planning ahead.

aurgh. i feel as if i spend so much time looking ahead to the tasks that need to be completed that the present is passing by with little fanfare to draw my attention. it's not entirely my fault, as the details that need addressing now will ensure that the months to come will arrive with as little stress or drama as possible. but it's still ridiculously frustrating.

like several others i know, i am beginning the fun task every renter looks forward to - looking for a new place. during my all-too-infrequent-right-now jogs, i've found myself perking up the second i see a "for rent" sign. i never manage to have a piece of paper and pen (which is natural, as i am running and all), so i always mean to return at a more leisurely pace to jot down the address, phone number and thoughts about the building/location/etc. haven't yet - planning on that this week.

and, of course, i'm pouring through the classifides - good times there. deciphering the classified lingo (example: "cozy," naturally, means "small") while testing my local geography so i can place street names to areas. trying to figure out where i want to be and if there's anywhere in that area that might work. or, most accurately, seeing where there are places and figuring out if that's where i want to be. love it.

while i spent time looking around a bit when i first moved up here, i've been relatively lucky in the whole apartment search thing - in the past, at least. the apartment i moved into in dc was the first i'd looked at - granted, i checked out other places, but i loved the apartment. and it was great - good location, good place, great roommates, excercise room, roof pool (which i, unfortunately, never used, as i left right when it was opening up for the summer). i was spoiled.

the apartment in which i'm currently typing away is also great - although vastly different from my first. quirky, comfy, a space i've tried to really make my own since moving in in december. but there's no way i could continue living here in this manner for another year. just not feasible.

so i'm looking forward to finding somewhere new just as much as i'm dreading it. there are just a bunch of things i need to figure out and then just do it. i mean, it's not difficult to move. i've done it twice now, so i know the nervousness that comes with it never fully go away. you wonder if you're doing the right thing, if this is the right place, what you'll discover after the lease is signed and all of those little jitters that pop up along the way. over the course of living in my two apartments, i've encountered a pretty wide spectrum of renter experiences, so there's not a lot that could phase me now (she says, waiting for something else to happen now that she jinxed things). i mean, i handled the indoor waterfall bit like a champ, if i do say so myself.

so i guess i'm excited about it as much as i'm dreading the drudge work that comes with it. i'll start off june with a new place in the area. perhaps i'll claim a cozy studio as my own, perhaps i'll begin a domestic partnership with someone - old or new, who knows? but it'll be good, regardless. it's something we all go through and we've all come out of it relatively unscathed. ;-)