Home Sweet Home
It's been 2.5 months since I left my beloved Yokohama and though I of course miss it and all of the lovely people there, I have to say I'm quite happy being back in Chicago. I arrived at the tail-end of winter, and spent a few weeks bundled up and enjoying the familiar feeling of freezing-cold air on my cheeks.
Pretty much the first thing I did when I got back was go to to my storage unit and break my bike out of jail. I was kind of dreading getting back on my bike but as soon as I was back in the saddle I felt an odd sense of elation. I felt free... suddenly I was free to go where I wanted *when* I wanted. There were no more trains to wait for or buses to track down. Just me and my two wheels.
I spent the first few weeks searching for a job. After sending out countless resumes to publishing companies and emails to old coworkers, I got the picture: the slump is not over and will not be over for a while, at least in that industry. I instead spread out my search and ended up with a semi-part-time job, which I have been doing for 2 months now. My job is... get ready... I am a server at a sushi restaurant. XD How did I know it was going to end up like this? As it turns out, my emails to old coworkers were not completely in vain, and I did do some temp work for Mother McGraw for a few weeks, slinging sushi at night.
I've been staying with Austin and his extremely generous roommates since I got back. It's been nice being around so many people, but 4 in one apartment is kind of pushing it. They're letting me stay here for free but while I was job-searching I completely scoured the entire apartment... I'm talking floor to ceiling cleaning. I scrubbed and washed and vacuumed and swept and folded and tossed and organized. No drawer was left untouched; no expired food products left behind. (Just to give you an idea of what I was up against, I found year-and-a-half-old cream cheese in the fridge.) It was a huge undertaking but I was happy to do it considering how kind my new roommates were being to me.
Thankfully for everyone involved, Austin and I decided to find our own space. We (read: I) searched high and low for the right amount of space in the right place. We signed a lease, got keys, picked out paint, and are moving in later this week. I'm pretty excited to finally get to actually unpack; I've been living out of the two suitcases I lugged with me from Japan since I got here. It will be nice to see my old furniture again and I've been happily hunting for vintage furniture deals in my free time. (It's safe to say that I am heavily addicted to apartmenttherapy.com at the moment.) But I have to admit that the thing I'm *most* looking forward to is my old bed. It's not particularly large or comfortable; it's just an old double bed my parents donated to the cause when I first moved to Chicago 5 years ago. But compared to the ikea twin bed Austin and I have been sleeping on for the past 2.5 months, it's a luxury. To be able to *read* in *bed*... ahhhh, how divine!
At any rate, I'll definitely be updating more when I settle into the new place. I'm eagerly awaiting my chance to start decorating and making the new place feel like our new home.
Pretty much the first thing I did when I got back was go to to my storage unit and break my bike out of jail. I was kind of dreading getting back on my bike but as soon as I was back in the saddle I felt an odd sense of elation. I felt free... suddenly I was free to go where I wanted *when* I wanted. There were no more trains to wait for or buses to track down. Just me and my two wheels.
I spent the first few weeks searching for a job. After sending out countless resumes to publishing companies and emails to old coworkers, I got the picture: the slump is not over and will not be over for a while, at least in that industry. I instead spread out my search and ended up with a semi-part-time job, which I have been doing for 2 months now. My job is... get ready... I am a server at a sushi restaurant. XD How did I know it was going to end up like this? As it turns out, my emails to old coworkers were not completely in vain, and I did do some temp work for Mother McGraw for a few weeks, slinging sushi at night.
I've been staying with Austin and his extremely generous roommates since I got back. It's been nice being around so many people, but 4 in one apartment is kind of pushing it. They're letting me stay here for free but while I was job-searching I completely scoured the entire apartment... I'm talking floor to ceiling cleaning. I scrubbed and washed and vacuumed and swept and folded and tossed and organized. No drawer was left untouched; no expired food products left behind. (Just to give you an idea of what I was up against, I found year-and-a-half-old cream cheese in the fridge.) It was a huge undertaking but I was happy to do it considering how kind my new roommates were being to me.
Thankfully for everyone involved, Austin and I decided to find our own space. We (read: I) searched high and low for the right amount of space in the right place. We signed a lease, got keys, picked out paint, and are moving in later this week. I'm pretty excited to finally get to actually unpack; I've been living out of the two suitcases I lugged with me from Japan since I got here. It will be nice to see my old furniture again and I've been happily hunting for vintage furniture deals in my free time. (It's safe to say that I am heavily addicted to apartmenttherapy.com at the moment.) But I have to admit that the thing I'm *most* looking forward to is my old bed. It's not particularly large or comfortable; it's just an old double bed my parents donated to the cause when I first moved to Chicago 5 years ago. But compared to the ikea twin bed Austin and I have been sleeping on for the past 2.5 months, it's a luxury. To be able to *read* in *bed*... ahhhh, how divine!
At any rate, I'll definitely be updating more when I settle into the new place. I'm eagerly awaiting my chance to start decorating and making the new place feel like our new home.