Leaving Azkaban--and the return of the Calibug

"They don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought."

I KNOW. I'M A HUGE DORK.

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind (OF EMOTION) for me--ending, of course, with my not getting out of bed in the morning, because I didn't see the point.

That was definitely a sign that the situation withthe dementors my flatmates, the location, and my hesitance to stir up any trouble was not going to get any better. I'm a naturally shy person, and always have been. It was only in the last couple years, when I was able to start over again in high school and college, that I've grown from that quiet girl reading in the back of the room to a highly social being. If I'm left alone, I go absolutely crazy. With all the negative, passive aggressive energy in my last flat, I was both crazy AND depressed. I would complain to anyone that would listen, but then I drew inward. I wouldn't speak at all, to anyone. Even my male British friends noticed that something was wrong.

I made the decision to move out when I came back to my flat one day. One incident led to another, and I went back in my room and started packing. Thank J the B that Vicki was visiting from Amsterdam, and was able to help me. Thank J the B I have strong, manly (American) friends to carry all of my stuff out of my flat and into the next one. When I entered the taxi, it felt like my soul was back and singing Ke$ha. I have had that smile on my face since then. My new flatmates are amazing. I don't know them as well as I would like, but they are friendly. They are American, Canadian, and German. They are not obsessive compulsively clean. Noise doesn't carry as badly. I'm across the street from clubs and bars. There is life here. Life and love and just...this place is full of awesome.

I feel like I can finally experience this country the way it's meant to be experienced. I'm eating a bag of cheese. Life is wonderful. Halloween is wonderful. People are wonderful.