Sunny basement

I found it!  I found my new home!

I had been focused on the roommate idea and hadn't even considered the basement apartment angle for the most part.  Mostly because private landlord situations kinda freak me out.  Not the same accountablity of a corporate managed apartment building.  BUT, I've found something even more rare then a perfect roommate set-up!  A basement apartment with landlords I know, and are well known and trusted by lots of people I know well and trust!  No worries about shady dealings or safety issues.

I will be in a magical location that is both inside the beltway, walkable metro stop AND 2.5 miles to work!  This should extend my life expectancy.

I will have a nice airy newly renovated studio space with a LOT of windows.  Access to the family washer and dryer.  My own entrance.  A wall of built-in bookcases that I dreamed about as a child (I had nerdy dreams.)  And I'll be tucking away a nice amount of savings over the sky high not-quite-Ballston rent.

So.....who wants to help me move MLK weekend?  ;-)

Forward motion by a path I didn't expect

If you live here in the DC area, you already know this.  But if not, let me give you a little background first.  Rent in North Arlington is about triple rent in Palm Bay.  Rent out in the 'burbs is still more than double.  And you probably don't get a patio or a pool like you would back home either.  While we get paid more here, I wouldn't exactly call it triple.

I had a studio for a little bit when I first moved to Arlington and then upgraded to a normal 1-bedroom.  I like living alone.  I've done it for 8 and half years now.  Kinda makes up for not having my own bedroom until I was 12 and sharing a bathroom with too many boys until I was 20.  2011 is the year to change that.  I'll still have my own bedroom and won't share a bathroom with boys, but it's time to join the DC roommate culture.

I've thought and prayed for more that a year about my long-term goals and how to make sure I'm planning for the future.  My career + my rent = no savings or equity.  Change careers?  Go back to school?  It would be smart, but it's just not for me right now.  Move somewhere where rent is more reasonable?  Like to the burbs and commute?  Too stressful and isolating.  To another town entirely?  Thought, prayed, visited, no go.  DC for me for now.  Roommates?  Fought the idea for a long while.  But then, with a realization that God loves me and desires good things for me, it didn't seem all that bad.

So here's the deal.  I'm currently in a month-to-month rental agreement.  All I need to do is give 30 days notice and I'm gone.  I've love to live with one or two girls who love Jesus and keeping the kitchen clean.  And who live in Virginia inside the Beltway.  I have my ideas about neighborhood preferences, but I'm going to see what God has up His sleeve first.  I'm not in a hurry.  I want to find the right fit.  Pray for me and tell your friends!

*Oh, I did have a roommate my last year in FL, so I have a reference if anyone wants one.

change is a brewin'.....

I wonder who coined the phrase "God works in mysterious ways"?  Because really, they hit the nail on the head.  Things are churning around in my heart and head.  Change seems to be coming up.  Not change that would really make a big impact on anyone around me, but personally could be a huge change.

Let's see what the next weeks bring......

A random thought about dating in the church

So much I could say.  So much I could overshare.  So many specks of dust I could pick at while ignoring the plank sticking out of my eye socket.  So I'll highlight one particular plank and let you draw your own conclusions.

In my experience, women in the church, especially those of us who grew up there, are not very good at flirting.  We are often described as cold and unapproachable.  It's not because we ARE cold, it's because the idea of being flirtatious seems taboo.  Of course, for the most part we don't want to be labeled a flirt.  But given our rep, we seem to be drawing the line WAY too conservatively.

I have a dry and sarcastic wit.  When I'm comfortable, I'm funny and can tease.  At church, I often work behind the coffee counter keeping cream and sugar filled while greeting people as they arrive.  Sometimes I'm more "on" than others.  Sometimes I worry that some funny witty convo might be seen as flirting.  Especially when I'm taking to a new male only to have his wife suddenly appear and snuggle up to him.  Mostly I'm just doing my job.  Sometimes I'll admit I'm trying to get a look at that ring finger.  (It would be SOOOO much easier if wedding rings were worn in the nose or eyebrow.  Not that I'm a fan of that look, but still.)

What is flirting really?  How is it different from being warm and caring/funny?  If you accidentally flirt with a married man do you need to repent?  CAN you accidentally flirt?  Is it simply a specific set of outward actions or is it defined in it's motive?

Another plank in my eye: I over-analyze anything and everything.