First Blog

"Your blog? Oh, I'm sure it's good."--Addie, the boyfriend

About a year ago, I received a soul-crushing rejection from my dream grad-school program. Considering I had spent the better part of 18 months planning for a future that no longer existed, I was in a "what the hell do I do now?" funk. After a consoling dinner of spaghetti casserole and a marathon of Battlestar Galactica, Addie suggested I move to North Carolina with him after he was done hiking the Appalachian Trail, so we could take a year off to concentrate on writing. I laughed, thinking, "I'm a city kid; I don't really *do* mountains. Or the South." I thought, I'll just figure it out later.

But then, slowly but surely, reality set in.

First, I lost my job as an office manager three months earlier than expected. Then, creative jobs in the DC area were few and far between, and quickly snatched up by the illustrious MFA crowd. Further, I wasn't qualified (monetarily) for the overseas teaching jobs I wanted to pursue. All I wanted to do was write, but I was without a means to support myself. Everything seemed dismal, and frankly, full of fail. Oh, and the "temporary move back in with my parents to save money" was approaching the 18 month mark. Dismal, and full of fail.

But then, Addie came home from the trail, and he convinced me to give more thought to moving in with him. Over Thanksgiving, we visited his sister Shelby (whose basement apartment he was planning on renting), and I basically fell in love with the scenery, the historic town, and the idea that you don't have to leave the house 45 minutes early to drive 15 miles away (traffic in the DC/NoVA area is awful 24/7). And thus, with no job prospects, and not nearly enough savings to survive unemployment in DC, I decided to move in with Addie. Oh, also, I love the guy and want to start a life with him, etc.

So, 3 days ago, I moved from the tree lined, rush hour traffic haven of Northern Virginia to the mountain-strewn, sleeping beauty of North Carolina. It's definitely a year full of firsts. For example: it's my first time disappointing my parents from 2 states away, instead of from 2 stair cases away. My parents hate my place, but I think that has more to do with the fact that I moved 8 hours away, and less to do the fact that I'm unemployed and living in a basement with a guy who's not only unemployed, but who also smokes cigarettes (gasp!).

As much as they might disagree [never to face, of course, my parents are really encouraging :)] Addie and I both writers, and we're taking this opportunity to pursue our "dream" with a crazy amount of force. We met during our senior year of college, and have been through our share of amazing ups and bottoming out downs, break ups and make ups, but now, we're fantastic. Some couples need more time to grow up before they realize they are made for each other. Addie and I are that kinda couple. He's encouraging, inspiring, and hilarious; but above all, he keeps me and my neuroses in check. And the fact that he's also experiencing all these firsts at the same time as me has a lot of comfort and adventure to it :)

Considering all this newness and adultiness, I decided to start blogging, full power. This will be a chronicle of us newbies treading the waters of simultaneous co-habitation and dream pursuing. All I know is, it's been 3 days, and already I've been happier and more satisfied than I have been in as long as I can remember.