Hello! *brushes dust off blog* Remember me? ... No? Well I don't blame you since I haven't written an entry in 38297102947 BAGILLION YEARS it seems (ok more like a few months, but still... ).
But I'm back now, that's all that matters right? Please forgive the fact that I abandoned you without any warning or assurance that I would be back anytime soon. I'll pay for the therapy if needed.
So, let me summarize what my past few months have been like (I will try and be brief):
End of March - Went apartment hunting in Chicago with BFF/Roommate Anna. It involved many feelings, some of which were anxiety, disappointment, anxiety, exhaustion, anxiety, rage, anxiety, hopelessness, anxiety, OMGWEGOTTHEAPARTMANT!, anxiety, omg how am I going to pack all my shit?!
April - I like to call this month "the month of denial". I spend most of it looking around at all my shit, hoping it would somehow pack itself into one magical bag that I could then easily carry. You know like the one Mary Poppins had? Yeah, I needed/still need one of those. Then the last couple weeks of April came, I realized I had done nothing, then cue me panicking and rushing to get everything done in the little time I had left.
May - We moved on the 4th. It was a big headache, and much advil was needed for not only headaches but also limbs that felt like they were going to fall off from all the lifting involved. But we managed and we got here.
Here are a couple before and after shots:
Before, the people who rented before us had this ridiculously huge couch for this small space.
After, with the help of IKEA we found some furniture that fit the space much better.
Before, A bit of a mess...
After, still kinda messy, but at least we don't have a hooka just sitting out in plain sight.
Actually, those photos were taken shortly after we moved in as "process" photos, I just haven't bothered to take any new ones yet now that we have finished decorating for the time being. That will have to be another post. But I promise you, it looks much nicer now.
So, May also included me stressing about getting a job and applying to every library and local retail place I could find with no luck. But silly me, I just thought "Oh surely I will get one next month!"
June - There is a week and a half left in this month AND I AM STILL UNEMPLOYED. This is distressing to say the least. And it's not like I'm not applying to new places and making callbacks everyday either, I am, I'm trying, it's just a whole lot more competitive that I expected. Also, I must note, being home alone by oneself everyday for 2 months with only the cat to talk to, and nothing really productive to do, really makes a person go crazy slowly. Veeeery slowly.
BUT, this month Anna and I have been making better use of our weekends and have gone out to explore the city more. A couple weekends a go we went to the
Chicago Blues Festival (Free!), where we saw a very amusing old man. He had a white beard, was wearing a baseball cap and fanny-pack, and was busting a move like no other. He literally did not care that no one else was dancing around him. I applaud you fanny-pack man. Gold star for you! This past weekend, Anna's mom and brother came to visit, and we took them to Lincoln Park Zoo (which is also free), we ate lunch at the fabulous
Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinders Co. (which is sadly not free, but reasonably priced! You can eat there for under $15, which is awesome for in the city.), then we headed over to check out
Millennium Park (which IS free) and the famous "
Bean" sculpture that Chicago is so well known for now.
Courtesy of Anna's Iphone
On Sunday we went to see "X-Men First Class" which was amazing and so full of epic bromancing that I didn't even know what to do with myself. I could fangirl all day about it, but I will save you from that. Then we headed up to Wrigley Field for the Cubs vs. Yankees game! Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am not into sports, and I really don't know much about the rules either. Honestly, I could really could care less, but out of all the sports out there Baseball is one of the ones that I can sit and watch and not want to stab out my eyeballs. So, It was actually enjoyable and fun, even though I had to ask a million annoying questions about things like why were players having secret talks? And why were some players wearing long pants while others rocking the tall socks with short pants look? Etc.
View from our seats courtesy of Anna's Brother's Iphone
So, I have been thinking what I should do next with this blog and I decided that I will keep posting memories and things related to Japan, but I would like to start posting more about cultural things that are going on in Chicago. Could be fun right? Anna and I are planning to go to "
The Taste of Chicago" which is a big food festival that starts this weekend. It's pretty famous, and this will be both our first times going (though I have had to deal with 'Taste of Chicago' traffic while visiting friends in the past. UGH NIGHTMARE!). I plan on bringing my camera along to document everything that we eat, so that you all will become very hungry and jealous. Muhahahaha! We will also possibly be going more than one day (it lasts like 2 weeks) and it there is so much food there. So please look forward to hearing about that soon!
