The Migration Ends...With a Couch

I had abandoned my sofa at my last apartment in NJ. I, along with everyone helping me move, decided it was best to just leave it on the second floor walk up as it was an ancient, long, bulky, HEAVY, pull out couch covered in hot, scratchy tweed. As a result, I was without a place to lounge at my newest, seaside cottage.

I had asked around about where I could get a decent couch on my newly limited, graduate student budget. The consensus was a place called Alperts. Still laughing from the beer mug, falling debacle, my Mom and I venture off into the unknown to buy a couch. My Mom is driving, we don't have a GPS, don't know the area too well, and briefly listened as my landlord gave us directions. Needless to say, we were driving around in circles. The worst part was, we could see the Alperts building from I-195 (it is hard to miss as it is a big tacky mirrored cube on the side of the road) but no matter what exit we took...we couldn't get there. We started cracking up again when out of nowhere, we see an Alperts delivery truck...FOLLOW THAT TRUCK. Off we went, trailing the big truck....right into a gas station. We patiently waited while he filled his tank and then followed him to the store a few blocks over. We had arrived.

Before we got out of the car, we had agreed on a game plan...stick to the budget...don't make eye contact with sales people and maybe they won't swarm us....do not tell them our budget....say we are only borwsing...decline help...no polite chit chat... all we needed to do was stick to the game plan and we would find our couch.

We hop out of the car and hear music. The Mexican Hat dance is being piped into the parking lot over speakers. Very odd. as we approach the building, we start to dance a little jig, see ourselves in the mirrored walls of the building and begin laughing all over again. We bust through the doors and are greeted by a slew of sales people who had just seen our antics through the one-way mirror. One sales person approached and asked if they could help. As i was saying, "no thanks, just browsing" my Mom is saying, "she just moved here. She has no couch. We have to buy one today. We're desperate and she only has $500 bucks." Way to stick to the plane, Mom. Why don't you just give him my social security number and my checkbook. Geez.

As it turns out, here was only one couch that fit the bill and fortunately, it was adorable. We paid and booked it out of there....straight to the Brick Alley Pub (http://www.brickalley.com) for alcohol and appetizers.

And So The Migration North Begins.....

The time had come for me to consider career advancement. I had gone as far as I could within the State's Prosecutor's Office and I figured I needed an edge...that's when I remembered my parents' words of wisdom, "education is never wasted" and the even more important words, "we will pay for your education for as far as you want to go - 4 years of undergrad (a must no matter what), 2 years of grad school (if you choose), 4 years for a Doctorate (again, if I chose)." If it took longer to get through the programs than the specified years, I was responsible to pay the additional time but otherwise, the world was my oyster.

Ah ha!.....my edge would be graduate school...courtesy of my parents. (I know what you're thinking...I'm spoiled but here is another thing my Dad once told me...people who appreciate everything they are given, all of their life advantages and use it responsibly and with respect - those people are not spoiled, they are fortunate. Boy, did I ever appreciate all the advantages life had to offer me so while you may consider me spoiled I consider myself fortunate and indebted to my parents!)

So, I began applying to lots of schools - all in and around by beloved NJ. My plan was to get a Masters degree in 2 years and hop back into the job front at a higher ranking, better paying position. Of course, none of the programs were exactly what I was looking forbut they were in NJ so I was willing to compromise. However, I had recently spent some time with my brother (who had settled in RI) while I was in their wedding, loved the ocean, salty air and surfer guys so I figured I would look at schools in and around RI. Amazingly, there was a program that had every component I had ever wanted in a degree. It was as if I had written the ciriculum myself. That it happened to be in stunning Newport, RI was the icing on the cake. I applied, was accepted, gave notice at the Prosecutor's Office, packed up my apartment in my beloved NJ (with all my stuff stored in my parent's basement) and began my search for an apartment in Newport, RI.

I found a fantastic in-law apartment with french doors that opened to a patio where I could smell salt water and hear the waves crashing. It had its own driveway for parking multiple cars (a huge deal in Newport), private access to the famed Cliff Walk and I could easily walk to classes, downtown, the bank, the grocery store, the beach. It was newly renovated with a large bathroom and bright, airy open floorplan. In essence, I had found heaven. I had to have this location - it was made for me! My landlord lived upstairs with his wife and young son so you can understand his concern that the "right" kind of tenant live there. During the application process, I put my best foot forward - wore a tasteful skirt and top to meet him, had my resume in hand, references from my former landlord, personal references...and a check with first, last and security deposit. He said as long as I wasn't a late night partier, the place was mine as of July 1st. I couldn't have been happier as I signed on the dotted line. It was the first apartment I had ever moved into without at least showing my parents first and I couldn't wait for my mom to see it so I quickly enlisted her to help me move in....July 4th weekend.

And so the move began.....

Stay tuned to hear about our adventure of moving us in and furniture shopping!