…with an apartment. On Saturday I woke up at 7:30 a.m. — which, as anyone who knows my sleep patterns will tell you, is VERY out of character for me. I usually sleep until noon on the weekends, but apartment hunting day for me is like Christmas morning for a 5 year-old. I mean, I often go to real estate web sites and look at floor plans just for fun. So I was really, really excited about this.

And as it turns out, I fell in love with the 2nd apartment that I looked at. It’s in Queen Anne, which is my favorite neighborhood near downtown Seattle. It’s full of cool little shops & restaurants, and it’s a very short walk from the Space Needle and Seattle Center. It also happens to be less than a mile from where I’ll be working, so it looks like I’ll be walking to work, which I’m excited about (lord knows I need the exercise). I got an amazing rent special for this place, otherwise there’s no way I would’ve been able to afford it. They included parking for free, which would typically run about $100/month in that neighborhood. And get this: I have my own little private deck, which faces onto a private courtyard (no street traffic noise to worry about), and it has a view of Puget Sound & the Olympic mountains. I’ll be able to watch the fireworks on the 4th of July from my living room. And it has a full-size washer & dryer. Ahhhhh… I’m freaking out, I’m so happy.

After I saw this place, I looked at a couple more just because I had appointments to see them, but my heart was set on the Queen Anne apartment. I went back that afternoon and signed the lease. I get the keys next Saturday, so I can start moving stuff in, and then my actual moving day (meaning the day I get real, honest-to-God movers to haul all of my heavy stuff, and not just my friends who I can bribe with pizza & beer) will be on Saturday, April 17th. I start the new job on Monday the 19th, so I’m timing it just right so I won’t have to take the bus from the eastside to downtown. Not that the bus system around here is bad, it’s actually quite nice, I just don’t want to have to deal with the long commute time.

So last night, Krissy & I had originally planned to go out to celebrate the new-new job, but I was inspired by my recent lease-signing, so instead she came over & helped me clean junk out of my apartment. I had so much crap from my last 2 moves that just got shoved into closets in boxes & has never been unpacked. I figure that if I haven’t needed it in 3 years, odds are pretty good that I never will, and it’s safe to chuck it. But it was good to have Krissy there, since she’s a bit more objective than me & doesn’t have any sentimental attachment to my stuff like I do. Sample conversation:

Me: But my A+ certification book, I can’t throw that away.
Krissy: Are you even A+ certified?
Me: No, I could never finish the book because it put me to sleep. But I might do it someday!
Krissy: And have you ever referenced this book for anything related to your job?
Me: Well, no….
Krissy: TRASH!!
Me: (sigh in resignation and toss it in the hefty bag)

I got better about it after a while, although I have to say that every time we made a trip to the dumpster, I could feel a flutter of a panic attack as soon as we tossed everything in there. I just need to adopt more of a Zen Buddhist mindset: it’s all just “stuff” and I can live without it. And if I can’t, it’s all replaceable.

It has also come to my attention that I am a food hoarder. We took out 2 full hefty bags that was just stuff from the pantry & freezer. I found a can of mandarin oranges that were a generic grocery store brand name… Only they were the grocery store chain in Massachusetts, and I haven’t lived there since 2001. Ick. Time to go.

Oh, one more side note that I found rather amusing: I asked all of my guy friends if they had any workman’s gloves that I could borrow, because I have to clean out my garage, and I know it’s full of cobwebs & dead bugs. I can’t deal with the idea of touching that stuff with my bare hands, but I think I’d be ok with gloves. And wouldn’t you know it, NONE of the guys I know had gloves. Then I asked Krissy. She showed up at my house last night with 2 pairs, one for me & one for her. Awesome. Girls kick ass.