I just organized my fridge and it looks beautiful. My roommate, however, thinks I’m a nut. Did I mention that for some reason we don’t have the veggie drawer or shelves that go on the fridge door? The landlady can’t figure out why in the world they would be missing, but it sure takes away a lot of storage space!

Oh, I also bought 22 cans of vegetable BECAUSE they were on sale: 5/$4!!! Usually canned veggies are 2/$3 which I find absurd; $1.50 for a can? But this way they were just under a dollar a piece, so I went crazy: 5 corn, 5 carrots, 5 green beans, 5 mixed, and 2 BIG cans of peas which were 2/$3. I’m quite pleased with myself. They were heavy to carry home, though. Making sweet and sour stir fry tonight. My cinnamon bread last week was a big hit. Tonight will be meal . . . five? Six? that I’ve made for Frank. I quite enjoy cooking and that, thus far, he has loved everything I’ve made. Italian baked catfish, apple glazed chicken, Maui burgers, fiesta chicken, jambalaya, cookies and cinnamon bread, blueberry pie!, and maybe something else I’m forgetting. It surprises me how few girls my age actually know how to cook; I love it! I guess Frank is lucky — at least in that regard, haha.

Days are getting cooler here. The wind is savage today and kept almost knocking me over on my way home from the grocery. An elderly doorman at a hotel was hunched over in a weird position, holding the handle of a bay carrier, and explained to some passersby he was babysitting. It was pretty cute.

I got three cavities filled on Monday, and I go back for another two and some other check ups in a couple weeks. One of the cavities was on the possible-root canal tooth, and sure enough the cavity was right around the nerve. She went ahead and filled it and we’ll just wait and see if it acts up — could be weeks, months, years, or never. Even though it’s been a couple days, my teeth and jaw are still hurting quite severely, and an occasional tingling and numbness in my jaw means something is up with the nerves. It has me worried the back tooth is already reacting badly, but I’ll wait a few more days before I call my dentist; she had said it might hurt for a day or so.

Anyway, it’s already almost FIVE and I’ve gotten basically NOTHING done today except grocery shopping, so I’m going to go try and get some homework done. I hate feeling like I’ve wasted an entire day . . .

I got a mirror and a desk chair today. The desk chair is just a wooden folding chair the same color as my desk, $20, just what I was looking for.

I hung the mirror by myself. I knew I should have waited for Frank to get back into town but I was impatient and I like doing stuff like that. So I hung it, using the . . . what’s it called . . . floor molding? Floor paneling? Anyway, I used that as my guide . . . Only to discover that the paneling is CROOKED and therefore my mirror is crooked. Obviously crooked. But I’m too lazy/tired/frustrated to rehang it right now. I’m trying to convince myself that I can just live with it like that and it’s not a big deal, but my OCD flairs up really bad at crooked hanging things. I give myself two days or until Frank gets tired of my complaining about it and helps me redo it, which is probably for the best anyway.

In other news, I bought five new movies to watch tomorrow afternoon since I’m getting five cavities filled. But remember, no root canal, so that’s good! After this, I’ll have to probably get a crown on the cracked tooth because I’m almost entirely convinced now that it’s what makes my mouth hurt, but then that’s all the scheduled work I’ll need unless the other cavities get worse. Hurray! Now the big challenge tomorrow will be getting myself from Somerville to my South End apartment (about 45 minutes of travel) via the subways while I’m goofy on laughing gas and all swollen and slobbery with Novocain.

I’ll post pictures of the apartment soon, now that my room is finally nearing done. I still need a few more wall hanging thingies, and if I ever find a SUPER cheap surface rug that’d be nice . . . but otherwise, I’m done! Hurray!

For all my domestics out there: how do I keep my bottom sheet from riding up? The clingy one keeps trying to sneak up off the corners and WILL NOT stay down in the middle. This drives me insane, so I put a safety pin on each side, but it’s still not really doing well, and I don’t want to have to put five pins on each side (though I will if I have to). Any suggestions?

Frank and I had our 6-month on Wedneday. Went to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs — which was SUPER funny and I definitely recommend it. Then went to the Melting Pot where the food is excellent and we were very well taken care of. The staff even signed a “Happy Anniversary” card for us. Wrapped up the night with some slow dancing lessons. Truly a wonderful anniversary.

Today it is raining super duper hard and so I refuse to the leave the apartment, even though there are plenty of things that I need to get done out in the world today. I still do not have a mirror, and I’m trying to decide whether it’s worth it to me to get a desk chair or not since they’re SO expensive. I may shop around on craigslist a bit more.

I took the A/C unit out of my window because it’s consistently cold now, but my room is still quite chilly. I’m probably going to have to get a space heater unless the central heating just really wows me when it ever gets turned on.

