A week of long days

It's been one of those days for a lot of days now
I need a day where the world can take care of itself
This isn't what I wanted how I thought my life would turn out
And I wonder if it's like this from here on out
"Not Done Yet" - Superchick

No one said being a grown up was this hard, but now I understand when people say "if it's not one thing, it's something else". It really is. Being a recent grad in a recession has something to do with it as well, because we're really just trying to survive. Each gas tank fill up, each electric bill, each trip to the grocery store is full of one question - can I afford this?

And I don't want my graduating class to be accused of being spendthrifts, lazy, or anything like that. I've cut back bar nights, virtually eliminated shopping for non-necessities, and we (gasp!) don't have cable. (Internet is now a luxury item. Ridiculous.)

I subscribe to blogs about saving money, I write down tips about how to save everywhere I go. Yet, to me (and I'm obsessed with savings, obsessed with rainy day accounts), I'm barely staying afloat.

It's scary. Did I grow up too fast?

Sight Unseen

I'm finding out that it's really REALLY hard to find an apartment in a city you've never visited. It leads to falling in love with a place with all the amenities, and then finding out something like this:

(Okay, there IS an image that goes here, but Blogger won't let me do it right now - check back soon)

UPDATE: Day 2 - and Blogger still hates me :-(

Which is kind of conflicting. I don't know much about Dallas, but it doesn't seem like these people can agree on how to rate the place where they actually LIVE. Also, ever the skeptic, I'm not sure that I can trust the positive reviews (may be written by management) or the negative reviews (may be written by management from the place next door). Sigh.

However, I have found a few places I'm feeling good about and I've booked a few appointments. I also found out that there's an IKEA (!!!) right near Dallas, so my furniture needs should be close enough to met. (Thanks for the living room sofa, Mom!)

I also passed my background check today - I guess they decided I wasn't going to rob the museum or something like that. Today also marks one month until graduation (or close enough). I can't believe I'll be leaving college so soon, but I'm really excited to go to Texas!

I might be most excited about doing a weekend at a dude ranch - who wouldn't love that?!