Holy crap, I've moved to Savannah!

I'm one of those people where it takes a while for things to really sit in. Today, I finally completed all my IKEA projects and unpacked all my boxes. A little clean up and my apartment is finally MY apartment. It's not a partially moved in place that resembled a hotel.

But it also means that I'm finally settled in and it's finally  hitting me that I'm now living in Savannah. I was petting Turtle this afternoon, thinking that I needed to take her to the hot veterinarian and realized that I would no longer be seeing him (or the pictures of his five sons and wife) anymore.

And then I got my first "regular" Friday email from Ashley (who likely never reads this blog) updating me on all the fun that I've been missing at work and stories from Lexington.

Having unpacked and finally having a moment to breath... it means that I actually have a moment to breath and think that I've made such a huge change in my life. I'm living in a new city where I know no one. OK, that's not exactly true. I know four people, one kid, and one dog. All in my apartment complex.

So  there's really nothing I can do now but enjoy it. I have two days to relax and then on Monday I drive up to Charleston to check in at the Mother Ship. Tuesday is my first day at my new work with my new coworkers.

If you hear a little fear, sadness, and nervousness in this blog, then you're astute. I guess you can say that it's normal considering that I've up and moved myself to a new city where I know no one.

Only... my parents arrive next week! They'll be in Hilton Head for two months vacationing - planned a year before I even knew that there was a job opening here in Savannah.

Running Around Savannah

I feel like the last week has been nothing but running around - first packing everything up and moving to Savannah and the past couple days here in Savannah. I drove to Savannah on Saturday and it was a relatively easy drive. It took Zoe (dog) 2 hours to relax enough to lie down as she's just a nervous nelly. But Turtle (cat) was pretty laid back.

Sunday was one of the most boring days I have ever experienced. I headed to the beach pretty early thinking I may have some trouble finding a parking place. I bought myself a small beach chair and a bogey board. Yes, I'm 5 years old. However, I'm the 5 year-old who is enjoying herself in the ocean everyday. I'm unabashedly being a kid about this!!

After 4 hours, my skin was beginning to burn so I headed home around 1:00 pm. And I had NOTHING to do. I've read about 5 books in the past week and finished 2 seasons of Gilmore Girls. So I headed on out to beautiful downtown Savannah. It was raining a bit but still checked out a few squares and a knitting store. Then headed to another knitting store where I met my new best friends: Glenda and Linda (?) - I'm so bad with names! They were super nice and their store was perfect! I have found my knitting home!

Monday was crazy busy... the ReloCubes showed up at 9:30, the mover (note the singular despite the fact that I paid for 2) came at 10:45, the washer and dryer were delivered at 12:15 and the cable guy set up my internet and TV at 2:45. I spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking. I'm pretty much done with the kitchen and living room. But I still have soooo much more to do. Thus the procrastination.

Today I felt like a chicken with my head cut off. I headed to the DMV for a new Driver's License and the tag agency for a new license plate. I found out I was missing a whole bunch of documents for the license. And that I was missing my car registration. As in, I don't have it in my car. As in, what the hell?? So I came home, printed off a form, went to the bank to have it notarized, and sent if off to the Fayette County clerk's office so that I can get that registration in the next couple of weeks. I returned to the DMV office with all my documents... only to find out that I was missing my Social Security Card. I headed to the Social Security Administration office to find that their line was even longer than the DMV. So I headed to Office Depot to see if I couldn't print off some documents to make the DMV happen. Nope, just didn't work out. And I just wasn't willing to make another trip home.

Instead, I went shopping! I got my hair cut, found a new sofa (and a new friend, Nick, who's going to get me 25% off my new sofa!), picked up some new things for my apartment, and made a new friend at the liquor store. It just so happened that he was needing a new Driver's License as well. So I whipped out my DMV requirements check list and had a little chat with him. I also got my parking pass for the beach - non-stop bathing, bogey boarding, and pestering the seagulls!!!

People in Savannah are amazingly friendly. My neighbor, Jerry, was the first to come visit. He's a veteran from the National Guard (although was active duty for 6 years.) He goes to the VA in Charleston to see his therapist. Then Peggy came to introduce herself. She's been living here for 2 years and has two happy (but sweet!) pups who had a field day barking at Zoe at 6 am. And then there's Mary who stopped me in the driveway to ask for my boxes and gave me her card. Everyone says hello when they walk by you - even in the city!!

Now I'm procrastinating by writing this blog. Tomorrow will come soon enough. DMV will be my first stop and then I'll be back to set up my new IKEA furniture and put away the rest of my things.

Thanks for reading and don't feel shy about leaving a comment!! Just saying...

A Great Sendoff from Lexington

The past week has been really focused on packing up and leaving Lexington. As I write this morning, I'm sitting in a very empty office - the diplomas on the walls are gone, the books packed up, and all personal items have disappeared into moving boxes. The only thing that remains is a small rug which I'm tempted to just leave behind...

Last Friday, my co-workers took me out to my favorite Italian restaurants - Belle Notte - the site of many work-related celebrations. And it was a great dinner. Between the wonderful glasses of Chateau Saint Michelle Riesling (yummy!), the tasty cake you see below, goodbye gifts, and a wonderful presentation on how Savannah is just not as great as Lexington. It was a clever attempt at reminding me and try and convince me to stay in Lexington. It did give me some second thoughts...again...

It tasted as good as it looked!

But alas, the plans are in place and changing my mind is very difficult at this point.

Saturday was spent packing. Oh, how I hate packing. I don't mind unpacking - watching my apartment take on a personality is so much fun - but seeing all of my personal items disappear... it's just sad. My apartment is just sad. And it is amazing how many muscles that are utilized in packing that never get used otherwise. I could barely move Saturday night. I had only one night for recovery as the slushy ride was planned the next day.

Slushy Ride, you ask? As it really does deserve capitals. Yes, the Slushy Ride. It's a bike ride that starts at our coach's home and goes out to Boyd's Orchard, around a 25 mile bike ride in all. I met the Team in Training crew near my home (cutting down the mileage a little) and headed out to Boyd's where they have... wait for it... slushies!!! Their peach slushy is the best thing for recovery from the hilly ride out there.

Boyd's orchard with the TNT crew

While I was huffing and puffing my way up and down the hills of Kentucky, there was a lot of nostalgia. I was thinking about how the beauty of the countryside of Kentucky, the hills which I learned to love, and the runs that I conquered along the route. I'm really going to miss this place.

Coming to Kentucky, I was finishing up my last year of school (internship) and beginning to look forward towards my career. Now, six years later, my career is strong and going well and I have a life outside of school. I have had so much support from the wonderful people at work and the great friends I've made through Team in Training. I have grown so much.

So the next chapter of my life begins soon. My apartment will be packed into the ReloCubes this evening. Zoe (dog,) Turtle (cat,) and I will be heading down to Savannah on Saturday to move into our new apartment. I'll be 15 minutes from the beach and 15 minutes from downtown Savannah. I have a second bedroom which I hope will be well utilized by all the friends I've made in Lexington. And all you old friends... yeah, you're invited, too!!