On September

Hello, hello, hello!

Oh, it feels so good to be back online. My time away from the internet was lovely, but I really missed this space. What these breaks really solidify for me, more than anything else, is how much I love this little blog of mine. I missed writing and connecting. I missed brainstorming about blog ideas. I missed opening up and speaking my truth. I’m so excited to dive back into blogging.

I didn’t miss social media as much as blogging. I never do, really. Social media is so noisy and I loved how much quieter my mind was without it. I only really missed social media when I was waiting in line for coffee or on a walk with Dutch. Those little moments of downtime when I just wanted to occupy my mind with something brainless. It’s really rather strange to be waiting for something and just… sit there while you wait. Quietly. Without opening up a social media app.

In any event, the break was good for me and I am so, so happy to be back. I have so many blog post ideas running through my head and I’m excited to get back to writing.

So, let’s talk about September and what I’ve been up to:

Hurricane Hermine

In the days leading up to moving weekend, a tropical storm started brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. The Tampa Bay Area wasn’t supposed to get hit, but we were predicted to get tons of rainfall due to the outer bands. The tropical storm soon developed into a Category 1 hurricane and I have to believe whomever named this hurricane has beef with Harry Potter. But whatever. My work closed early on the Thursday before my move, as well as closed completely on Friday, as a safety precaution. Thankfully, we didn’t get too much rainfall, for which I am very grateful.

A seamless move

I am happy to report that my move to my new apartment was as seamless as it could be! I did my moving in bits and pieces. I got my keys on a Friday and then moved the majority of my boxes on Saturday and my furniture on Sunday. (Well, my brother moved in my furniture. I just rented the U-Haul and tried to stay out of his way.) It was a physically demanding move due to all the back and forth of moving boxes into my car from my second-floor apartment, and I am so glad it’s over. I think I’ll stay put for three years at least, just because I hate the process of moving.

An easy transition

It was well documented that I was worried about how I would handle the transition to living alone, emotionally. Change, especially physical change, is really super duper hard on me. When I moved into the dorms as a freshman in college, I was severely homesick for the entire nine months I lived on campus, so much so that I went home every weekend. I also struggled pretty awfully last year when I moved in with Roomie. So, I figured I would also have a hard time with this move and prepared myself for that as much as I could. Well, for reasons I still don’t understand, aside from a rough first night in the apartment, I transitioned pretty smoothly. By my second night, I was feeling pretty good and didn’t have any feelings of anxiety or fear about my new living situation. Mostly, I was just excited about the fact that I get to have my own space and reap all the benefits of living alone.

Cutting cable

I love TV. A lot. My old roommate was actually impressed at how full I could get our DVR during the busy TV season. But when I moved, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to have cable and a DVR because it’s just too expensive for one person. (I was quoted around $160 for cable/DVR/Internet, yikes.) Instead, I opted for an Internet-only package and told myself I would have to learn to live without cable. And truthfully, it’s been pretty easy to live without it! I have Netflix and have toyed with the idea of adding on Hulu Plus or Amazon Prime (but haven’t felt the need for either just yet). I have a digital antenna so I can watch broadcast channels as needed. And it just feels good to cut the cable cord. I used to feel so much guilt if I wasn’t caught up on certain shows and I’ve never been one to sit down and binge on TV all day. It feels good to not have my full DVR mocking me every time I turn on my TV.

All of the birthdays

September is a month that is filled with birthdays. My brother turned 30 and it’s just weird that we are in this stage of life now. Solidly adults. He’s got a wife and two kids; I’ve got a dog. We are definitely not kids anymore, though we still like to bicker like we are. 🙂 My nephew turned 8 and that’s also weird. He’s solidly a kid now. He’s reading and writing and can even play games like Trivial Pursuit (the kid’s version, of course). It’s wild. My stepdad and a few of my friends also celebrated birthdays, so it was quite the month!

Odds and ends

Other happenings in September: I read a ton of books, 12 in total, most of which were romance. I put in a lot of hours freelancing, finishing up some website content for two clients and signing on a brand-new client for regular monthly content. I decided to embrace a bold bang cut and I go back and forth on whether or not I love it immensely or just completely hate it. And Dutch is doing well. He loves his new home, most especially because he has so much grass to sniff and jump around in.

September was good to me, it was so good to me. I thought the transition to living alone would be hard, but it’s been exactly the opposite. If anything, it’s showed me how ready I was for this next phase of my life and how much I love being alone. It’s truly a sensational feeling.

Catch me up on YOUR lives! What’s been going on?