Jackie Nourse, settling down? Wait it gets better, Jackie Nourse, signing a YEAR lease? Yes, that is correct. We have made the commitment to stay in Bozeman at least through next summer if not longer (this WAS, after all, supposed to be a more permanent move…) so yes, a year lease is now what I have gotten myself into. Never in my life have I signed a year-long lease, nor have I lived in one place for a year since I moved out of my parents' house. That was 9 years ago. It is time. It does NOT mean that I'm done traveling, what it DOES mean is that I have a place to call home that doesn't include a storage unit! It means that I have a dresser and can unpack my suitcase and backpack that I packed back in September! It means I don't have to worry about moving again in 6 months, and best of all, it means I can get a dog! And guess what else? It means I'm living ALONE for the first time ever, and absolutely loving it so far.
Let me go back a couple steps. It took one U-Haul trailer and two days (a night couch-surfing with new friends in Twin Falls, ID) for us to make our final leg of this seemingly-endless road trip up to Bozeman. We bounced around between our friend Megan's house and Daryl's house for the first couple weeks until we landed a house-sitting gig for our friend Jolee for 3 weeks which really worked out perfectly. The day after we arrived in Bozeman I applied for a serving job at one of my favorite restaurants downtown and immediately could tell I would get hired there, so I stopped looking. I started the next week and was suddenly slapped across the face with a culture shock I haven't felt in a long time. Working so much (training was very time-consuming) was a huge depressant to follow 7 months of traveling, and not at all what I really wanted to be doing, so I really had to set my mind ahead and focus on just finishing training and getting through those first two weeks of work combined with frantic house-searching which led to one stressed out girl. Then one day a "super cute 1Bdr apt" appeared on Craigslist (it's dog-eat-dog in Bozeman, you HAVE to be first to respond here, it's crazy) so I responded as quickly as possible. Guess what, the landlord's name is Jacquie, and she saw my name and decided she couldn't pass me up, and it just so happens that I had to work the next day so I made her meet me before, told her I was serious and I wanted it, and she put up a "rented" sign and left right then and there! So much for checking references! I didn't care I was stoked, AND it was my last day of training and I knew everything was about to turn around for the better, which it did. I'm now working 4 easy shifts per week, which is pretty much part-time: PERFECT.
It took me right to the end of our house-sitting to get a bed and get everything out of storage and into my new place so that I could start sleeping there. I am still slowly getting more furniture and making it more live-able. I will post photos soon, but I can tell you it's the top level of a house, nice open floor plan living room/kitchen area with a hallway going back to the bathroom and bedroom, it's very spacious! I have windows on all sides and can see the Bridgers, and I'm only a block away from the dog park! It's about a 7 minute bike ride to where I work downtown, I have yet to drive there. It's exciting to have an address. If you want it, call or email me!
Nate also got a place the same day I got mine. He's living with another guy and they have yet to find another roommate, in a house about 10-15 blocks from mine. He is right on the trail system and right down the street from our old house where I lived with Daryl in 2004, a nice location. He has started working and is in Billings as I write this, on his first 5-day work trip. They have already started catching and surveying fish, and he is happy to eat, sleep, and work with fish right now.
Softball season has started, soccer season starts in a couple weeks, and running season is also going well! So far I've registered for the 10-mile Jim Bridger Trail Run in June, the Missoula Half Marathon in July, and I'm in the lottery to run the Ridge (THE Ridge) 20 mile crazy run again this year, yes, I just might be doing it again in August. I find out in a couple weeks. And if all goes well, I might sign up for the first annual Bozeman Marathon this September as well. It's exhilarating to be a runner here, this scenery is far too beautiful to not soak up in such a natural way. So, overall, I'm still super excited about life here, will hopefully be getting a dog soon, and have many things still to look forward to which is definitely important for someone with my wanderlust. I saw an old friend the other day who has moved away from Bozeman to California and we were fondly discussing how much we love this place, and I summed it up with these words "I like who I am here…" So true.
Count me in for that marathon.... although I think I only have a half in me...
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