Friday, June 20, 2008

Be it ever so humble...

Yesterday I left the BYU testing center for the last time. As of August 15 I will officially be a college graduate, which means it's high time I moved back out of my parents' house.

I spent two eight-month stints living in Provo between 2004-2006, but even since I've been back home saving money and getting through school debt free (with the exception of my car).

Leif, Davide, and I (I just realized how weird it must sound to introduce two friends with those names) have been checking out some places down in Provo and we've found a promising neighborhood of duplexes. The first one we checked out is nice, with four bedrooms and lots of space, but apparently the owner isn't big on lawn care. By that I mean I've seen better landscaping at abandoned properties. We also found one with the same floor plan a few blocks away that looks kept up much better and has rent about $40/month cheaper. We're pretty set on moving into that neighborhood and are just looking for a fourth roommate.

After looking at those places yesterday we dropped by another friend's apartment in Provo and I started thumbing through their BYU ward directory - you know, the ones with everybody's mug shots, a.k.a. "The Menu." Perusing the photographs neatly organized by apartment sure brought back some memories. Even in the small thumbnail-sized pictures you could tell all the girls looked awkward and nervous, and all the boys tried to look "cool" or "funny." I'm not the biggest fan of BYU singles wards and the complex Mormon sub-culture that accompanies them. I don't know if sociologists have ever done studies, but I'm sure there is a gold mine of research into bizarre and inexplicable human social behavior that could come out of observing your average college ward in Provo.

The neighborhood we're looking at doesn't have the high-density housing and huge complexes which usually means an older group and hopefully a slightly different ward scene. Either way I can't stay at home forever. At least this time I'll have the benefit of moving in with people I know and things presumably get a bit more stable when you're out of college and aren't wrapped up in the dating scene.

2 comments:

Sarah said...

Wow. So soon it will be just Neal and Ethan at home. I wonder what Mom will do with herself.

Meredith said...

She might be forced to come visit me if she can leave Neal.