Only a week after my arrival, I found a lovely apartment in northwestern Raleigh, in an elaborate complex called "The Lakes," a suitable name since its eighty-plus acres included shorelines on two separate lakes. The place featured not just an Olympic-sized pool, tennis courts, and racquetball courts but two volleyball courts: the management had trucked in loads of sand to create a beachlike setting. The Lakes also featured parties every weekend for all the residents, described to me as lively, noisy affairs crowded with lots of smiling Southern beauties. My apartment was small, but who cared? I felt as if I were living a dream.