I’m going to go update my wishlist, and then try to get homework done I guess so maybe I can go get errands done tomorrow when it hopefully will not be pouring. Figures the first free day I have to get stuff done, it’s raining too hard.

So this past week, I had a lot of homework. I needed to read six short stories, workshop a classmate’s short story, write a book review, and write a short story, all for my fiction class. I also needed to read and respond to two scripts, and write a four-page outline for my own script idea for my screenwriting class. My fiction class is Monday nights and my screenwriting class is Tuesday nights.

I wrote the script outline Saturday (it took me at least 4 hours) and also have already done the scripts and responses. For my fiction class, I’ve still got to write my own short story and write the book review, and it’s already 11pm on Sunday night.

Guess which of my classes just got cancelled?

I’ll give you a hint: it’s not the one that I’m prepared for, nor the one that’s furthest away.

Grrrr.

So the other day (well, like two weeks ago) me and Diana were sitting in the living room, talking. The lights were off in the kitchen. As she was talking, I noticed a movement on the floor in front of the fridge and my initial thought was, “Oh, that’s nice.” I then recalled that things shouldn’t move on their own, and just as I pointed out, “Oh, there’s a mouse!” he scurried back behind the fridge.

Personally, I think mice are cute, and the idea of killing him appalls me. Alas, I have not seen him since; I suspect he is being much more careful since he knows he’s been spotted.

Regardless, we’ve named him King Xerxes. This was selected via the Bible we’ve got on our mantel. I suppose I should explain that this is because the guys in my room left a crucifix nailed to my wall. I took it down, but then Diana put it back up, and its currently still over my guitar until I find time to take it to a Catholic church or something. It it was just a wooden cross, I would keep it, especially if it was all natural looking and made of sticks. But it’s not, and I’m sorry if it makes me a bad Christian, but crucifixes make me uncomfortable in a home setting. But one can’t simply throw a crucifix away.

Anyway, in response to this, Diana had put her Bible on the mantel in the living room, because she was possibly bringing a date back and the plan was to also put the crucifix out there. Unfortunately, a few days ago, I walked into the apartment, began complaining about my day, the Bible fell FOR NO REASON off the mantel, and it kind of freaked us all out, so all Bibles are now safely on bookcases.

But when we were needing to name our mouse, Diana suggested it be the first name we found in the Bible when she opened it randomly. I told her to go Old Testament because those are the best names. First she saw Jacob which is too normal, and then two other odd names we didn’t like, so the FOURTH name we found was King Xerxes, and I knew this was the one.

Coincidentally, that is now also the name of our wireless internet.

-Oh, and I suppose I should also mention that Diana and Fidan are my roommates, so that’s while you’ll see their names popping up.

In bullet form because there is SO much:

*First movers bailed on me and I had to open a paypal claim in order to get my money back. Second movers I found the next day were wonderful, two Romanian guys, very helpful.

*Had no internet or tv at the new apartment for three weeks, and even now the signal is so weak that the internet frequently cuts out and the tv is hardly watchable. Comcast has visited us three times, the first time being disastrous. Fortunately, they wisely decided not to charge us for this first month.

*Maintenance is constantly in and out trying to fix the place up. To name a few: we have no shelves or drawers in the fridge; every single lightbulb was burned out (did the guys before us just live in darkness?!), the closet doors were removed, there was a huge leak in our bathroom and then a hole in our ceiling.

*Classes started. I had some scheduling drama because I refused to take a lit class where the best I could get was a B, and Emerson thought I’m already overscheduling myself anyway and didn’t want me doing my senior thesis project early. The result is that I only have three classes this semester: Photoshop for photographers, Screenwriting, and Advanced fiction seminar. I am SWAMPED with homework.

*Work has its ups and downs. The little boy I regularly nanny (his older brother is in school most of the time) has decided he doesn’t like me, and just wants to wrestle with me, and has no interest in any of my arts&crafts or outside adventure ideas.

*Went home this past weekend to visit Mom and Jerry. Even though I spent about six weeks at home this semester, it didn’t feel like enough, and still doesn’t.

*Had a dental appointment whereupon I was told I needed one, maybe two root canals, plus I had five other cavities to fill. This didn’t surprise me TOO much (I have some inherited thing where my tooth enamel is ridiculously weak and I just am constantly getting cavities) but they were trying to convince me that the tooth that needed the root canal had hurt (it never did) and didn’t care that others of my teeth DID hurt. In fact, I was told cavities don’t hurt. Now, I have had my fair share of cavities. I know what they feel like. And furthermore, when a doctor/dentist tells me “that doesn’t hurt” and it DOES, I call foul. Fortunately this morning I had my first appointment with an amazing new dentist who agrees I don’t need the root canal — at least not yet — actually cares that my teeth hurt, found a crack down the side of a tooth that the other dentist didn’t (and this, we think, is what’s actually causing most of my pain), and wants to treat what hurts first. All in all, I think I have found the dentist I’ve been searching for all my life. Oh, and she’s also from Ireland.

