampling of items that Paul had been living without: dish soap, hand soap, laundry detergent, cleaner of any sort, a trash can, any food except a jar of mayo, no liquids other than a half empty bottle of vodka and a flat two liter of coke, a radio or music in any form, lamps, and silverware. The computer was still on the floor in various pieces. The bed was on the floor and completely unmade. Laundry had not been done since about December. I did about 30 loads of Paul's clothes the first week. That isn't an exaggeration. He could fill an entire load with nothing but white socks. I did three loads of nothing but blue jeans. You would not believe how much clothing Paul owns. It dwarfs what I have. It took me a solid week and a half to get everything set up. Not only did I have all my own things plus all the furniture that came out with me but Paul had not unpacked any of his belongings. He still has boxes of clothes that aren't unpacked in his closet. It is such a relief to have things put together now. I really hope we are able to afford a bit more furniture from wedding money. I love the apartment and really want it to look cute.
The first really fun thing that we got the opportunity to do was to go out to dinner and the movies on Friday after I moved here. We saw Akeelah and the bee. I loved the movie. It was super funny. I laughed outloud at lots of parts. At first it seems like it might be a bit preachy but it does not end up that way at all. I recommend seeing it if there is any part of you that is a bit dorky and lets face it if you have remained friends with me enough to read my journal there is a bit of a dork in you somewhere. We had dinner at a place called Atlacatl it is a El Salvadorean restaurant. Quick aside, I have seen El Salvadorean spelled with at least four different ways on restaurants in our neighborhood. It drives me crazy. I hate not knowing how to spell things and people from there can't seem to even agree on how to spell the word. So I have taken to calling it by the Spanish word to stop myself from going crazy. The restaurant was really fun except Paul kept falling asleep at the table. More proof he works too hard. If you like Latin American cuisine, visit me. We have restaurants from every Central and South American country within a block from our house.
For my birthday, Paul got a gift certificate from one of his clients to this insanely expensive restaurant whose name I don't actually remember. I had a ten dollar bowl of soup for an appetizer. Our bill was over $100 for just the two of us but it was really fun to do on someone else's dime. I could never imagine paying that from my own pocket. It was fun to pretend though that we were these high powered socialites. After that we went to this really cool bar. It is in this huge ballroom so it is not crowded at all. It is also smoke free which is a big plus for me. There is also an outdoor section on the roof with a great view and a live dj. Its a fun place to have a few drinks and if you get there before 8 there is no cover.
Another fun thing we have been doing together is watching season 1 of Lost. We are seriously addicted. We are about half way through so far. We are trying to drag it out until we can buy the season 2 DVD so we are not left hanging. The cliffhangers are driving me crazy. I always want to watch just one more. Jack is officially on my do him list as well :)
Of course, what would be an update to my journal without mention of the wedding. As I am sure you are all aware if you ever talk to me, its almost here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10 more days! I am going crazy waiting for it to get here. I am so unbelievably excited. Only small snafus so far so I am really happy about that. I can't wait to see everyone and to party on Friday night. It is going to be great times.
Also in this incredibly long entry, Happy belated birthday to John. I know Its late but in my defense I have had terrible internet capabilities. I actually did remember and even mention it to Paul I just wasn't able to get on the internet to send you a card. A conrats also to Deb on the new job. If they want someone to speak in public, the couldn't have picked a better option. I hope you really like it.
Another thing I was meaning to post about. I had written early about the Dixie Chicks video for I'm not ready to make nice. It still disturbs me but I am starting to really love the song. Did anyone else hear that it is about there fight with President Bush and conservatives? I read it on a website somewhere I found it made the song even more amusing.
I can't wait to see you all next week :)
Two weeks ago I moved in with Paul. I think I had all the dreams that most girls have of their first real place with the person they love. The expectations I had were sky high. The move and living together was actually ridiculously hard at first. Everyone has always teased that Paul and I had lived together before but I can tell you that none of that prepared me for what it was really like. I can honestly say that never before had I doubted that I wanted to get married and spend the rest of my life living with Paul but that first week was hell on earth. I cried far more than I laughed. It was just miserable. I became all the parts of my personality I hate the most. I was hell to live with but let me tell you Paul was no piece of cake either. I guess I don't really want to go into a ton of details about the situation. I am happy to report that after a particularly nasty spat things righted themselves. Paul worked hard to change the pressures that were causing us both to pretty much combust. I think we learned that the level of classes and work he had this semester were not sustainable to us for the future. This means that he will probably take much longer to graduate but if Paul can do it while letting us both have some sanity the extra years will be well worth it. I thought long and hard about if I want to share this part of the story at all but I do think it is worth sharing. I shouldn't have come in with such a fantasy vision. It really stressed an already stressful situation. In the end though, it was all more than worth it.
Now that I have the depressing part of my post down lets talk about some of the exciting and good stuff.
