I am officially an independent woman! Yesterday, I moved out of my parent's place and into my new apartment in Crystal City, Virginia. Doesn't Crystal City sound like a magical place in the Wizard of Oz or the Chronicles of Narnia?
I'm paying about $600 a month, which makes me sad, but now I live with three fun roommates, which makes me happy. I figure, if money becomes an issue, I can always move out after a few months. I probably will only stay until the end of June or July anyway because I want to get ready for grad school in the fall.
Speaking of grad school, I am applying to two universities in London--King's College London and the London School of Economics and Political Science. I don't know if I have a first choice yet... The King's College faculty seems very nice and I really like their American Studies programme. (I know, I know. Why study American Studies in the UK? That's another blog entry...) But LSE also has a great programme (an MA in the History of International Relations) and I think it would help me broaden my historical perspective. Additionally, LSE is probably one of the best schools in the world--perhaps in the top ten or top twenty--and that would look good on my CV when I apply to PhD programmes.
I'm getting ahead of myself though. I haven't gotten into any of these programmes!
Anyway, back to my new apartment. If you want to look at pictures, go to this website: http://www.archstoneapartments.com/Apartments/Virginia/ArlingtonCrystal+City/Lofts+590/PhotoGallery.htm?cid=216
I plan on painting the walls soon, so please give me any advice if you've painted before. Should I use a primer? Should I paint the ceiling? (That's what I learned in a magazine.) Right now, my place looks like a college apartment, so I'm excited to update it and make it look trendy and awesome. Which is hard, because my decorating repertoire is basically empty.
Moving Out, Moving In
