Sara's Big Move--Tuesday

This past Tuesday, August 21st, I moved across the country to Baltimore. All I had with me were two suitcases, one carry on, a backpack, and a box shipped the week before. Leaving was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I guess I didn't realize that moving across the country alone meant that I would have a lot of alone time! Below, I will record some of the more memorable events of this past week.

Tuesday:

The two nights prior to my journey I had a total of about 8 hours sleep, 5 hours one night and 3 the night before my flight. I was exhausted and wasn't feeling well that morning, which certainly didn't help my anxiety. I finally arrived in Baltimore and immediately felt a humidity difference. It definitely brought back memories! I grabbed my carry on and backpack and headed over to the baggage claim. I had to wait about 45 minutes for my bags, and panicked every time it wasn't my bag sliding onto the carosel. One of my biggest fears was that I'd somehow lose the one suitcase that contained ALL of my pants and jeans and I'd have to wear my airplane outfit the entire first week of school.

Once I got my bags, it was time to head over to the Shuttle Express to get to my apartment. Dad had told me to make sure and grab a cart, but as usual, I know better than he does. So instead I put one suitcase in each hand and stacked my carry on on top of the larger suitcase. I had to stop about 10 times during what would have been a quick walk normally. I realized later that I was trying to carry 200 lbs. of luggage (and a pillow) with no help, which was a bad idea.

I finally got to the apartment on the shuttle and signed tons of paperwork before officially taking posession of my apartment. I got an official tour of the building and got information about the amenities offered free to residents including a pool, fitness room, propane grills, and a computer room with internet (where I'm typing this).

This is the link to my apartment's website: http://horizonhouse.net

I called home, wallowed in self pity for a while, and then went to take a shower. I was about to turn on the shower and relax, when I realized that I didn't have the appropriate hardware to hang up my shower curtain. So I called home upset, and upon the advice of my mother, took a bath. Since I'd been sick that morning, I hadn't eaten much, and was starving by 4 or 5 pm local time. I live above a 7-11, so I decided to go and find something that looked edible. I bought a cheap totino's pizza, two apples, two single servings of cereal, and one cheese stick.

I knew I needed my blood sugar up, so I opened some cinnamon toast crunch, and poured milk in it. Just as I poured I realized that I had no silverware. You know how in swimming lessons they have you practice making spoons with your hands instead of knives or forks? I utilized that training and ate my cereal with my hands. Luckily, I happened to pack my cookie sheet in my suitcase so I put my pizza in the (great) gas oven to cook. When the timer rang,I called home upset for the millionth time that day when I realized that my hot pads and spatula were in the same box as my silverware. The box that I'd shipped and that wouldn't be there until Wednesday. I improvised, and used a washcloth to pull the hot pan out of the oven. It's all pretty funny now, but certainly wasn't at the time!

Finally, I fell asleep in the corner on the floor. My fitted sheet was spread out below me with my robe on top of that for minimal padding. My flat sheet and empty duvet cover kept me warm my first two nights.