Good News!

I have two bits of good news that have come to pass over the last couple days.  I’ve been silent on the blog because I’ve been busy with life and trying to get The Mongolian Experiment online, but I have some breathing room today, so here you go:

Dining area in our friend's apartment in the same building.

1.  Marc and I have a spot in the apartments we’ve been on the waiting list for since May! The current tenants move out July 31st, so we’re hoping to be moving in sometime in mid-August.  We find out our move-in date on August 3rd.

I’m really looking forward to being in the new place.  It’s smaller, but it’s also cozier, and I enjoy having to work to find ways to make everything fit.  It’s in a really walkable area, so I won’t feel quite so restricted due to my lack of transportation.  We also have several friends who live in the same complex (it’s small, only about 80 units in 10 buildings), so it should satisfy the “hanging out” quotient that I’ve been missing from my social life ever since college.

The new place also has all of the following within easy walking distance:  metro station, farmer’s market, grocery store, several cafes, multiple bus lines, and the “Old Town” area of Alexandria.  One of the things I loved about living in both the South End and Fenway in Boston was that there were all sorts of nifty things right outside my door.  Here in north Arlington, the only things outside my door are a bunch of young government families with three kids and a golden retriever.  Not quite my “scene”.

Living room

We’re going to have to purchase some new furniture for the new place, but I don’t want to get anything ahead of time, because it’s just more stuff we’d have to move, so the new place may be slightly bare for a couple weeks until I can trawl craigslist for appropriate pieces.  We’re taking advantage of this move as a time to get rid of some of the older, crappier stuff we have (like our sofas that have holes in them, etc), and so I’m hoping that this new place will feel like a bit of a fresh start.  I’m also hoping to paint at least one of the rooms, since this will be the first apartment I’ve lived in where painting is totally sanctioned.

The apartment is in the Del Rey neighborhood of Alexandria.  It’s a bit yuppy-ish, but it also has a sizable hippy population, which helps to balance things out.  We’ll also be in a much better location for public transport, which will make my life considerably easier.  Did I mention that it will also be saving us around $600 a month in rent?  Yeah…I’m really looking forward to this.

2.  I got the job I applied for at Harris Teeter! Sure, working in a grocery store feels a bit like backsliding, but hopefully it will be temporary.  There’s a lot more non-car-dependent job opportunities in Alexandria than in Arlington, where we currently live, and I’m hoping that I will be able to find something down there, or something in DC.  I have a friend who has a strong lead on a legal secretary position at her firm in DC, so hopefully I will only be working at HT for a few months, at most.

The pay is about $300-$400 more per month than I was making as a dog walker, so it’s an improvement no matter what.  The increased pay combined with the lower rent I’ll be paying in Alexandria will work out to me having substantially more money than I had before (i.e. any money at all), which will hopefully allow me to upgrade my computer and get more freelance work.

I’m really glad that things are finally looking up.  The last couple months have been rather tense, and it’s good to finally feel that pressure let up just the slightest bit.

[Photos by Chuckwrox, Me]