New Juju

So, I've been in my new apartment for a week today, and I'm finally getting settled. My bachelorette furniture is arranged and my three complete sets of dishes (WAY too many for a single woman who's not exactly throwing a dinner party every weekend) put away. Although I moved out of my apartment of six years reluctantly (my landlord decided to sell, and I'm not in a place to buy,) the new place brings a sense of possibility.

I guess what I mean is that I was ready for a change. I don't believe in regrets. All I ever want out of life is to experience everything, good or bad, that I can adequately fit into one lifetime. I'm not the most adventurous person, I hate change, wouldn't be caught dead on a roller coaster and I have an odd, but very real, fear of swimming in the ocean because I'm afraid that I'll come face-to-face with a whale (no, not a man-eating shark, not a flesh-eating fish, but an innocent, gentle-giant of the sea, a whale. I can't explain...)

But, a new environment (my new apartment) has brought me a feeling of hopefulness and an appreciation for all that I leave behind in my old place. I call that stuff my bad "juju." Dictionary.com (my go-to) defines "juju" simply as "the magical power attributed to such an object." Granted, this was definition #2 on the list, but it was the most accurate to what I mean.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think I had a lot of awful experiences in my old apartment that warrant "bad" juju. There aren't any haunting forces reminding me of past mistakes. There are no bodies burried beneath the floor boards (at least, none that I'll reveal here.) However, I am a 33 year-old single woman living in a city that's just south enough that couples generally pair up in their early 20's (I'll be here when those said couples are on their first divorce, but that's a story for another day.) I do have a dating track record, "baggage," if you will. Honestly, I would be worried if I didn't have baggage at this age. You've seen "The 40 Year-old Virgin," right?

So, yes, a change of scenery is welcome at this point in my life. I'm not expecting, or even asking, that this new apartment bring along with it a new dating prospect or boyfriend. I am, however, excited for the fresh start it brings. "New" juju. And that can be whatever I decide it should be. This possibility is exactly what I look forward to.

I'm not a religious person, and I'm certainly NOT a fan of country crafts, or "primitives" (ask my sister.) But if I were, right now, in my new apartment, complete with new juju, I would be hanging my wood plank, hand-painted (in red, white and blue, no less) sign that proclaims, "Bless This Home."