I heart OC

It was in complete amazement that I found myself in the leasing office of an Oak Creek apartment complex yesterday at 10:10 a.m.

With a hope that I've typically had reserved for calorie free german chocolate cake and white zinfandel, I handed over a check for $20 and application, in attempts to convince my new friends that I was the girl to occupy the vacancy.

Oh yeah. And that I had the money to pay for such a thing too.

And just like that, I had abandoned my downtown apartment and all the dreams that Amy Guckeen possessed when she graduated from Marquette in 2007. The girl that had planned to move to Long Island to work for a Catholic weekly and take the Long Island Railroad into the city on weekends, the girl that just HAD to live downtown no matter what the cost, the girl that had Carrie Bradshaw-esque feelings walking downtown at night amidst the city lights (umm...bad judgement by the way), lost.

Replaced with the practical, budget friendly, "I can't stand all the noise and people digging through my trash, and don't get me started on the traffic" coupled Amy.

I may have just made that sound like a bad thing. I didn't intend to. But as I said, more practical.

I didn't quite realize what a big deal moving from a tiny apartment to a much more spacious one in the 'burbs meant until a few of my best friends approached me, mildly horrified.

"YOU'RE MOVING?!" they exclaimed.

Well. Duh. They had spent some time in my apartment. Of course I'm moving. I'm not about to spend my 20s in an apartment that's smaller than a college dorm quad.

And then it hit me. This wasn't just about me moving to a bigger space, in a quieter neighborhood. It was about me. Becoming more and more coupled. Abandoning some of the things I had thought I had wanted in life. And making room for the things I had forgotten to include on my list that mattered most.*

Like not having to cohabit with a colony of ants. Or pay obscene prices for parking and rent.

Oh yeah. And that whole having an adult relationship thing too.

I'm glad the reality check came. I'm out of college. My top five apartment must-haves do not need to include "good bars within walking distance."

Those $10 martinis add up a bit too fast.


*For the record a move to the suburbs had been in my plans before I met Seth. Man or no man, the budget speaks for itself.