My new home

I am mad at myself for not writing lately.

We are here.  We made the move to Martinsburg.  We’re now in Mark’s home town and much closer to my home town, too. It’s only been two weeks, but when my mom asked if I missed my old home, I didn’t think twice, and answered no. 

The move was, ugh, exhausting. I couldn’t believe how hard it was, physically. A few days before leaving when I thought about the reality of moving away from this place I’ve liked for so long, it made me sad.  I even got teary.  I thought I would cry come moving day, but I didn’t.  I didn’t even look back, but that may have been because I was so tired.

On moving day Mark and I got up early and went right to work.  Even though his mom and step dad wern’t coming until early afternoon with a truck and a trailer to move our things, we started taking boxes outside and lining them up, ready to go.  We must’ve made 30 trips up and down those apartment stairs that day.  Mark’s little brother, Scotty, also came to help with a bunch of friends, but we had done most of the hard work by then.  Scotty’s birthday had just passed so Mark’s mom, as sweet as she is, made him his favorite cake and brought it for everyone after all the hard work was done.  I am not much for sweets, and I passed, but she even brought paper plates and forks so it worked out perfectly.  I actually think Scotty is her favorite child, and he’s the youngest so you can’t blame her.  It’s a sweet thing.

Anyways, we covered the trailer in a tarp and stayed at Mark’s mom’s that night and I can remember being so completely exhausted that I was excited for bed time.  When morning came, we went to our new apartment office and signed and initialed a million times, and got our keys.  It was exciting.

Ironicly, even though moving out was a ton of work, moving in was easy as cake. Mark gathered about 10 of his friends and family and what took us all morning/afternoon to pack up the day before, took a mere 1.5 hours to unload and carry to the third floor.  I luckily didn’t even have to unload anything.  I just stayed in the apartment and directed traffic.  The best job of all.  After all the moving was done, everyone left Mark and I and we just stared at boxes wondering where to start.  Then it hit us, why did everyone just leave us??  Haha.  I expected it, but Mark thought at least his mom or sister would want to help us arrange furniture, but definitely not.  I suppose maybe they felt it was for us to do alone. 

And so we went to work, slowly unpacking one box after another until we needed lunch to regain our strength.  Neither of us are fans of fast food and we both needed to get off our feet so since we got a 10 or 15 percent thing off Shoney’s lunch, we went there. It didn’t quite hit the spot, but it was good enough. 

I’ll never forget: Our first night in the new place, as it started to get dark Mark went to flick the light switch and nothing turned on.  Then he called for me, "Babe….?  Uh there are no lights."  And I thought it was histercial.  Who would’ve thought there wouldn’t be lights built into the bedroom ceilings in a brand new building?  We luckily had one lamp and what’s funny is that I wanted to throw it away, but Mark said to keep it.  Good thing we did.

The first week went by smoothly. Mark didn’t start work until the following week so we had time together to be home and unpack everything just the way we wanted.  His friends came over a lot, we drank all kinds of beer and I almost forgot that I was jobless, for a minute.

When Mark started his job last Monday and I was home alone all day, every day it drove me bananas.  I went running 4 times last week which I never do.  I cleaned everything top to bottom.  I don’t know how people are unemployed.  It’s terrible.

So after being here a day or so I emailed the editor of the local newspaper (we spoke before and she told me to let her know when I was intown) and I started freelance writing for her.  I thought it would be a story here or there, but in the past week I’ve turned in 4 more and have 5 story assignments pending.  I like it.  I feel like a full blown reporter. But it has a downside.  I don’t know how people work from home!  It’s SO hard to motivitate yourself to "go to work" aka sit at the computer in your pj’s.  I need to be out in the world with all the working people. 

BIG NEWS:  My third story for the newspaper made the FRONT PAGE on SUNDAY!  I couldn’t believe it.  As I was driving away from 7-11, Mark was asking me where my article would be and I assumed, probably the region section since my other 2 had been there.  When he said it wasn’t there, I got nervous for a second that maybe it didn’t run, but I knew that couldn’t be the case.  And when he said it made the front page, I almost couldn’t believe my eyes.  I should frame it. 

This was my biggest feat as a journalist.  I was so proud of myself.  I had to go to a Health Fair into a room full of people I didn’t know, in a place I didn’t know, and write a story about it.  I was shocked at how much fun it was.  People were so nice to me, for once.  Usually no one wants their name in the paper, but not this time.  I even had to take pictures which I had never done before, for work and was amazed at how great everything turned out.  That gives me inspiration as a journalist.  I needed a good story and a good day interviewing and I got it. Thank goodness!

Mark’s job is going well.  He is working at a school for troubled teens who are court ordered to this residential facility.  He will do fine there, I know.  The only bad part is his hours.  He works a lot of evenings, but it will be good for him at least thru the summer.

I, on the other hand, hope

and pray that I get a job as fun as Mark.  I had an interview yesterday for a job as an "office associate" at a community college.  The only really good thing about that is I would get most the school holidays and vacation days.  Awesome, but the thought of having to be a secretary again makes me want to slit my wrists, I’m just saying.