Did it live up to my expectations?

Yes, it did!!!!!!! The Dark Knight was fantastic. Heath Ledger gave an amazing performance; it's sad that he will not be around for further roles. I think I may see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus when it's released next year since that's officially his last performance. Interesting that they hired Jude Law, Johnny Depp, and Collin Ferrell to play his role as well. They rewrote the script to afford the director the chance to keep Ledger in the film; his character changes appearances every time he goes into an alternate universe. 

I got the apartment today. Did I post about the fiasco with getting the apartment? Well, I can't remember. Basically, I was told two of the townhouse units I posted about last time were available. To make a long, irritating story short, I called several days in a row only to find out that neither would be available when I need it - one had been leased to someone else on Monday (two days into my daily calling to make sure something would be available), and the other one, that person who pre-leased it wouldn't be able to bump back her move-in date, so I was out of luck. That left me with nothing with two weeks before I move. 

In any event, I have a place to live in Fairborn, Ohio, about 15 miles from Cedarville. I will be moving in August 2 to a 1 bedroom. It's in the same community the townhouses are in. Not thrilled with the 1 bedroom aspect of it, but my hope is to put in six months there so I can upgrade to the "Pearl" model in the gated part of the community. You can click here to go to the website for the place I'll be living. Go to "Channingway Apartments" and then click on the link for the "Lamplighter"; that's the model I'll be renting now. If you go to the tab at the top for "The Reserve at Channingway", you can click on a link for the "Pearl" to see the floor plan I want. On that same page, if you click on the link for "2 Bedroom Garden Tour", you'll find a video tour of the Pearl. I am hoping and praying I can upgrade in February when I've fulfilled 6 months of my lease. I really want the extra space to accommodate family and friends coming to stay over. It's also got a sunroom, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a fireplace - hello?! To upgrade after 6 months requires a one-time fee to settle my lease, and of course requires a new lease to be signed, but I'd love that unit so that's what I'm aiming for. The unit now is a lake view that they are giving to me at a non-lakeview rate (probably because of the stink I raised about the poor communication they gave me and the cockamamy line that "it says right in the application in black and white that we cannot hold a unit without a holding fee/application fee" (they assured me every time I called for

 those 5 days I didn't need to send those things in yet while they waited to see if they could get me in sooner). 

The sacrifice I feel I need to make is to give up the cruise we have booked for next April. Not only will that take away the need to take time off during the school year when my new boss is already being gracious enough to give me time off this October for our trip in addition to all the extra time off I get as a staff counselor, but it will also free up funds to give me the chance to afford the Pearl. I feel a little like Jack Sparrow with my newfound obsession with "The Pearl". We can push the cruise back about 12.5 months and still get to enjoy pre-hurricane season May weather in the Caribbean while allowing me to vacation without needing to take time off from work. I think it makes the most sense to do this now. I hate giving up a vacation, let alone a cruise, let alone a DISNEY cruise, but as Miss said, I'd rather love where I live 12 months a year than have a great vacation that lasts only a week. So I think that's what we've decided. It's a hard choice to make but a responsible one. 

I'll keep you posted as I make the move. I'd love to have the internet up and ready to go for my first night there 

to help battle the bachelorette blues, but I'm not sure that will work out so smoothly. My friends and family have been gracious in providing for my needs - I got a microwave, vacuum, printer, George Foreman grill, casserole dish, drinking glasses, mixer, toaster, and can opener for FREE! My coworker found me a set of 8 plates, salad plates, bowls, and mugs for $20 bucks at a garage sale. They are tan with brown trim around the edges - very nice. I still have lots of things to get, but I'm making progress.

Guess that's all for now. Trying to get in the habit of updating more often as this will be a major link for people to follow my life once I move. Karen, thanks for the email about your friends in Xenia. I'll definitely keep that in mind as I try to make connections. 

Oh, and Susan! Just to prove you wrong that you never get mentioned here, I'm going to "one-up" you and put our picture on my blog FIRST! 

For those of you that don't know, these lovely ladies are my officemates at my current job. Susan on the left, the other school-based counselor, me, and Tina, early childhood mental health consultant extraordinaire! Tina is leaving this Saturday to relocate to Florida. Aren't we a good-lookin' bunch?