After a hurricane comes a rainbow.

Well it sure has been a while, hasn't it? Where to start? So much as happened since the last time I posted on here. No, really. SO MUCH. Warning*** This might turn into one of my long rants and be a drawn out posts. Maybe not. Maybe I'll get bored half way through and just quit. But that's not really me, now is it? And clearly if you're taking the time to read this it is probably because you know me pretty well. Or not. = )

Let's just start at the very beginning. After all it is a very good place to start. (And yes, I do hope you have the Sound of Music ringing in your ears.) Sunday, June 5, I woke up like any other day. Well if you've read my earlier posts you know all about my little bug problem. The answer to your question, is yes. The bugs were back. Not even four weeks later, and the bugs were back. Let's just say I didn't wake up on the right side of the bed that morning. I had pretty much had it. Went to church (so glad I had to be there to teach Sunday School cause otherwise I wouldn't have gone and that would have been the opposite of good). As soon as I got back from church I got online and went apartment hunting. Even drove around town to check out a few places from the outside. I made my plan immediately. As soon as I woke up Monday morning I was calling the exterminators to come back, and then going apartment hunting. Made an appointment for the bug killers to come on Wednesday and then went on my search.

Long story short I (by chance) drove by this one building and thought, hmmmm I should go see if they have any open units. Talked to Janet, the manager, and viewed their open one bedroom. 650 Square Feet and ready to move in immediately. As soon as I walked in something just clicked. I don't know how to explain it other than it just felt right. I guess my intuition kicked in. Told Janet I wanted it and then put down a $100 holding deposit.

Can I just say, that I have some FANTASTIC friends here in Salt Lake City. My friend Aubrey found out the bugs were back and offered to let me stay with her family at their house until I got everything worked out. Stayed there from Sunday night until Thursday morning when I was able to move in to the new place. Aubrey also helped me wash ALL of my clothes. She got her parents truck and helped me load up all my clothes and take them to the laundry mat. Washing your entire wardrobe is kind of a daunting task if you have to do it alone. On Thursday she helped me pack up my stuff and then took my mattress and futon cushion to the dump (no way I was gonna keep that stuff after a second infestation!). So much help. My friend George helped me load everything up in the old house and take it the new apartment building. No way I would have gotten the big stuff moved so fast without him. My friend Brandy helped me out a huge amount by letting me borrow her Nissan X-terra for the day. Let me tell you, that car holds a lot! It was way fun to be high up off the ground for once too. = ) I got ALL of my stuff in 3 loads. No WAY that would have happened in the bug. Also a big thanks to my parents for listening to me rant every day and helping me get stuff done.

Haha anyone else find it ironic that I'm having so many bug problems and I drive a VW bug?

The disappointing thing about all of this is that on June 6 (Monday) I was supposed to get in my car and drive to Redlands, CA for the Pokorny Seminar. A week of geeking out with some of the best low brass professionals around. I lost my $650 tuition because I had to cancel last minute. Let me tell you, that hurt. But, in the end I did the right thing. There is no way I could have left for a week with those stupid bugs crawling all over my things. And I guess if you look at it over a span of a few years, $650 isn't THAT much money. The good thing is I told my manager at Buca di Beppo what happened and she really helped me out by letting me go ahead and bump up from host to server! Used that entire week (that I was supposed to be gone) to get my training done.

So now I have a new apartment, with a fantastic kitchen, and plenty of space. Lots of natural light! I'm loving it. The funny thing though, is that I have ZERO furniture. Haha! I've got my futon frame, but no cushion. I've been sleeping on my good and faithful airbed and will be for quite a while. Gotta save up so I can buy some furniture. Big Lots here I come! Also I'm waiting a while to get internet and cable too. It's not like I'm there a lot any way right now. Those things can wait a bit.

I kind of don't mind not having furniture yet though. I'm not gonna lie. I am real freaked out that I brought some of the bugs with me from the other place. You would laugh at me if you opened my freezer cause I've got all these random things in bags just sitting in there. (Freezing your stuff for two weeks is another way to kill the buggies). I'm still finding dead ones in some of my stuff as I go through the boxes, which also doesn't help with the fear. At least if they somehow did follow me there I won't have to worry about them being in any of my stuff, cause I don't have a lot of stuff! Haha! Only time will tell. Until then I'll just keep vacuuming every day or other day. This whole experience has definitely turned me into a clean freak. Not that I wasn't clean before, but I may have gotten a little extreme.

In other news life these days is pretty fantastic. I'm loving serving at Buca. I really am just a huge people person. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories. Even had an Italian table come in the other day and I got to use the little bit of Italian that I know. Va benne! I went and saw X-men First Class the other day. I thought it was so good! Absolutely loved it. Went to a Bees game Thursday night. So so so much fun. I really am starting to meet some amazing people here in the SLC. It is a lot of fun. Every day it feels more and more like home.

Right now I am on my way to Nashville, TN to work at ITF. I'll be gone for a week. The funny thing is that I am a traveler. I stay on the road. A lot. But for some reason, being gone from the SLC for a week seems like forever. I'm sure this week will fly by and in a week I'll have some silly post about how fun the trip was and I can't believe how fast it went by, ya da ya da ya da.

I suppose I should call it quits here. I doubt you made it to the end anyway. ; )

Love.