Back to the topic at hand--my trail of home sweet homes. After the Castilian it was off to REALLY live on my own. Meaning no more cafeteria lady serving me eggs-the-way-I-like-em with a smile every morning. The redeeming part was no more twin beds! My sister had just graduated school so I was able to get her furniture...which she bought four years prior from my high school friend Caroline. It included a giant pillow-top queen bed that took a giant step to mount. Lovely. My wonderful family, mother father sister, drove 10 hours from El Paso with a flatbed trailer hitched and covered with a bright orange tarp. They looked exactly like the Clampetts!
The worst was that the day they arrived to move me in, Martin Crane cut his hand open with a knife and needed a ride to the hospital. I spent the day doing that with my then boyfriend Zach (his roommate) and when he and I pulled into the driveway of my new apartment, my family had just finished moving everything up the 3 flights of stairs. They were not happy! But it remains a solid joke to this day.
The worst was that the day they arrived to move me in, Martin Crane cut his hand open with a knife and needed a ride to the hospital. I spent the day doing that with my then boyfriend Zach (his roommate) and when he and I pulled into the driveway of my new apartment, my family had just finished moving everything up the 3 flights of stairs. They were not happy! But it remains a solid joke to this day.
So I decided to live with Stefanie (see History of Home Part II) and Haley Price, who grew up a block away from me as a kid (See History of Home Part I). We also got with Logan Wiggs, another El Paso native and a awesome girl who I was BFF with in middle school. We hired a realtor to show us around, and we ended up falling in love with a place in West Campus right by the park that runs alongside Lamar. It was on the corner of San Antonio and MLK. With 3 stories and 3 bedrooms, we could only afford the place if we found a fifth roommate. So Haley's older and very brave brother Anderson joined in. He had his own room, Haley and Stephanie shared the bottom room, and Logan and I shared the master bedroom upstairs. Our room was so huge we fit 2 queen beds, and we had a balcony from which I distinctly remember singing Mariah Carey as loud as we could. Logan and I were on very different schedules and we managed to get through that year without any problems. Sometimes I wouldn't see her for a few days and then I'd hear her make a noise while asleep in the late afternoon. It was like the bed was her magic portal to Narnia--she'd disappear and reappear with no signs of ever leaving.
As I sit here trying to remember the place I realize why I am having a hard time. I was super depressed that entire year! I ate green beans from a can and rode this pink Schwinn single-speed beach cruiser up and down a very big hill. I have flashbacks of coming back from swim practice and freeeeeezing as I had to walk my bike with all my gear up the slope of MLK. We also ate a lot of TCBY yogurt. I favored the white chocolate with sugar free mini chocolate chips. You'd think with the swimming, green beans and sugar free toppings I'd be wafer thin. But oh no. Depression and metabolism are opposing forces. I remember going to my doctor for a check-up and her telling me in 3 months I'd gained 15 pounds. Much thanks to my roommates who would cut out pages from Oprah's magazine with advise on how to pep myself up!
Note: One morning drinking coffee and reading the paper I saw a pretty lady walking down the stairs in her clubbing clothes and heels in her hand. We awkwardly said hello and she left. Who would of thought that would be the girl, named Royal, who Anderson ended up marrying! :) Also, during this year Steph started dating a guy from back home named Kevin Powers. He was going to school in Tennessee and sometimes she'd just take off in her car and meet him halfway just to spend a few hours with him. No surprise that they are married now too!
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