*Writing wise, I’ve submitted two things for publication. One came back quickly but without an attached letter of rejection or acceptance, so I e-mailed the magazine and the editorial director emailed me back and told me to resubmit because he doesn’t know if it was rejected and they forgot a letter or if it was sent back too soon. So basically I still have two possible publications in the wings.

*It is autumn, which I’m excited about. Frank bought me a beautiful gerber daisy plant for the new apartment, which I killed in about two weeks. He and I went to King Richard’s Faire (a renaissance faire) weekend before last (SO fun; pictures are too cute; I’m sorry it’s not getting its own blog entry) and he bought me a rose which I’m currently drying. Monday he brought me a big beautiful sunflower. i also bought two pumpkins to put over my faux-fireplace.

I realize this was uber quick. I’m going to force myself back into the habit of writing now that I have semi-stable internet and will hopefully soon be settling into a life schedule. Also soon (once I’m finished hanging things on my walls and find a mirror and a desk chair) I’ll get pictures of the 519 up. Now I’ve got LOOOOOADS of homework to do, so I’m off!

Today, September 1st, is basically the day that almost everyone under the age of 24, and some above, move. So to all my fellow movers who are also stressed and frazzled and anxious to just be settled into their new apartments already: good luck, and congratulations.

I am now officially and entirely moved out of the Loft. And I’m strangely sad about it. Yes, it was MISERABLE to be in there this summer. Yes, I had to walk down the hall and use a seperate key for my bathroom. Yes, my window didn’t open. Yes, I had to cook sitting on the ground. Yes, the closet door didn’t open all the way and wasn’t big enough for my clothes. Yes, the shower hadno head and so sprayed your back with the force of God. Yes, my couch was uncomfortable and you couldn’t see the TV from it. Yes, one could hardly walk around in it. Yes, I had no privacy and lots of study and sleep interruptions because of the paperthin walls and Gary.

But I mean, it was warm and cozy in the winter. I got a LOT of writing done there, overheard a lot of funny conversations, and learned a LOT about living on my own.

Frank and I picked up a rented Honda CR-V at 8:30am and headed over. Unfortunately, parking had filled up FAST and we wound up having to park about half a block down and across a street. This made loading up the car a PAIN. It was a much harder packing job than yesterday because it was a few really big things and then a lot of loose things. Frank is so NOT a morning person (I had NO idea how not a morning person he is until today, haha, but he is scary! ) and the grumpier people around me are, the more cheerier I feel I have to be. Anyway, we were almost done when my landlord (the good one that I like; I’ve written about him before) offered that if I could be out soon, he would “throw four Brazilians up there and let them at it.” I’m supposed to leave my apartment “broom clean” and so was going to have to venture back there tonight to clean everything up. He saved me time and effort, though, and it was highly appreciated.

However, this added a good deal of chaos to what was already chaos, because now i had to make sure I had EVERYTHING, instead of having the security of checking again in the evening when things were slower. I think we got everything, though, and then I turned over my keys and rushed us back to Frank’s so we could once again move EVERYTHING into his basement. PAIN.

It all worked out, thoguh, and what this taught me is that it’s worth it to hire movers, haha. So instead of having to move EVERYTHING again on Tuesday — which I honestly think would kill me, especially because I know also have some furniture that needs to be moved that I”m not strong enoguh to pick up, much less carry up two flights of stairs — I have hired a moving company for $300. That’s a LOT of money for me, but also possibly some of the best money I’ll have ever spent. I’ll need to repack a couple things tomorrow because the fragile boxes are poorly packed, two boxes are breaking, adn there are a lot of open boxes . . . but I’m still very relieved that my part in this whole process is almost over. At least I don’t have to do the actual moving part myself; just some little odds and ends.

In the meantime, I am homeless/staying at Frank’s place. We moved this morning, then slept ALL day, haha, then went to Harvard Square to walk around, listen to some street performers, buy his texts books and some European chocolates, and now I’m waiting for the dinner I cooked to be done. After the stressful move this morning, I realized it’s the 30th, which means it’s our 5-month anniversary. Happy anniversary! Now help me move, lol.

