A Week of Firsts

This week has been a week of firsts. Primarily, it is my first time living by myself, first time in my own house, first "adult" job... it is, to say the least, overwhelming in its wonderful-ness. There is something eerie about living alone in a house by yourself, especially the first night. Not knowing the noises or the way the light filters through the windows can put a person ill at ease. It also does not help that I have had a perpetual fear of coming home and finding someone in my house/apartment who proceeds to rape/attack/kill me. Ridiculous, I know, but for someone who has lived with 4-5 other people all her life, it is quite a relevant and realistic fear. It did not help that the first night I was home (Monday), there was a large rainstorm with rolling thunder. Every clap of thunder or rumble afterwards caused me to jump and scan the room nervously, expecting danger to jump out of my closet or from the next room. 


I suppose, to help with visualization, I should describe my house since no one I know has actually been there. It's a rustic white, one-story ranch house with a small front porch shaded by a tree (breed of which I do not know). The front door, situated on the right, leads into a living room which features a very 1970's style brown carpet that must be a cousin of the ever popular shag carpet. To the left is my dining room, currently featuring a card table and two fold out chairs. Through an archway is my kitchen, one of the best rooms of the house. I have lamented wood floors (you know... fake), a brand new electric stove, and cute wooden cupboards lining the walls. Straight through the kitchen is my laundry room, complete with washer and dryer. Through a door on the right wall of the kitchen is my study. The carpet is a mottled mix of orange, green, and tan (again, very 1970's), and there's a wonderful shelving unit on one wall which now houses pictures and souvenirs from my travels. If you turn immediately right, you run into my bathroom which has a girl's dream: a wall of shelves and cubbies for storage. Finally, through another door, is my bedroom which I have yet to sleep in. It currently is home to my shoes and clothes as I am comfortable on the convertible couch in the living room (which is connected by a door to the bedroom). So, in essence, my house is a rectangle. It's relatively small, but I love it and feel comfortable there. 


 The school I will be teaching at is still in its final construction stages, and for the last 4 days the teachers have been barred from the building because the fire marshall has yet to approve it. So, my room remains barren and bland, screaming out for color and wall decorations. I hear its cries, but I am powerless to help. Instead of moving in, the district has kept us busy with random (and sometimes pointless) morning meetings that inevitably end early and leave me with hours and hours of free time. So far said free time has been spent watching 6 movies, writing classroom expectations, and creating "Ms. McLinden's Top Ten Reasons for Not Allowing Cell Phones in Class" list. I am a fan of #4, which reads: "Unless monkeys are taking over or aliens are invading, there is no emergency so massive that it cannot wait 50 min. And I assure you, if such an emergency occurs, I will know before you." Most of the other reasons are just as ridiculous, but it helps to break the ice.