Six months.

Well, six months and a few days, that is. I just got home from a delicious dinner at La Poste with Jess...my first friend in Cincinnati. She moved here the same week I did last summer, and decided last week that we owed ourselves a celebratory dinner for making it six months in the Queen City -- and I'm never one to pass up a celebration.

I got to thinking as we parted ways this evening after a tasty, savory, wine-filled three courses (well, at least my meal was all that -- right, Jess?) about how much changes in six months. Half a year. 180 days. 12 paychecks.

I've already reminisced enough about my many moves and my first, cautious steps into Big Kid life...but I haven't given Cincinnati its due. So here goes...

Aside from the unpleasantness of renting an apartment from a peeping tom and my unfortunate run-in with one of Cincinnati's most disagreeable finest last week, life here has been pretty good.

I'll admit, at first, things were not-so-great. I spent my first month here wandering around by myself. Trying to find the "sights," trying to find a friend, trying to keep cool in the 95-degree heat. When people asked, I pretended like it wasn't so bad, like I didn't hate it and like I wasn't spending every day from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. alone, bored and awake in my apartment. I Googled nearby lakes one weekend, hoping to find a little reminder of home, and instead wound up 40 minutes from the city at a dammed up river with water as warm as the air. I even signed up for eHarmony to get me out of the house and around people again.

I'll never forget the night I woke with a start (for the second time), to turn and see my bedroom door move and footsteps retreat from my line of sight. I turned on every light in my apartment, flipped on the T.V., played my radio and barricaded myself into my guest room. Contemplating driving back to Michigan, giving up, starting over -- again -- I sat there isolated and terrified. Life couldn't always be like this, right? The next day, I placed a call to Kimmer, who gallantly arrived mere hours later to start packing up my apartment and move me somewhere new.

It was a few weeks after that -- about six weeks into my time in Cinci -- that I met Jess. Luckily for me, she's a Democrat (maybe the only other one in the city), she enjoys hiking and listens to my long-winded versions of boring, non-interesting events. It's been nice that we get together a couple times a week to play trivia, have dinner or catch a movie. It's comforting, really, and the consistency is something I've been lacking since leaving Mount Pleasant.

I think making that first friend, that first connection, is what made me feel like I was going to be okay here. Since meeting Jess, I've made a few more friends. A couple from work, one from my building, and my newest one is from my bowling league. It takes time, I know. But if there's one thing I've learned during my adventures in the Big Kid World, it's patience.

Cincinnati is starting to feel like home now. I mean, Ohio will never be as wonderful as Michigan; Cincinnati will never be as exciting as Chicago; but it's my experiences in those other places that have made me determined to succeed here. I know what I need to do to make myself happy and to make myself a part of this city. I don't know how long I'll stay or if we'll always be on such good terms, but for now, we're alright. We're learning about each other. We're growing together. It'll leave it's mark on me...and don't you worry, I'll definitely return the favor.