Apartment Hunting

Apartment hunting ... that's what I've been up to lately!  It's so exhausting.  I will find tons of apartments but there is always something wrong with them: too expensive, wrong location, bed bugs, no balcony, sketchy area.  The ones that don't have those problems never have any vacancies either.

We did end up finding a couple places to see last week but none of them worked out.  We have three more appointments for places to see tomorrow.  WISH ME LUCK!

I do like my place here but I am excited for a real apartment.  As long as we find something, I will be moving in May - yay!  A month and a half ... that's not really too far away eh!

On a side note ... it is finally spring?!?  Already??  I didn't even wear a coat outside today.  Two days ago, I was going all out, in a winter coat, mittens, earmuffs, and a scarf!  Hah!

I've Been Busy

I've been the WORST about blogging for the past little while.  I've had some good things happen though recently.  I went through a REALLY tough time with money issues and house issues and legal issues (that weren't my fault but someone stole money from me).

BUT although it isn't all over ... I'm getting back on my feet!

I have a "real" job now.  It's part time BUT it will make enough for rent, groceries, the necessities.  My other job, which varies from month to month, will be the bonuses.  So I think it's pretty good.

I've been spending a lot of time with my boyfriend and our friends.  I have some amazing friends who I have really bonded with lately and I'm very excited about that.  I have never had really good friends but seems like I have some now which is great.

I also really love my new place.  I love having my own place.  It's a basement apartment and it's so cute.  It's nice to be able to have friends over and family over and it's all good!  My landlord lives right above me, in the actual house, which is nice because then it's always looked after and stuff.

My hamster is also super adorable!  For sure!

And I've been trying to eat really healthy.  My boyfriend has been teaching me how to use spices in cooking (I've always hated them and I don't know why).  We have made some delicious meals recently!  So amazing!  I've also started eating tofu and I'm slowly going vegetarian lol.  I have eliminated red meat from my diet (grrr I love burgers!) but I think it's for the better!  I still eat chicken and stuff like that but we are getting there!  Honestly part of it is that I have some chicken left in my freezer and I don't like things going to waste.  Really :p.

So I'm going to try and write some more blogs of substance soon! :P  Hah!  I do have some ideas, all written down, but I need to actually write them!

Hope you have all been having a great September! :)

House Hunting

I've been "house hunting" for some time now.  If you don't know what I mean by house hunting, I'm just looking for a room in a house/apartment to stay in for the summer.  I've been trying to get a summer sublet so that it is less expensive for me.  House hunting is just so frustrating though!  I visit so many houses and none of them are what I want.

Of course, I have a lot of criteria such as

• 400 - 550/month
• utilities included
• enough washrooms (one washroom for four people is just not enough)
• close to a bus stop
• has a full kitchen (stove, fridge, microwave, etc.)
• unfurnished
• nice location (I do not need to live in a sketchy part of town)

So I have found a decent place.  It comes furnished which really isn't that big of a deal.  One of the things I can do without.  The other criteria it doesn't meet is that it's more expensive.  It is 580/month which is more than my limits.  It does come all inclusive though (including Internet).  It is in a pretty decent place of town.  Not the best part, but certainly not the worst.  It doesn't have a living room either.  There are some good things though!  It has a balcony, which is pretty awesome.  It substitutes for a living room (almost) in the summer anyway.  It also has one room for the shower and another for the toilet which I think is pretty cool.  Oh, and it comes with a cat!  I get to look after the cat.  I got a rent reduction (from 630 to 580 per month) because I'm looking after a cat.  The awesome thing is that I was thinking about getting a cat anyway.  Now I get to look after a cat and not have to pay for food, littler, etc.  Bonus!!  And it's downtown which is pretty convenient.

It was the first place I visited.  When I first got there, the outside looked pretty sketchy.  But the inside is nice.  And the room is very large, especially for a place downtown.  The kitchen isn't too big but there are only three of us and it has counter space and whatnot so it should be fine.  And the balcony looked fun.

I am planning to sign this lease.  I was going to spend another weekend looking at houses but it's just gotten to be too much for me!  I mean, I'm at school full time and I work and going house hunting on weekends is not what I want to do.  I saw a number of other houses that were all a lot worse.  (Well, one was a bit nicer but he needed me to move in now instead of at the beginning of May, which didn't work out.)

I'm pretty happy with my choice.  I think it will be a really great place to stay over the summer.  Okay, now I'm just excited!!

Graduating From College

Right now, I'm at the stage where I'm only three months away from graduating from college. It is a very intimidating experience. Right now, I'm just thinking "what am I going to do?" I'm realizing the expenses of graduating. Right now, I'll be honest, my parents are paying for my rent. It is really nice to save that $400/month. Right now, I really only have to pay for my groceries, bus pass, tuition, books, Internet, and cell phone. Those are the main things. It really isn't that expensive when you take rent out of it. But I have a few part time jobs (yes, multiple ones!) and I'm making it through.

I am calculating how much I expect to make at a future job and the amount is just barely greater than my expenses. I cannot believe the expenses that I'm going to have! I know my rent will increase (because I plan to live in an actual apartment instead of renting a house with roommates). But besides that, how much m ore expensive will it really be?

I was actually thinking about getting a pet. A pet cat, to be more precise. I'm realizing, with the amount that I am making, that I will likely not be able to afford a cat unfortunately. Perhaps I'll be able to work up to it. I may stick with a pet fish (I already kind of have one) because they are nice to have. There are lots of other pets available though ... maybe a hamster? I used to have a hamster. That could be nice. They are not as expensive as cats!

It should be nice not to have to save up for tuition and books though. That can get fairly costly (it was over $3,000 per year for the past two years). Then books are about $100 per class ... on term, I had nine classes. The books added up!

There is just so much to deal with once I graduate. Unfortunately, my parents aren't being supportive. They don't really want me to follow my dreams. I think they just want me to stick with something basic and boring. They also expect me to earn $20/hour immediately after graduating which I really don't think will happen (okay, I guarantee it!). Perhaps they just don't understand the market out there right now. They haven't done the research on jobs ... I'm the person who has!

Anyway, I am thinking a lot about my future. I just get so nervous about it! But in three months, I will officially be a college graduate. Scary, especially since I'm only 20. Although I am looking forward to it. I might as well start working and gaining experience at this age anyway. And who knows what will happen!

Welcome, September!

It's the start of a new month.  I have mixed feelings on this.  You can take it as a new start or you can take it as the end of something great.  It often depends on how your previous month was.

My August was exciting.  I was working, in school, and enjoying time with friends and family.  It was a very busy month for me.  But there are lots of things to be excited about for September.  I am excited about starting school and moving into my new house up at college.  I'm looking forward to having freedom again (not living with my parents).  I'm also looking forward to seeing more of my friends.  I'm still not sure whether or not I'm excited about it or not.

I think the transition from August to September is one of the biggest ones.  Many people start school in September.  It's also the start of autumn and it means no more summer.  Often it is when people have to start getting serious and back to reality.

What are you looking forward to in September?