Paul and I live in a hispanic neighborhood in Viriginia. It has been an interesting experience for me so far. When we moved in, we had a Mexican man named Jorge that helped us move all our things. By help, I mean he carried the heaviest items all by himself and refused to let anyone else touch them. It was incredible. I couldn't believe how much he could move. He spoke almost no English so I was stuck with my incredibly poor spanish. It was quite amusing. I think sometimes I was just adding "O" to the end of English words but it seemed to be sufficient to communicate. Who knows what crazy things I probably told him. I am sure my grammar made me sound about two but he was really nice and seemed appreciative that I could at least attempt his language. In the end, we paid 40 bucks and got all of our stuff moved in in less than two hours. I was amazed. Although we had about 10 times as much stuff as I have ever had before on a move it was the fastest I have ever got all my stuff in. The people in the apartment complex are so nice. I hadn't even lived here a few days and the desk people called me by name. The lease agent who got us the apartment remembered I was getting married and asked about the wedding and then told me how excited Paul seemed I was here. It really made me smile. One of the nicest people is our next door neighbor. She is from Sri Lanka. On the day we moved in, she brought us over dinner, drinks and dessert because she figured I wouldn't be able to cook. It was really sweet of her. She always says hi and asks about the move when we see her in the hallways.
I have no transition for this thought but its my jounal so if you want updates you'll just have to deal with the jumpiness.
You would not believe the way Paul was living before I came here. I have no idea how he survived. Paul lived in this apartment for about 3 weeks before I did. If you saw the state of affairs of the place, you would have thought he had been here for about three hours. This is just a short sampling of items that Paul had been living without: dish soap, hand soap, laundry detergent, cleaner of any sort, a trash can, any food except a jar of mayo, no liquids other than a half empty bottle of vodka and a flat two liter of coke, a radio or music in any form, lamps, and silverware. The computer was still on the floor in various pieces. The bed was on the floor and completely unmade. Laundry had not been done since about December. I did about 30 loads of Paul's clothes the first week. That isn't an exaggeration. He could fill an entire load with nothing but white socks. I did three loads of nothing but blue jeans. You would not believe how much clothing Paul owns. It dwarfs what I have. It took me a solid week and a half to get everything set up. Not only did I have all my own things plus all the furniture that came out with me but Paul had not unpacked any of his belongings. He still has boxes of clothes that aren't unpacked in his closet. It is such a relief to have things put together now. I really hope we are able to afford a bit more furniture from wedding money. I love the apartment and really want it to look cute.
The first really fun thing that we got the opportunity to do was to go out to dinner and the movies on Friday after I moved here. We saw Akeelah and the bee. I loved the movie. It was super funny. I laughed outloud at lots of parts. At first it seems like it might be a bit preachy but it does not end up that way at all. I recommend seeing it if there is any part of you that is a bit dorky and lets face it if you have remained friends with me enough to read my journal there is a bit of a dork in you somewhere. We had dinner at a place called Atlacatl it is a El Salvadorean restaurant. Quick aside, I have seen El Salvadorean spelled with at least four different ways on restaurants in our neighborhood. It drives me crazy. I hate not knowing how to spell things and people from there can't seem to even agree on how to spell the word. So I have taken to calling it by the Spanish word to stop myself from going crazy. The restaurant was really fun except Paul kept falling asleep at the table. More proof he works too hard. If you like Latin American cuisine, visit me. We have restaurants from every Central and South American country within a block from our house.
For my birthday, Paul got a gift certificate from one of his clients to this insanely expensive restaurant whose name I don't actually remember. I had a ten dollar bowl of soup for an appetizer. Our bill was over $100 for just the two of us but it was really fun to do on someone else's dime. I could never imagine paying that from my own pocket. It was fun to pretend though that we were these high powered socialites. After that we went to this really cool bar. It is in this huge ballroom so it is not crowded at all. It is also smoke free which is a big plus for me. There is also an outdoor section on the roof with a great view and a live dj. Its a fun place to have a few drinks and if you get there before 8 there is no cover.
Another fun thing we have been doing together is watching season 1 of Lost. We are seriously addicted. We are about half way through so far. We are trying to drag it out until we can buy the season 2 DVD so we are not left hanging. The cliffhangers are driving me crazy. I always want to watch just one more. Jack is officially on my do him list as well :)
Of course, what would be an update to my journal without mention of the wedding. As I am sure you are all aware if you ever talk to me, its almost here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10 more days! I am going crazy waiting for it to get here. I am so unbelievably excited. Only small snafus so far so I am really happy about that. I can't wait to see everyone and to party on Friday night. It is going to be great times.
Also in this incredibly long entry, Happy belated birthday to John. I know Its late but in my defense I have had terrible internet capabilities. I actually did remember and even mention it to Paul I just wasn't able to get on the internet to send you a card. A conrats also to Deb on the new job. If they want someone to speak in public, the couldn't have picked a better option. I hope you really like it.
Another thing I was meaning to post about. I had written early about the Dixie Chicks video for I'm not ready to make nice. It still disturbs me but I am starting to really love the song. Did anyone else hear that it is about there fight with President Bush and conservatives? I read it on a website somewhere I found it made the song even more amusing.
I can't wait to see you all next week :)