I moved!

If you read my previous post, you'll know that I got a new job, and that I was looking for a place to live.
Well, I can now confidently tell you, while sitting in my new bedroom, that I did indeed find a place to live! The way everything worked out was pretty smooth. Gather 'round:
Whilst dredging through Craigslist and KSL, I found a number of suitable living quarters, but each one had several other housemates. Because I wanted something a little more private, I kept searching, but even when I decided housemates would have to be an option, still the rent prices were a little higher than I wanted.
After deciding that I couldn't really have the perfect room I desired for anything less than $550/month, I started considering paying a touch more (like $750-800) for an apartment of my very own. It was just about this time that a dear friend called me for a nice long chat.
We hadn't really spoken since our fun adventures in South Korea 2 years ago, so our conversation was full of reminiscing and nostalgia. When the topic of my move came up, she said she'd ask around for any leads on a good deal.
By this time, I'd been searching vigorously - several hours a day - for a place to live. I'd contacted a dozen or so people who posted ads, but only two got back to me, and even then they didn't respond to any follow up questions. It was really frustrating. But lo! My friend called me back to tell me that her friend lived in a house with a room available! I contacted the homeowner, and plans were made for me to come see the house and the room.
Everything went well, and I moved in 6 days later! My dad and brother helped me do it all.
I have three other housemates, but everyone is finished with school and seems pretty normal. Rent is good, the house is fully furnished, my room can fit all my stuff (which is impressive), and my shared bathroom is clean. AND all the housemates are the same religion as I am! That might not be a big deal to some, but to me, that means that I won't have to worry about drunken parties, drugs, or anything too wild happening in my new home.
I'm about 6 miles from my workplace, so the drive shouldn't ever be too bad. I start work on Tuesday, so I don't have anything to say about work yet, except that everyone on the staff and in HR has been immensely helpful and friendly.

Alright, so although everything is fine, I have to admit that after all my stuff was piled into my new room and my dad and brother left, I had a "What have I done...." moment as I stood alone amid all my earthly belongings. That was yesterday. Today I finished organizing my room, had lunch with my super awesome cousin, set up my piano, and even bought colorful pens from the store. I'm pretty sure everything's gonna be alright. Tomorrow I have church, so I'll meet like 170 new people, so I'm excited to start making friends here too.
I had a similar "what-have-I-done" feeling when I sat in my seat on the airplane headed to South Korea. Funny enough, it's because I went to Korea that I ended up in the house I'm in now. Actually, if I really go back, it's because I finished my LDS mission a few weeks early that basically every life event has happened since.
Along with my mission president, I decided to finish my mission about 3 weeks early so that I could make it back to school on time, rather than be offset a whole semester by arriving 2 weeks late. So, I got home and like 4 days later sat in my first major-oriented English class. Because of the way my classes were scheduled, I was able to go on a study abroad trip to London to earn my Shakespeare credit over the summer of 2010 rather than take it during a traditional semester. In turn, that summer program helped me to graduate in May of 2011, which then allowed me to go teach English in South Korea for a year, where I met lots of great people. Because of the people I met in Korea and through study abroad, I have been to New York, London again, and now I have a place to live while I start my grown-up career.
Funny how things work out, right?

Well, I'll call this post complete and I'll write again next week after I have more to say. Toodles!