The First Four Days

I'm here in Providence! The job has begun!
I arrived here on Sunday around 1:30 and met my roommate, Lauren. She's great and hilarious. Soon Jackie came and she's really laid back and easy to get along with, too. Jackie and I are sharing the back bedroom, we have two twin beds and an attached bath. Lauren got a room to herself and she also has her own bathroom. The apartment is nice (and expensive! thankfully I don't have to pay for it) and since we don't have to pay for heat we keep it nice and toasty. As with any rental, there are a few little hitches. For instance, we have a very small hot water heater that does not have a thermostat on it. We can get through one hot shower and one lukewarm shower. Then we have to wait about a half hour until the hot water heater fills again. Also, our living room is drafty, but it's not like I haven't lived in cold drafty houses before (remember the Patterson house? BRR!). Lauren, Jackie, and I get along well. We're still getting used to living together and our work schedule, but I think we'll all get along throughout the training. We'll make it through 7 weeks!
Work is going well. We're learning all about auto policy right now. I'm much more knowledgeable than I was just four days ago. If you had a question about what was covered under our Part A liability, I could answer that. Sometimes the classes are repetitive, but for the most part it just helps engrave it in my brain. Our trainers are a good blend of professional, kind, encouraging, and hilarious. We laugh a lot together which I love. There are only three other girls in my training class, Lauren, Amber, and Hannah. (Jackie is in the adjuster class and so we don't' see her during the work day) It's pretty great, having a small class. I really like it. I'm glad that there aren't many of us, I don't feel bad asking a question every step of the way.
We haven't done any exploring around Providence, yet. But I'm hoping that a few people will go out with me on Saturday for my 23rd Birthday. I think I can convince a few people to go out with me. There's a great area called Federal Hill that is supposed to have amazing Italian food, so maybe we'll go there. I'll write an update when we go out and explore!
Anyway, keep praying and thinking about me! I miss everyone, but I"m loving making new friends and learning my job! Woohoo! The Ocean State is Great!

Almost gone

So there are only about 4 days left before I make my move to RI. I was visiting with Abbie last night and we were saying how quickly time passes. After all, weren't we just preparing for a wedding and having bachelorette parties and bridal showers? And now all of a sudden it's time for me to pack up and move out east. I flutter between being extremely excited and very very sad. After all, I'm honored and proud that I got a good job that truly wants me to succeed, but leaving the comfort of Cincinnati will be very difficult. Leaving Bryan has become more real and more unbearable as I've been dwelling on it. I didn't think that it would be this difficult after only being married three months, but I think it will be one of the hardest things I have done thus far. Of course, once I get there I'll be so busy learning the insurance biz I doubt I will have much time for missing anyone. But I know that when it's time for bed and I have to fall asleep all alone, I will really really miss being in my little apartment in Cincinnati. I have to celebrate my 23rd birthday with strangers, which will be fine. I plan on using it as an excuse to make everyone go out and celebrate with me. But it is still sad that I can't be with my husband or my friends on my actual birthday. I think leaving is going to be more emotional than I originally anticipated. I always knew it would be hard to leave Bryan and my family, but I didn't really think about leaving all my friends. The weirdest and hardest thing is that it's not like college when you know everyone will be home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and probably part of summer break. I really have no idea when I will be back in Cincinnati again, hopefully sooner rather than later. And hopefully we'll move to a cool city where everyone will want to visit. But who knows? I think there are just many more questions than answers at this point in time. Thankfully, the Lord is sustaining me and providing me with peace and calmness while I pack and sort and get everything organized for my move. I hope to make the best of the little time I have left here and see lots of friends and spend time with Bryan and my family.

It's weird thinking about making new friends and sharing my life with people that I don't know at all right now. Thankfully, my training class consists of just three other people and it's all women. I'm really looking forward to making some new friends in my new colleagues and just getting to know different people from around the country. But, being really horrible at correspondence , I'm worried about how my friendships will fair. Hopefully people will be forgiving and realize that I'm awful when it comes to simply calling or writing e-mails. Not having a computer will make it pretty difficult as well. Hopefully I can make some blog updates from the company computers or find a local library. Or maybe we can just save enough money to get a laptop for me. Anyway, I'm rambling now, so I'll end with this: I'm excited for life's next adventure and I cannot wait to start to figure out what it means. And hopefully the excitement of what's coming next will get me through missing Bryan, friends, and family so I can truly enjoy the experience at hand.