A Smooth Transition
It’s a little surreal to me that the day I’ve been anticipating for a while now has passed. It’s also surreal how smoothly this whole process has been. I was able to get the furniture that I love for a super low price, get everything at the Evanston apartment packed in time, and get everything to Chicago smoothly. It definitely isn’t luck (because there is no such thing) but a huge blessing from God for providing for me. Also, I love my friends. I don’t know what I would do without them. They are willing to carry heavy things for me, pack my junk, do my dishes, drive me everywhere, basically completely un-fun things that I would have had to go through by myself otherwise. I owe it to them big time for helping me out in every possible way. And now, get ready for some major housewifery from Chang:
[are you really ready?]
What I love about my new place:
- Water pressure, enough said
- Oh-shower-head-that-detaches, I’ve missed you! Can you tell that I’m seriously excited about some good and fast showers?
- Free central air conditioning
- Being able to keep windows open at night without fear of someone climbing in through my window
- Having somewhat of a view as opposed to fences of the neighbors. Yay for natural sunlight.
- Being so close to the lake. That big body of water being only a building and a road away somehow makes me feel very open and free. I can imagine myself running along the lake on the weekend and strolling with friends there at night for some nice long conversations.
- Closet space and the shelves that are built into the closets. Seriously I was never too into hangers, folding is the way to go!
- Lights that dim, I can’t tell you how many times a day I look for excuses to change the light setting. You’d think I was running a theater production. I mean there are 5 levels of brightness, that’s 4 more than I’m used to.
- Walking to work, enough said
- More than one laundry machine (in fact, it’s like 10+ sets!). BONUS: 20-min speedy dryers!
- Free cable TV (which means actually watching shows when they air, imagine that!)
- A whole fridge allllllll to myself
- A receiving room that takes my packages, NO MORE MISSING PACKAGES, amazon prime, come to mama!
- My couch. I love that it’s a real couch, that it has CUSHIONS instead of a mattress. I love that it’s so big, clean, and white (I bleached the cover, hehe) and that when I come into my room it’s the first thing I see. It’s like a cute fluffy puppy that welcomes me home! Except it’s not fluffy, and it’s clean…
- Being close to Trader Joe’s. I know a list within a list is a little overdoing it, but I absolutely want to rave about how I discovered fun cleaning supplies at Trader Joe’s:
- Amazing towels. It looks like felt, but it’s sturdy and oh my god does it suck up water! Even when it’s completely wet and you think it’s satiated, it’s thirsty for more of that spill or that newly washed plate. And with one wring, all the water is out! TOTES WOW.
- Sponge made from plant cellulose (yay polysaccharide!). 12 of them in a pack, they look like a pack of gum because they’re that small. But when you soak one in water, it grows into a full sponge! It reminds me of the boyfriend that Jenn and I tried to grow one year for Valentine’s Day (don’t ask).
- Natural soaps and cleaning solutions. I got hand soap, dish detergent, and all-purpose cleaning solution that are made from natural ingredients. It’s a bunch of fancy oils extracted right out of mother nature, and somehow it will clean my tables? Not only is it good for the world, I can’t help but think that it’s good for me too!
I realize half of the list makes me sound like a rather deprived child, and the other half makes me sound so privileged. As you can see, there are so many luxurious things I now have that I never had before. But the truth is, I was never unhappy without those things. In fact, I realize that I am now missing the one thing that is dearest to me, and that is my community back in Evanston. I miss spontaneously walking down the street to someone’s apartment. When I envisioned my new place, I kept thinking about how much nicer my apartment would look with my friends in it. More so than any furniture, they would bring life into this place (so AHEM COME VISIT ME AHEM).
[edit: did host some of my first guests tonight. it’s true that my place looks better with friends in it. :) from what i could tell, they enjoyed the place, except made fun of my temporary bed setup, which they compared to a dog bed, pigsty, and… coffin. -_- personally i think it’s a wonderful grown-up crib! but i know that my place is comfy because tim took 3 naps, 2 on the couch and 1 on the ground.]
