My mother told me to write down everything from my first days in the city. I've tried to only post the important details. I dont want to bore anyone with my mundane life. However, I realize that was is important to me, may in fact be boring to all of you. So I do apologize for that and ask forgiveness for the following post.

Saturday was my first night as most of you know. I didnt do anything but unpack and reheat leftover chinese food for dinner. I even found time to sit by my window and read and observe all of the sites that are so convenient to see. I ended up going to bed extremely early due to an extreme case of exhaustion. Moving takes a lot out of a person.

Sunday I woke up extremely early. I had my alarm set for 9am but I didnt pay attention to the fact that the city woke up at 6am all on its own. So by the time my parents called to say they were on their way, I had already had my cup of coffee and had a shower. I ended up waiting forever for them to get here simply because my phone apparently wouldnt receive their phone calls. This made them angry (they thought I purposefully ignored them). By 11am they were here and I was making the final touches to my room. We grabbed lunch at The Dubliner, a cute little pub near Union Station. After lunch we went to the Mount Vernon Campus. My father felt the need to grant me permission to attend classes there. So once he was satisfied he brought me back to my apt where we then left to go stock up on groceries. My mother insisted on going before they left, she wanted to buy my first load, so I wouldnt run out of money. Before my parents left to head home, my mom made me promise to call her everyday for a while (until she got used to me being gone). Of course, she never acted that way when I went to Longwood, not even my first year, but I guess a big city will do that to some people. That night I was so sore that I did some yoga (see below post for info).

Monday was my first official day alone. I woke up early (again), after completing some AM yoga I drank my coffee and got ready for a day of exploration. The first thing I did was find the nearest BB&T. It was a decent walk but doable. Once I found that I headed back passing a metro station (so if I didnt want to walk I could just hop on that). I entered campus on the opposite side of where I live and found a cute little cafe, Uptown Cafe, which had a salad bar that sold by the pound. I bought some pasta salad for lunch and carried it back to my apt. Before that I sat on a bench in a quaint court. I'm not sure of its name, though I'm sure I will find out. I just sat and watched people for maybe a half hour before I decided to head back. It was only 11:30am but was already in the 90s. When I got back I ate my lunch and cooled off for awhile. Around 1:30pm I got a little stir crazy. It was so pretty outside that I knew I shouldnt just sit indoors all day. I decided to see how long the walk to Georgetown was. It took me about 15min, so not too terrible. I passed various shops that indicated the type of people at Georgetown, lets just say it is a bigger version of Hampden Sydney, and maybe richer. I also found one of the biggest Barnes&Nobles ever. Three stories high. Doesnt sound like much, but I would walk to it everyday. The Starbucks is on the 2nd floor. I bought a smoothie simply because I had walked in the heat, so I was a little parched. I was blown away by the place. I will admit I was in shock at first when I saw that the escalator went up another floor. After about an hour I left reluctantly. I walked back to my apt where I felt satisfied with the day so I just stayed in the rest of the night. It was also my first night cooking in the community kitchen. I cant say I really liked it. But you do with what you have. Luckily most of what I fix can be done in my room and I only need to go in there when I need the stove or to wash dishes (my second sink it's quite deep enough and I refuse to wash them in the tub). I ended up in bed early again. I blame the heat.

Tuesday I fought the noise, the light, and everything else and stayed in bed until 8:30am. I know I'm a late sleeper. I did some morning yoga to stretch out my stiff joints. I drank my coffee and ate a bowl of cereal. Then I did my usual Facebook, Email, Financial Aid checks. That's when I decided that the Financial Aid office was going to get another little visit from me. So I got ready and had some lunch before I left (I would need my strength). Let's just say I dont like them. Not one straight answer. Oh well, they cant get rid of me, at least not that easy. Then I went upstairs and bought a lanyard to hold my ID (Im sick of having to keep finding it). Once that was taken care of I went back to that same little court and sat and read. It was great, just the right amount of shade. Once the place started getting crowded I decided to leave, that was maybe an hour later. As I was walking back, this lady and her daughter/granddaughter? stopped me to ask me directions to a building on campus. Now I must remind you all that I have only been out twice, but it still pleases me to know I dont look lost or new. Luckily, I knew where they were talking about and how to get there. Before going back to my room I decided to walk up to Trader Joes. Now for a reference point, you have to walk up past the road that goes to Georgetown to get there. One block more to be exact, so not bad. I didnt grab a cart when I went in because I really wasnt planning on shopping. I just went in to look at their wine and grab some cherries. That's when I remembered that I was planning on having spaghetti tonight and I didnt have meat. So of course I had to grab some of that, then I past some amazing looking French Rolls. I grabbed those too, or at least the man in front of me did, since I had my hands full of deliciousness. Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about carbs. I cant stay away. So when I tell you those rolls are phenomenal you may not believe me (since I love food so much), but let me just say that I am willing to walk there everyday for one roll. Luckily I remembered to bring my rolled up bag with me. I love that the city charges $0.05 for a bag, but hate it when I get stuck on that end of the bargain. Trader Joes credited me $0.05 for having my own, so it was an even bigger plus. When I eventually made it back home around 2pm I had a bowl of fruit (cherries and oranges), a glass of water, and of course one of the rolls. Yummy. I then spent the rest of my afternoon reading by the window, that way I felt outside while really being in the air conditioning. It makes me feel better about being inside while everyone else is working. Around 4:30pm I did some more yoga (my legs were sore from walking, I am so out of shape). I hope yoga helps with my tight muscles, but I must admit that since I am so out of shape, I'm not that great at all of the stretches. Then I prepared my delicious Italian meal. Spaghetti (elbow noodles) with ground beef (organic lean), onions, and red pepper spaghetti sauce. Oh and a roll, accompanied with a glass of Joseph Handler Sweet Red wine (German). The wine was difficult to open. I had to put a lot of elbow grease into it, since the stupid cork screw was worthless. Otherwise, it was a very sweet semi dry wine. It was a blend of raspberry and plum. Went extremely well with the pasta and bread.

Tomorrow I will need to go back to Georgetown. I've already finished the book I bought there yesterday. Maybe I should stop reading, it really is putting a damper on my finances.