Wednesday, April 22, 2009

11211

Starting on May 1st, 2009, that is my new zip code.

It may not look like much, but that is soon to be our backyard. 
Summer BBQs, anyone? You're invited!

I knew it. I knew something good was around the corner. Yesterday, when my roommate called me to say that the landlord of the very first apartment we fell in love with in Brooklyn had decided to "go with her heart" and offer it to us, I was both ecstatic and surprised. When I wrote my last (Debbie Downer) entry, I was pretty much broken by this whole apartment hunt animal. But it seems as if my abusive boyfriend (Brooklyn) decided it was time to enter the honeymoon stage and show up at my doorstep with flowers and candy. The wait is over. On May 1st, BiddyLuddy and I will be taking the bottle of champagne I got for my 21st birthday to our empty apartment to pop the cork and celebrate the end of an era - the end of living at home. For good.

Mind you, this fact only dawned on me today, after the lease had been signed. I called my grandparents to tell them about the apartment, and of course my Grandpa asked me, "When are you coming home next?" And I realized... Oh My God. I don't know. I DON'T KNOW. I'm not? I mean, I AM coming home for one of my best friend's graduation party, and I know I'll go home during the whole moving process. But I won't be living at home anymore. I'm a real grown-up. It is terrifying. 

It is overwhelmingly exciting. 

I was reading a Time magazine the other day (swiped from the Journalism department) when I came across an interview with Michael J. Fox. A reader asked him about how his diagnosis with Parkinson's Disease had affected his beliefs about life, death, and spirituality. He said that it's a wake-up call, but he also said, "I think that's a good thing for us to get out of the way - the earliest you can responsibly deal with the fact that this isn't a dress rehearsal." And by "this" he obviously means life. I don't know why I found this so poignant. Maybe it's because Michael J. Fox has been handed some really tough things to deal with in his life, or maybe it's because I always had a huge, inappropriate crush on Marty McFly in his Calvins. Either way, I feel like I've been really living this past year... no dress rehearsals, only closing night performances. Hopefully that makes sense to the people who read my blog besides my fellow musical theater aficionados.

I never want to sleepwalk through life, and I never want to feel numb. I want to feel each and every thing I get the opportunity to experience. This past year, I've learned that not everything feels so good or always turns out for the best. But it's all a solid reminder that I'm breathing and living and lucky enough to be here.

And all of this because 11211 is my future neighborhood. I can now hold up my fingers - the ones I use to represent the things I need to make this summer (and my life) even better - and put one down. 11211, you were well worth the distress and the worry.

Oh, and by the way, I'm going to have a kick ass housewarming get-together. And BiddyLuddy and I are totally going to get a kiddie pool for the hot New York summer. And put ice in it. Sweet!

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