Nomad

(I know I've posted about all my moves on a blog before, but I can't recall if it was this one, and well, I'm going to do it again. I am not in my normal office today. I am in a smaller office about an hour away and I'm bored)

Christmas 2007, my two best friends from college and I went to Galveston for Dickens on the Strand. We had our palms read. The palm reader told me that I was going to have a baby boy (true) within the next year (I was about six weeks pregnant at the time) and she asked if I was homeless. No, not because I looked like a homeless person, but because my palm indicated that I was not settled, that I was wandering. Now, it cost like $15 (ah, the money I could spend on frivolities before having a kid!), so it was a stupid question. But, not totally off the mark. I have moved around so many times in the past 8 years that I've lost count.

Let's start from the beginning:

Move #1 (2002)-During the second semester of my senior year in high school my parents decided to stop renting out our rent house. They said I could live in it since my college was 30 miles away and I was going to commute. Being the goodgirl that I was my parents had no qualms about me moving in before graduation.

Move #2 (2002)-I got a full scholarship! I got to live on campus. I moved into a "small house" dorm for Honors students. My first year in the dorm was unforgettable. So. Much. Fun. My roommate was off the reservation, but she dropped out in October. My next roommate became my best friend (Laurie).

Move #3 (2003)-For summer school we had to move into different dorms. These were two rooms with a kitchenette. Very cool and a huge step up. We lived there two months.

Move #4 (2003)-We moved back into our small house. We had our original room back too. The second year in the small house wasn't as fun. The friends we had made moved out and there were a bunch of new, loud freshman. We slept a lot that year. Some good things happened in that house though. This would be the year I met my husband, chose the major I stuck with, got the best GPA out of all my time in college (expcept summer, which with only two classes a session doesn't count, lol), and it was probably the closest Laurie and I ever were.

Move #5 (2004)-Laurie and I were moving on up. That summer we moved into on campus apartments. They were so much nicer. But, you know, sharing a room and sharing an apartment are two different things. It was a big change. Every night was no longer like a sleepover. We were still best friends, but we grew apart a little that year.

Move #6 (2005)-I moved out of the on campus apartment and into a real apartment with a new friend. Laurie wasn't sure if she'd graduating in December or May. I couldn't get a real apartment with her not knowing if she'd be there to pay rent after December. I was starting Grad School, so I decided to share an apartment with Kristen. We had met in class the prior August and had become fast friends. We got along great, until we lived together. She didn't like my boyfriend (now husband) and there were a ton of other issues. It ruined our friendship.

Move #7 (2005)-After just one month with Kristen I found someone to take over my lease. I moved in with Laurie. She was living in a rent house with a friend. I didn't spend a lot of time there. Most of the time I was at my boyfriend's house. Which is good. The other girl kind of went off the deep end that year. Lots of drunkenness, nakedness, crazy stuff.

Move #8 (2006)- For our last semester (yes, Laurie was there until May) we moved into an apartment. It was nice and good way to end my time in college. We both had our dogs there and we had a lot of fun. We'd grown up and apart, but we were still best friends.

Move #9 (2006)- After graduation my husband and I moved into our first apartment together. We moved in June and married in December. It was a tiny one-bedroom. What I wouldn't get to have rent that low again.

Move #10 (2007)- One year in the one-bedroom was all we could handle. We started talking babies and moved into a two bedroom in the same complex. A lot of changes went on in this apartment and I think the end result is that we both grew up a lot.

Move #11 (2008)- At the end of our year in the two-bedroom the baby was due in three months and I had a new job. We were moving to be closer to family, to have more help with this baby. Hands down this was the best decision for us. We moved into our current apartment.

Move #12 (2009)-Only 11 days way. Into our HOUSE. I can not wait. I'll be settled; a nomad no more.