And three months go by.....

I swear I didn't mean to let the time pass me by, but here it is mid-September and so much has happened.
1) I'm a coffee addict. Love coffee, must have daily cup.
2) I'm a gardener. It's amazing to see things grow and the circle of life.
3) I'm a journalist. LOL. We all knew that already, but here it is and it is what I am. Nine years after discovering journalism and I'm getting paid to do it. Sometimes I just have to shake myself.
4) I still have no couch, dining table, chairs, cable or furniture. I read and I visit friends on my days off.
5) My food blog at the paper is getting off to a great start. I've got a following and people in the community are wanting to be at their events. Weird?!
6) I'm still single.
7) I miss Texas and Saturday breakfast tacos and iced mochas.
8) I still have Texas plates.

More later.

Oh the clutter....

So my dad arrived two days ago with the rest of my stuff. I didn't realize how much stuff I had until I saw it packed into my apartment. I mean its not a lot by any means. However, in this small place it takes up a lot of space. I've been slowly sifting through it, throwing out things and cleaning dishes.
Through all this I've found a lot of kitchen stuff. I mean I cook, but my god, I could start my own professional kitchen soon. :). Not complaining cause I have use the utensils more than once.
Oh and I started work last night. Yes, nights. I work in the afternoon until about midnight. It's throwing me off. I woke up at 6 a.m. this morning, but that was more due to the sun than anything.
However, I learned a lot at work, and we listened to the scanner. And I've learned this town is happenin' on Friday nights. For example, there is guy here with a parrot and has a tendency to be drunk in public, often times while riding a bike. Hmmmm, sounds a little like
Austin?

Tired

I don't know if its the smoke, a lack of iron, or moving, but I've been extremely tired lately. I mean it hits seven o'clock and my body just shuts down. I just sit on my bed trying to keep my eyes open.
I don't know why, but that's the way it has been.
It could also, be that I've started my job. Well, I've begun training. I've been relearning InDesign and some journalism terms. (I still don't know what a refer is though...) But it is going well, and can't wait to design some pages and work on the web. It should be fun.

Ewwwww....

I visited the grocery store today. I just wanted to see if I could find things I normally ate in Austin or Dallas were available. First I went to the SoHo Organic Market only to be disappointed. The potatoes were shriveled up and the bananas were turning a taupeish yellow (very weird). Shelves were barren and the only "local" thing I could find was honey. There was no recently caught fish, only frozen salmon from Alaska that a local fisherman caught last year. It wasn't promising. The only good thing is that I could by bulk items like you could at Whole Foods or Central Market.
Later on in the day I went to the regular grocery store to pick up bananas. Once there I decided to look around. I went through the freezer section and the dairy section, gapping at the prices. Then I moved down to the meat, finding lamb, pork, and tripe. Whooo wait what? Yes folks, I looked down to see tripe-the lining of the cows stomach- right before my eyes. My mouth dropped. Tripe in a grocery store?
My eyes wandered from it to find beef livers and tongue, oxtails, etc. It wasn't your usual fair I had seen in any Texas grocery store I visited. These are things I never saw before. Of course I had heard of them, seen Anthony Bourdain play with, but never seen up close.
It was an eye opener. Will I be eating it anytime soon? If someone else prepares it, sure, but not in my kitchen.

THE WINE... OH MY GOD MY WINE....

So if you didn't know it by now, I love wine. I love red, white, rose, dessert. I have no real preference unless it doesn't go with my meal. I collect bottles. Hell, I bought 6 bottles on my 21st birthday. And I continued to buy one about every week until I moved to Alabama.
Now my ex and I drank a few of my bottles, but I did shelter some. Especially the ones I bought out in Fredericksburg. I think currently I have at least 9 bottles. Of course I packed them up with me, when I left on Sunday.
Now transporting wine is not easy. You have to worry about heat and everything else. Of course, a packed car doesn't lend well to wine. They go where you have space. Plus, I'm living in a hotel.
So me being the person I am left at least $200 worth of wine in the car for FIVE DAYS!!!!
OH MY GOD, AM I AN IDIOT!!
So tonight, I rushed to the car to save my 9 babies and put them in the room. I have no idea if they will taste horrible, but they are now safe from the heat.
Crossing my fingers, I don't have to pour them out.

Finding an Apartment

First order of business upon arriving in Elizabeth City was to find an apartment. I had tried last week to get in contact with property owners and apartment complexes. I found that many did not have openings, but some did right downtown. How soon could I move in, possibly the day I came and viewed the apartment.
So we started with that property management company. The first place had not been cleaned. There was a water spot in the carpet, which by the way was old. The bathroom wasn't even in the bedroom. Only good thing is the semi-new appliances.
The next place was the next street over. You had to go through an alleyway and unsteady stairs to get to the second floor. Upon entering the hallway to the apartment you smelled smoke. When I entered the space, I immediately saw a cockroach. This scratched it right of the list. Oh and my mom swears she saw rat remnants.
The last of that property owner was a nice one bedroom/bath with new carpet and was getting a fresh coat of paint. However, the price did not include all utilities and would get me up to $800 for housing. It was a last resort.
I would then go visit a house 2 blocks from work. It had old carpet, a fridge blocking part of the highway to bedroom, a dead cockroach, etc. It wouldn't break the budget, but I was not thrilled about living there.
So my mom and I went to the coffeeshop to crunch numbers. I would barely be able to live off of the nicer apartment. So my mom asked the barista about places to live. The nice lady recommended River Wind apartments, a place I had been trying to get in touch with for the past week.
So we adventured to the complex which is right by the water. We found the owner who had two open apartments. One had an application being worked on and the other needed carpet. The one with the application did not have a bath tub and was smaller. The one without carpet was bigger and had great light. Plus, all utilities were included. Yeah!
So I chose the bigger apartment, put down the deposit. And cross my fingers that I can move in this weekend.

Adventures on the Road

So here I am in my new home of Elizabeth City, sitting in my hotel room. It took 2 very long days to get here.
I left early Sunday morning, my blue Honda filled with clothes, art, cameras, and enough stuff to survive me for 2 weeks without the rest of my boxes. This is because my stuff was coming in two long trips. One trip was with me behind the wheel, the other by my wonderful father who will come in a week or two.
First goal was to make it out of the drive way without bottoming out. Thankfully that didn't happen. I made the corner and onto the highway and didn't look back. I drove through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and to Atlanta, Georgia all in one day. It was 14 hours on the road. It was tiring and long, very much like my trip to L.A. in December.
I didn't sleep well that night and we got up early the next morning to make it to North Carolina in good time. So we drove through Georgia, South Carolina, and finally made it to North Carolina. Nine hours on the road and we finally make it to Elizabeth City. We get out of the car and its 100 degrees outside. Sweat immediately comes to the brow. I thought I left Texas, but it seems that Texas heat followed me to the water.
Finally, arriving in my destination I hit the Bar-b-que Barn for a barbeque sandwich "dressed" before hitting the bed for the night.