This is my life.

I'm sitting in the Barnes and Noble in Poughkeepsie drinking a decaf coffee, stealing internet. Well, it's not really stealing if they offer it for free.

The reason I am here instead of camped out on my super-comfy couch is accompanied by a rather long story; here it is.

Daniel and I left Atlanta on June 2nd. We were supposed to leave the 3rd but jumped the gun when we realized it would take us less time to pack than anticipated. We packed everything into our 14' Uhaul, attached my car to the tow, and headed out of the city around 8:30 that night. Of course, because we decided to leave early, there was a torrential downpour that made our journey especially interesting.

Either way, we made it to Knoxville a little after midnight, where we promptly fell asleep.

The next day we had to pack up the rest of my belongings from the condo that I lived in for five years. Fortunately, my brother Jeremy lives there now, so he had already put most of my stuff in boxes and transferred it to multiple storage units. It took three (and at the very end, four) people several hours to move all of the movies, books, furniture, electronics, posters, and other various sundries into the Uhaul. I don't think anyone will ever understand the amount of STUFF that I accumulated during the time I lived in the condo, besides, of course, the people who helped me move. It was insane, and is still a little overwhelming to think about.

Anyway, I met friends for dinner at Naples the night of the 3rd and it was wonderful. 15 people ended up showing up to wish Daniel and I the best of luck. It was a great time. After dinner, we went to bed early.

The next morning, we awoke early to begin our journey back north. I said goodbye to Jeremy and his roommate Sean, and we hit the road towards Virginia. When we made it to Harrisonburg, we stopped for the night.

Again, the next day we got up early to make our way to New York. It took us around 14 hours for the total trip, and driving that long in the Uhaul with my car in tow nearly made me homicidal. The idea that everything I owned was strapped to the back of what sounded like an engine that would barely make it to our destination was, well, terrifying. Alas, we made it.

This is where it gets fun.

When we arrived in Poughkeepsie, we called our landlord, John. He said he would send the Super down right away to give us our keys. I want to explain something to all of you: Poughkeepsie is AWFUL. It is a ghetto in every sense of the word. Most of the businesses have failed, there is rampant crime and the police seem to be more focused on issuing speeding tickets than protecting citizens. Basically, I hate this city. I thought, however, that the apartment that I found for us was at least decent. We quickly discovered that this was not the case. When Justin, the Super, arrived, we were shocked by what we saw in the apartment. There was no refrigerator. There were no light fixtures. There were still ladders and paint cans in the back room from where they started to renovate but never actually finished. Justin was surprised to hear that we were supposed to move in that day, as John had not warned him in advance.

Where the fridge was supposed to be.

Hole in the back yard where the deck was supposed to make an appearance.

The bedroom!

Perfect landscaping.

Needless to say, we left. Angrily. And then we realized we were homeless in one of the worst cities I have ever been in. To make matter worse, one of my good friends had ridden the train all the way up from New York City to help us move into the apartment that we no longer had. My first reaction? Call my Dad. Fortunately, my Dad has this awesome ability to keep his head in situations like this. The first thing he said was, "Well, obviously you need to start looking for a new place to live." He then instructed me to send John an email with specific phrases to include in case he tried to take us to court over canceling the lease on such short notice.

Next step? Call Daniel's former landlord. Kobe said he was an hour away and would call us as soon as he arrived back in the city. While we waited, we took my friend to Kavos and ate delicious gyros.

When Kobe arrived, he showed us three apartments. We finally settled on a nice, airy place on the second floor. We're currently paying $100 more per month than we originally had planned, but I will sacrifice that money any day to live in a place where the landlord cares enough to keep it nice. I love our place.

Kitchen with all new appliances!

View of the living room.

Our super-awesome couch (thanks Nathan!)

Bedroom with all of my old furniture.

Daniel's workspace.

Fortunately, my friend from school, Kara, told us we could stay the night at her house in Poughkeepsie until we could call to get electricity and internet set up. That night was awesome, and her family's hospitality meant the world to us.

The next morning was a different story. We called the electric company, only to find out that it couldn't be turned on until the 10th. I called Time Warner Cable; same story.

It was at that moment we decided to spend a few days with Daniel's family in Binghamton, which is Daniel's home town. There I made macarons for his sister, raspberry cheesecake brownie bars for his mother, and received a bunch of Christmas presents that we missed out on last year. We left this morning.

Found a beautiful ridge on a backroad to Binghamton.

What a perfect state.

When we arrived in Poughkeepsie, we called a friend and he helped us finish up the last of the moving. We now have more stuff in our tiny apartment than will ever fit comfortably, but we're happy. We wish we had electricity so we could at least turn a fan/light/television on, but we'll make it until the morning.

This adventure, as well as all of the other ones we have shared, reinforces my belief that Daniel and I can make it through anything. We have dealt with homelessness, lack of resources, and extensive travel in the past week and we have only been grumpy with each other a few times. That's got to be some sort of miracle, especially because I am a naturally grumpy person.

Anyway, in one week, school starts. I can't believe how chaotic my life is, and how I've just been able to accept it and embrace every challenge that has been thrown my way. I feel like Superwoman, and I can't wait to continue in school with all of the great friends I have made here.

C'est ma vie!