So since last I updated, I amended the apartment situation slightly. Instead of the 2bd/1ba, we upgraded to a 2br/2ba, for a whopping $15 more a month.

For 50 cents more a day, I get a bigger room (11x13 instead of 10x11), a walk-in closet, and my own bathroom. Yes, please.

Additionally, I was able to get a move-in date of Thursday, July 31st, instead of Sunday, August 3rd.

So I'm feeling more positive about the whole thing (and it's a good thing, too, as I'll be moving in a week).


Plus, my social life has been thriving as well. On Monday, I went to Jeremiah's for chicken, beer, and Eddie Izzard (along with Josh and Giancarlo). I ended up crashing at his place, because it got late and it's significantly closer to work. The downside was that I still only got 4 hours of sleep.

And then after work yesterday (while already sleep-deprived), I joined up with Javi, Karen, and Josh for some fun at the Magic Kingdom. We had dinner and did a few rides (Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Philharmagic), and left at park close (midnight). I only got 4 hours of sleep last night, too.

However, that all meant that today at work kinda sucked. I was tired and so my safaris were subpar. And it rained really hard at the end of the day, and I got soaked and was miserable. It was a really bad way to end the work week, but the upside is that it is now my "weekend."


So now I'm drinking a glass of wine and vegging out in front of the TV. Fantastic. I need a nap. Or to get to bed early. I'm guessing the latter will happen very soon.

Tomorrow, I need to pack (hard core). Then, on Friday I'm going with my aunts to Epcot (I'm getting them in for free with my Main Entrance Pass, and in return I'm getting free food and drinks all day). Then it's back to the grindstone with work on Saturday. Ugh.

I think today was "phone calls from friends" day.

I received calls from Zoe, Caitlin, and Candace. And I called no one. Because I'm clearly a terrible friend.

But it was so cheerful!


Anyway, so I'm back in Orlando after a week of traveling to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for my cousin Tiffany's wedding (she just turned 22, BTW).

The wedding was pretty good. The night I stayed at my sister Fayanne's house and got to meet my newest niece (who is a total cutie) was the best part of my week. The worst was most certainly spending 50 hours in a car with my parents. Ugh.


In other good news, I got an email today from my art history professor/thesis advisor about a possible internship, so I sent a resume to a woman at the Orlando Museum of Art. Still waiting to hear from her. If I don't by Monday, I'll start applying for other jobs (movie theater, Disney, whatever).


So yes. Family, friends, possible job. Things are feeling good.

Plus, I'm back in my own apartment with my own bed in my own room and my own bathroom. Which always feels good.


Oh, and I watched NPH on Ellen (he watched the Idol too!), and started watching "How I Met Your Mother" before Idol started. I love him. I really need to go see Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay...just for my NPH fix.

Deerfield is very cold, but I'm managing. I had forgotten just how much worse it gets at night when the sun goes down and the bit of snow that had melted during the day freezes into treacherously slippery ice and the wind whips in your face with no hope of reprieve.

But I have my thick coat, my hat, my scarf, and my gloves, so I've been managing.

I will be glad to get back to a climate that allows me to wear flip-flops year-round, but I will definitely miss the Chicago area that I really do love dearly.

On the upside of everything, I have been able to hang with Zoe, Charlie, Molly, Nikki, and Becca (so far). Plans to see Eric, Laura, Amanda and most everybody else who is coming into town this weekend are in full swing. So the socializing is going very well and that I will most miss upon returning to the Sunshine State.

Additionally, I have seen Juno and Atonement, both were excellent though Juno inches above Atonement for being hilarious and not heart-wrenchingly depressing. I will most certainly see Atonement again (when it gets to a theater that accepts my free movie voucher...damn you Evanston Century cinema), and if Juno ever makes it down to Orlando, I might even drag a couple roommates to it (they need some more decent movies in their lives).


That's it for now. I must shower and get ready so Zoe and I can head for lunch (I'm thinking Chipotle) and then she has some sort of interview/meeting downtown to which I'll be tagging along. Note to self: bring "Sense and Sensibility" to read.

First off, I'm super cool. It's 1am on a Friday night and I'm writing a paper. (Lame.)

The good news is that I'm about 1/4 of the way through it and I've been heavily distracted this entire time. I can't wait to see how much I get done when I can actually concentrate. (Two of the roommies just left for a party, so its gotten considerably quieter. I might be able to bound out the next fourth...but probably not because I'm really tired.)


Second, I'm a big geek but I'm kinda digging the Chicago Manual style. It totally kicks MLA's ass. Endnotes are far superior to internal citations, plus you get to use ibid. Though I think "ibid." is a stupid abbreviation, because it only eliminates two letters. At least "etc." gets rid of 5 letters and a space.

Bottom line: endnotes are awesome.


Third, I am increasingly grateful for Facebook. It's so much easier to post a wall message than send an email, plus, if it's some sort of information that could benefit others, they can easily view it. I'm not entirely sure that made sense, but I Facebook'ed Candace about my proposed dates for Winter Break, and Amanda was able to respond to me that she would be overlapping. Sweet.

Additionally, it allows one to quickly access friends. I thought (foolishly) that after college it would be easier to keep in touch with people. However, I think we've spread out farther than before. It makes sense, I just didn't anticipate it.

Similarly, it's easier to keep up with people's lives by stalking their profile and wall. You can generally find any big news without even having to fish for it. Now, I still think writing legitimate emails is far superior to a Facebook message, and I certainly use that form of communication often. However, a wall message : email :: text message : phone call. (Yeah, you liked that.)


Fourth, why do we use the term "emails?" Theoretically, the plural form of email is "email." But it sounds odd to say, "I sent 7 email this morning."

And done.

Tonight was so super good and a damn-near perfect way to end my trip up here. While it saddens me to leave, dinner was SO good, thanks to TGIFriday's and my 10 lovely friends who were able to make it (Bridgette, Candace, Jason, Eric, Patty, Caitlin, Becca, Nikki, Allie, and Chazz, in seating order). After, all but Caitlin, Bridgette and Becca went back to Allie's to hang out, chat, play some cards.

It was chill, the way I like it, and oh-so comfortable. My mind reels from the love I have for those people. It's so hard to leave all of that for Florida, but I miss family too. And (hopefully) they miss me too.


So yay for goodness. And yay for leaving on a high note. Tomorrow, I'll be doing some laundry and packing before heading down to Mattoon, IL to visit Fayanne and Brad for the weekend. Then Monday I'll drive back to the Sunshine State.