Sunday, January 17, 2010

"It can only get better from here"


We have now been in Denver for 3 days and an eventful 3 days its been. I will start from the beginning. We left Thursday and drove to Green River, and then on Friday we drove the rest of the way. We drove our car and Deanne and Paul (Jace's mom and stepdad) drove their truck and trailer with all our "stuff" in it. When we got closer to Denver, I started feeling excited as I looked around and saw all the beautiful areas. The excitement quickly turned to uneasiness as we drove closer to downtown Denver, and as we saw many down-right scary people! I felt like I was in neighborhood I shouldn't be in, and then to make matters worse, we realized that we would be staying in this neighborhood for the next 3 months. The tears came, and I felt like my biggest fear of moving had come true. As we pulled up to the apartment, I started to tear up again because the house converted into apartments was a mess, and it looked like it could fall at any moment. We continued up the stairs to find a super small room with a teeny tiny bathroom and kitchen. It was filthy! I just lost it and told Jace I wanted to look for something else. He told me we just couldn't find anything this late and I could tell that he was just as stressed. I went back to the trailer knowing I had no choice but to move my stuff into the apartment. While we were in the alley behind the apartment I heard a gun shot from a few blocks up. This definitely made me more emotional! Paul and Jace moved as much as they could into the apartment until there was just no room left. We loaded the trailer back up with everything that we could possibly go without. After the trailer was loaded, we grabbed a bite to eat and then went to a hotel for one last night before we tackled our new apartment. The morning came and I decided to be more positive and to just make the best of it. We cleaned and cleaned all day and moved things around until it felt more like home. Now that we have been here a couple of days, I feel more at peace. I love our neighbors and I love Denver! This experience has been really good for me and a bit humbling! I have realized I can make any experience a good one. Here are some before and after pictures of the apartment.

Things wrong with apartment when we arrived:
  • Leaking shower and sink
  • No knobs on the cabinets
  • Mouse poop in couch
  • No carpet
  • Rust in shower tub
  • Cabinet inside of shower
  • TV hookup inside of bathroom window
  • No outlets in bathroom
  • Twin size foldout murphy bed
  • Rooms lit up with lamps


Before










After













8 comments:

Kurt and Lynlee said...

Whit! I am so glad you posted this... I am so sorry it was scary for you. You really are right down town but you will see that there are a lot of neat things to see and do. If you ever have a scary night again I know a ton of people who can help but I am sure you will be fine! I will call you when I come to town : )

Jessica F said...

Wow!! I am glad you made it there safely! And as for the anxiety and emotional feelings, I have been in the exact same situation before. I cried and wanted to turn back, but didnt. Im sure you will make this a learning experience and have lots of fun while you are there too. Miss you girl!

Anonymous said...

Hang in there! It was way scary when we moved to Denver last April, but it got better. We lived in Aurora and a week after being there, someone was shot and dropped in a ditch on the street my husband was knocking. Scared me to death. Then a truck got stolen from our apartment parking lot. It is definitely a different area compared to here, but we also had a ton of fun!!

Madi said...

Oh wow Whitney!!! Good Luck!!! Like your status says it can only get better! You will only be there for 3 months? You can make it work! Promise!!

Dwight and Kristian said...

this may be kind of awkward, because the 2 of us don't really know each other but our husbands do- and i just could not, not comment on this post. we had this exact same experience this summer when we moved to houston and lived in a horrible apartment that was in the downtown ghetto of houston. it was a rough few months but we are a lot stronger today because of it. hang in there. it's a testimony builder for sure! :)and look on the best side, your baby will never remember it! :)

Simple Pleasures said...

Okay! Just so everyone knows, that is their whole apartment, the couch that Jace is sitting on in that room, that is it!!! AAHH whittney, I am so glad that you guys are safe and getting adjusted! I am going to be selfish and say that I am glad you are here cause I missed you guys!!!! See you soon!

Cody & Brittany Hawkes said...

WHITNEY!!! how are you?? I noticed your name on tara's friend list and thought I'd check out your blog. It's been forever!! I about died laughing when I read your post...don't get me wrong at all...I actually lived in this house last semester for the fall :) we lived across the hall in apt #4. We heard about it from some friends and since my hubby had an unpaid internship there we decided to go for it and we didn't even see any pics before we moved in. I was feeling the same thing as you guys when we first got there, but we got to know the Kotters really well and I found a job, which kept me busy. Cody loved his internship and we ended up LOVING DENVER!! The ward is really great (totally different than a student married ward, but every week there are investigators and the diversity is awesome!) I got to know the missionary sisters pretty well and it was fun to feed them dinner too. You guys have to go to Cheeseman park- the one that's a block from the house- it's a great place to take walks, but just don't go there alone at night..other than that it's awesome. Cody and I went to the Botanic gardens and the Zoo :) it was fun! We also loved eating at Qudoba (if you love mexican food, it's great and pretty cheap) I hope you guys enjoy it :) it takes a while, but it was one of the best semesters for our marriage...we got so much closer. Anyways- call me anytime you have questions or just need to talk about surviving in the city (208) 569-1657. So is Jace working with Dillion then?? I also worked with Jared Smith on campus and I know him and his wife are there too.. so fun that you guys have other couples there. When we lived there it was just the Kotters and us but we had a blast. Take care!

~Brittany Hawkes

Cody & Brittany Hawkes said...

haha! sorry comment was so long :)