Anyway, farewell to the loft. I’m super excited about the new place, and I think it’s going to be a wonderful year with two of my best girls. The loft was a good first apartment experience for me, but my new bedroom along is about the same size as the entire loft, haha. So while I’m a bit sad to have said goodbye to the loft in such haste this morning (we only had the car for 2.5 hours so we had to hoof it), I’m also very excited to be moving (literally) onto BIGGER (literally) and better things.

Also, big thanks to Fidan for holding onto a cart for me that simply WOULD NOT fit into the car, and HUGE thanks to Frank for helping me move heavy boxes. Welcome to the perks of being a boyfriend, haha.

Farewell, sweet loft. May you serve your next resident as . . . interestingly . . . as you did me.

So last night I tore down my big book case and packed all the stuff on there, dropping a shelf on my head and a shelf on my knee in the process. For dinner I ate a sandwich with bread on which I didn’t see any mold but didn’t look too close. Then I started feeling really, really awful so I decided to call it a night and went to bed around midnight.

Around 2am Frank calls me to say goodnight and I basically had a nervous breakdown on the phone. I was so shaky I could hardly hold the NEXT piece of toast I made myself, and was really nauseaus and in a bit of stomach pain. I was crying about the stress of moving and of work and of it being the first evening me and Frank haven’t spent together in a long time and my impending dentist appnt next week (I don’t do so well), and also because I was lying in bed convinced I was getting another ulcer, I could feel it.

Frank being the amazing boyfriend he is took a cab to my apartment at 2:30am to take care of me and calm me down.

I had initially just thought I was, like I said, getting a stress ulcer from the unreal conditions of this move. I have to be out of my apartment by noon on Monday, but I can’t move into the NEW apartment until 10:30am on Tuesday. Meanwhile, I work all day Thursday, Friday, and Monday, and I have an all day class on Saturday. I’m also adamant about NOT paying for boxes because that is stupid and I should not have to pay. Plus, studying for the GRE is kicking my butt because my math skills are GONE to an embarrassing extreme. Plus, there I am in the middle of the night, alone in my completely silent apartment, lonely and alone and taking it apart. Sad^10. Anyway, all of this, I think, could explain why I would have a mental breakdown.

This morning, I woke up to make some toast and saw BIG green mold all over the bread I had eaten from last night. I hadn’t looked closely, so probably I had mold poisoning last night, and that was why I felt so extremely sick – painfully sick, I mean. I’m so ready to live in an apartment where the fridge actually works and the apartment isn’t so hot that food goes bad in three days.

In other news, I have spent ALL day packing, and I am sick of it. I’ll take a load or two to Frank’s basement Friday morning, then finish packing all the last odds and ends Saturday night/Sunday morning, use Frank and possibly Diana to get the rest of my stuff to Frank’s basement, clean Sunday night. Then Tuesday is just going to be a mess and I’m not really sure how that’s going down, because I can’t move the big things (desk, bed, TV stand) by myself, but Frank works all day . . . possibly with the help of Diana and her dad and a U-haul . . . Anyway, crazy. Moving sucks. Ugh.

I still need more boxes, so I’ll go box hunting again tonight when I take the trash out.

Oh, and I will write about my weekend trip to Maryland/DC/Virginia to meet Frank’s family eventually (possibly if I have ANY spare time this weekend . . .) but right now I’m too caught up with moving. Digital photos are up on webshots, but I won’t be able to scan in my polaroids until I can start using the scanners at school (which starts in two weeks).

Also, I’ll have final photos of the loft later . . . sad but happy to be going!

So a few months ago, me and Frank had a conversation that went something like this.

Me: I wish you could register for new apartments, instead of getting married. I don’t want to wait until I’m getting married to get all of the stuff that I need now.
Frank: *playing video games probably; said nothing*
Me: Like a toaster. I need a toaster now, but I don’t want to BUY one if someone will GIVE me one when I’m getting married.
Frank: *continues playing video games*
Me: But what if I never get married, and I die without a toaster?
Frank: Why don’t you just buy one?
Me: No, someone else is supposed to give me one!
Frank: Well if it’s that big a deal, I’ll get you one for Christmas.
Me: Is this your way of telling me you’re never going to marry me?
Frank: . . .

Then yesterday we are in CVS and Frank comes wandering over with a toaster.
Me: What is that?
Frank: A toaster. I’m buying it for you.
Me: Why?
Frank: So you can eat bagels at home.
Me: Oh. Thank you. You’re still going to have to marry me someday, though.

And now I present to you, MY TOASTER:

Okay, the bagels are a bit crunchy. I guess it’s a super-powered toaster and putting it on a level 2 is a bit much. Imagine what a 9 would do! But there’s even a special bagel BUTTON, so that my pieces-of-bread-I-use-as-hot-dog-buns are their own thing apart from my bagels.