You could probably have guessed that there have been a lot of changes in the past month. At this point I’m not going into any detail but the long and short of it is that I decided to move into my own studio apartment in Prospect Heights and really focus on getting my life together.
Due to some bumps in the road with the new apartment and the insane holiday season I found myself with little time to write, and then as it often is with things like this, once a day goes by the second goes easier and before you know it, well, here we are.
My new apartment is awesome though, and I’m having a blast making decorating decisions just for me, experimenting with all kinds of furniture placement and thinking up creative strategies for small spaces. As I’ve learned thus far, it is all about vertical spaces. Now that I’ve got that down its just a matter of waiting to be able to afford various items and turning into a regular handy girl in the process. Nothing like a non functioning toilet in the middle of the night when it is just you to make you get online and learn how to fix things.
I can now say, officially that in 2008 I moved a total of 5 times.
Yes, five. freaking. times… insane.
I have fewer items in my life now than I have had since I was in my teens and most of what I have kept serves some kind of practical purpose, in many cases more than one. The kitchen cart I bought and built last week is the latest addition to the multipurpose atmosphere.
The next purchase will be a hanging rack for my pans and then a creative alternative to storing my DVDs. I think I’ll transfer them to CD jewel cases and label each one maybe keeping them in a box them under the bed. Its much more space efficient than the huge cases they come which from my new uber space conservative perspective seem so excessive.
After that a single futon/chair is on the list which will make the studio much more guest friendly, as now friends kind of have to lounge on the bed when they hang out. Which actually can be fun, but practicality kind of goes out the window. Well, it squeezes past the drawers and radiator and manages to maybe squiggle out the window anyway.
All in all though it has been an incredible learning experience and I feel more independent and empowered than ever before in my life. Make no mistake though, it has not been easy. As they say, nothing worth anything ever really is.
