14 July 2000
As you might have guessed by the previous entry, and the lack of such since then, I have indeed moved. Finally, the Karmic Boomerang came through! It's about freaking time. It's an incredible relief to have secured shelter again after more than two months of limbo. The lease, the apartment, and everything in it are mine, all mine, and nobody can take any of it away or, for that matter, kick me out.
As for the apartment itself, I'm liking it more every day. It's a "garden level" (what a charming euphemism for "practically a basement") efficiency, just the right size for me. There's a fairly large living/sleeping room, a pretty generous (as efficiencies go) kitchen and dining area, and a full bath. It has more windows than you might expect, and I have carpeting down in most of it. Once I get all my stuff in, make a trip to Ikea, and decorate some, it'll be very cozy.
I'm actually glad I can't afford a one-bedroom place; this way, I won't end up with tons of extraneous stuff when I move again, as I anticipate doing in a year or two. At that point, I'll most likely be moving into a dorm-ish situation for grad school and it would be a pain to have an apartment full of furniture to dispose of.
Besides the change in location, living alone means making changes in my personal routines: Now that I don't live 20 feet from my friends, I have to make more of an effort to get out and see people, and get used to more time alone. It's been a little bit of an adjustment for me, but I think it'll ultimately be for the better. It's really nice to have a refuge to come home to, a place where I can go where I know there will be absolutely no other people. Given the incredibly cranky atmosphere at work lately, this is a good thing. On the flip side, having to work a little harder for my social life has provided the impetus I needed to get in touch with all the friends I don't see often.
It still feels strange not to be living in the house-- I had honestly expected to stay put there until graduation. There's a sense of loss that has come from extricating myself from the household, a loss of shared experiences and of a common frame of reference. I was a part of something; now it's just me and my still-bare walls. I know it will get easier with time, but for now I am left with profoundly mixed feelings on the whole affair.