Freshman Year

Although I'm 36, I'm feeling like a freshman in college with this move. I'm not sure exactly what to major in (how to make a living) or who my friends will be. I'm also adjusting to living with a roommate again. I had lived alone in my own place (a condo) for five years in Austin, and the first week or so here I longed for my warm hobbit hole back in Texas. It didn't help that it was unusually cold here during those weeks and my place is old and drafty with what I would call a "vague" heating system. I had to buy a space heater, which blew out three fuses before I determined it was the culprit.

Overall, my roommate, D., has been helpful in a lot of respects, and the shared living space seems to be working itself out. She's an aspiring actress, so I'm living that struggle vicariously. She's also in SAG, so we receive free DVDs during awards season.

The first weeks were just like freshman year-- hunting for cheap furniture that I could haul easily (walked right into a used dresser on the curbside just before I was heading off to buy one); buying a new laptop (an Apple, another adjustment); finding a good cell phone (Cingular DOES NOT WORK in West Hollywood/ Fairfax); hanging out with new people; kissing some guy I will never see again on New Year's Eve (just like that first freshman kegger).

This is not exactly where I would have expected to be at this age, but at the same time, it has been a good kick in the pants...