"Virtual" Apartment Tour

Hey all. I am going to attempt to show you what our apartment looks like from pictures I took last night. We cleaned up the living areas really nice, so I thought it would be a good time to show you all what it looked like out here!

This is the entry way area, and thus the first thing you see when you walk into the apartment. The door on the right is our front door. As you see fabulous are throughout the apartment it is either Sam's or Dan Saner's (the guy who got me my Assistant Producer job).

This is what we stare at most of the time. The book cases along with everything in them belong to me (I have a pretty small room so I don't have anywhere to put that stuff). Chris, if you're reading, yes, that NO VACANCY sign is yours are you are going to have to travel 2,000 miles to get it back.

And this gives you a better idea of the size of the living area and seating arrangement. You can see the glass doors that lead to the main balcony from here. (The view blows, but its nice to have it.)


And now you can see the rest of the room, and put it visually together by noting that the very left side of the pictures shows the hallway you will be seeing in 2 photos.

This is our kitchen. Small but mighty. We just had a new stove put in so it actually matches the microwave - very nice touch.


And this is the aforementioned hallway. It connects the living room/entryway/kitchen to the bedrooms and bathrooms. The first open door on the right leads you to my bedroom.


And there it is! Other than being smaller, it looks a lot like my last two bedrooms because I have kept all of the decor and same bed and bedding and everything. It's nice. A little cozy. But nice. Hanging drapes made all the difference in the world. If my dad is reading, he may note that the three pictures on the wall are the ones of Daniel and I that he gave us.


And here is the other side of my room. The dresser I bought in Texas (or Arizona, how do I not remember already). It still needs to be refinished, but I have a feeling that it will always need toget refinished. And my dresser is backed by my clutter/memory wall. I have made a little collage of notes, cards, movie tickets, etc. all held up with thumb tacks. It changes all the time. I should probably grow out of having one of these (I always seem to do it somewhere) but I really like them. I find it comforting.

END OF TOUR

The rest of these pictures are from my phone. I was just clearing it out trying to make room for other pictures. Mom, I have to sincerely apologize that in the process of doing all of this I lost several pictures from our cross country trip.

Butterfly I found near the coy pond in the back yard of Harper's Ferry house.

FINALLY a sign for Los Angeles after driving over 1700 miles.


Another picture of the baby groundhog from Ohio Bike Week.


This was the first sign counting down the miles to Los Angeles during my mom and my cross country trip.

Los Angeles, CA

It took us six days, but my mom, the 16' Penske Truck, all of my worldly possessions, and I have all safely made it the 2671.9 miles to my new apartment complex in Los Angeles.

Needles, CA

We crossed our last state border last night! It was the only "Welcome to [insert appropriate state here]" sign that we coldn,t take a picture with. When we realized that we actually turned around at the next exit, crossed back into AZ, turned back around, and did a drive by photo shoot of the sign.

I woke up early today and we are at Denny's getting breakfast before we bang out the last 250 miles of the trip. I'm incredibly excited.

I have been periodically searching for Goodwills on our GPS in hope that i could round out my furniture collection with minimal financial burden. In Bell Buckle i managed to pick up a small ottoman and a jewelry chest when i went antiquing.

In Amarillo, TX we stopped at a Walmart where the black shelving i bought last year was about 1/4th of the price. I bought two of them and a new lamp for less than i bought one bookcase last year.

Yesterday I searched for Goodwill randomly in the middle of no where and there was one only a few minutes ahead and only a stones throw off of route 40.

We got off the road and were unable to find it but we did find a used furniture store where i scooped up a fablous old 12 drawer dresser for only $120!

When the father of the store owner saw the back of the Penske he laughed and asked if we were moving across the country and buying all of the furniture along the way. Mom and I laughed, "that's exactly what were dong!"

It was the best of times...

It was the worst of times. I love my mother dearly but i think the majority of the population would agree that after five straight days of 100%, non-stop, one-on-one mom time anyone might feel the need for privacy or a change in conversation. Well i am there now. With a few days od "momotany" remaining.

I feel bad getting short with my mom over stpid things, knowing she stopped her entire life for two weeks to help me move. Not to mention how far back she is setting herself financially to give me a chance to persue my dreams.

Momotany is totally worth it.

Moriarty, NM

Lots of transit hours yesterday but not a lot of transit miles. Mom and i stopped and shopped in several places where i managed to pick up some things for my new apartment and i rekindled my love for shoe shopping.

Highlights include:
-driving by the largest cross in the western hemisphere
-finishing my reread of the first harry potter book (i am a loser, i know)
-leaving my hairbrush in oklahoma
-having less than 1000 miles to go

We are already on the road again. 5rivong through desert and flanked by prickly pear cacti amazingly growing out of large rock formations. Its pretty cool.

Oh! We are often driving through areas labeled "safety corridors." Turns out its a pretty cool initiative NM is taking to decrease accident frequency on their highways. I dont know if safety corridor is the most self explanatory name to those unfamiliar with the term, but i appreciate the effort. Way to go New Mexico!

Mom's really excited for Arizona. I have a feeling that a very hot hike is in my very near future.

Henryetta, OK

Just woke up to the sound of a child playing basketball otside the motel room in Oklahoma. My mom is still snoring heartily so perhaps i am just a light sleeper.

Henryetta happens to be the birthplace of Troy Aiken.

Yesterday was a long day of driving, and today will probaby be even longer. We hope to be in Arizona by tonight.

I am getting more and more nervous about my first day of work... Having never met my new boss, all i can do is hope we get along and work well together.

Sorry for the typos, i am updating from my blackberry which is a bit tedious so i am keeping it brief.

Bell Buckle, TN

Saturday was our first driving day. We were on the road from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM (add an hour for time change to central). I made sandwiches on the dashboard while my mom drove, called out every Cracker Barrell (there are only a billion or so), and continued my reread of the Harry Potter septilogy.

At the end of our first day of driving, my mother and I arrived in a small town in Tennessee just outside of Nashville called Bell Buckle. My uncle, Myron, has lived here for several years because it is close to the cancer center he frequents as he continues to battle Multiple Myeloma - there is a distinct possibility that I have spelled that incorrectly.

Anyway, I have gotten to meet his wife, Rezza, finally. As some of you may know, I accidentally missed their wedding a few years ago by mixing up my life calendar and thinking it was a week later than it was. No first impression is better than a missing one. They mailed me my bridesmaids dress later that month. I am a terrible niece.

We spent all day yesterday in Bell Buckle, hanging out with Myron and Rezza, going antique shopping (I picked up a footstool and a jewery armoire), and having lunch at a fantastic Mexican restaurant. When everyone got back to the house, we watched "Borat" and then proceeded to sing karaoke for hours. I stepped up with "Hotel California," "Always Something There to Remind Me," "Locomotion," and "Somebody to Love." An excellent selection if I may say so myself.

I happened to receive the best phonecall of my life last night. Sam Englender - my past and future roommate - called to let me know she has found a 3 bedroom apartment for us to live in in Los Angeles. It's beautiful, a good rate, and right next to two of our other CMU friends, Derek Pendergrass and Joe O'Neil. I'm excited and having that all ironed out is a huge weight off of my mind.

Last night was a solid night's sleep in preparation for resuming the drive this morning. I am being hailed to breakfast, which smells incredible. I'll catch up again after another 12 hours on the road!

Happy belated Father's Day, Dad.