Lennox. Me. & Apartment C.

002.

Move-In Day was the epitome of all things horrendous, painful, and wrong with humanity. So, to start, I drove to campus. That was not a big deal. Over the past week, I had gone shopping and picked up things that I needed. The day I moved in, I packed up my SUV, said goodbye to my parents-- along with Delia and Sebastian who came over early to see me off--, grabbed a cup of coffee since it was six o'clock in the morning and I was on my way. The drive was eight about eight hours which sounds painful, but was actually the most pleasant part of my day.

Why? You may ask but do try not to get ahead of me. The drive was perfect because I figured out my set! I had been wracking my brain trying to figure it out how I would title and structure my shows but the drive helped me work out some the kinks and I resolved that the series would be titled "Welcome to my Insanity." Each set would be different but one way or another it would tie into the overall theme and be about my life and my experiences either in the past or there at the university.

So, anyway, I was driving down the highway to return to school and everything was fine until I pulled onto the street in front of the apartment that I would be living in for the next year. I parked my car and picked up a box so my first trip into the apartment would not be a blank one. The university's Department of Residential Life sent me a key to the apartment over the summer so with my box in hand, I stroll up the steps to the apartment complex. There are bricks on the outside and black door. From the street, the place actually looked more like a townhome. I was in the first apartment on the left, Apartment C, and I put my key in the lock, bracing myself for what was to come.

I opened the door and found myself walking into a fortress of disgusting. Obviously, boys were the last tenants of this place and they hadn't managed to move all of their stuff out. They place reeked of sweat, beer, and honestly-- boy. There was a disgusting black, leather couch in the living room to my right which looked as if it were covered with STDs and girls' insecurities. There were two black, leather ottomans in front of the couch which were placed directly next to them and obviously was a substitute for a table. Once I stepped further in, I saw the kitchen to my left. It didn't look too disastrous but I noticed that there was a box marked "Lennox" on the counter. My roommate was moving in today as well or sometime before me! She must not have known what to do with that horrible furniture that looked like a frat boy's playground. Nonetheless, I turned to my right and proceeded towards what I assumed would lead me to the bedrooms.

And I was on the money! When I got to the hall I realized that from my view in the living room, the walls blocked the doorways to the respective bedrooms. I went to the room on the left, seeing how that door was open, unlike the other, and that room was completely empty. There was carpet in the bedroom unlike the living room and kitchen which had hardwood flooring and tiles, respectively. I put my box down and went to look at my closet. There was no door but it was pretty spacious and a bad attempt to be a walk-in, because it was so cramped, but it was manageable. Next to the closet was a door which then lead to the bathroom. It was a Jack-and-Jill bathroom with two sinks on each side, a bathtub and shower, along with the toilet. I noticed right away that in order to use the bathroom, guests would have to walk through our bedrooms. That was sort of an inconvenience but, hey, so is life.

I walked out of the room which had the faint smell of paint and back outside. Sometime during my perusal, I had dropped my box in the middle of the floor. Nevertheless, I retreated back outside to continue getting my things and, yes, it was indeed a struggle. And yes, it definitely was real. When having a university-owned apartment, you have to bring everything yourself: bed, desk, lamps, rugs, anything else to make your space livable. As a vertically challenged, 125- pound girl who's idea of lifting weights is bringing a quarter pound burger into her face, lifting things such as a deconstructed bed, lamp, and desk (and my heavy, rolled up area rug) is not my forté. Nonetheless, I managed and I got everything out of my car and into the bedroom. I checked the time to find out that it was close to five o'clock and I wanted to check out the club where I would be working before it closed at six. The club still had its summer hours which were really short since no one was on campus thus no one went to the club. The last thing the university wanted to do was pay people to do nothing. I looked up the address and directions to the club on my phone and then took off when I realized it was a fifteen minute walk. The club was close to campus but not quite on campus. My apartment was fifteen minutes northeast away from it while campus was fifteen minutes northwest from my place. The club and campus where about eight-ten minutes apart however.