A Birthday

What other day can you wake up, wear goofy glasses, and have random people take pictures of you all over town?

First picture - Buckingham Fountain (the "Married With Children" fountain)
Second picture - Near Cloud Gate (aka The Bean)
Third picture - Navy Pier

The icing on the cake was on the way home, sitting on the L, a lady named Whitney walks onto the train and sits across from us. Doug's mom tells her in conversation that it's my birthday. She then orchestrated the entire train singing happy birthday to me.

Here's the last few seconds of it:

Some of My Favorite Things

A pictorial tour of some of my favorite Chicago things.

The "Idea Box" at the Oak Park Main Library. 

A rainbow on the way home from work.

My boyfriend, finally in Chicago and sleeping next to me.

My boyfriend, as eager as I to play the role of tourist in our new home!

Chicago the Fun & Weird!

What a beautiful view.

We have a home!

I took a half-day off of work today in order to sign the lease and drop off the deposit/first month's rent checks.

We're living in a garden-level (1/2 basement) apartment in a building that was built in the 1920s. Although much of the apartment has been updated and has modern (nice!!) fixtures, it still has a lot of the character, like solid wood doors, arched doorways, and the 1920s version of crown molding (where the top 2" of the wall slope inwards to the ceiling). 

Click the jump for videos of the 3 contenders, including the one we settled on.

Week One, in the books

What a great week. I am IN LOVE with my job. Not just my duties, but the office, the people, the culture, everything.

I've got the commute under control. No more missed trains, but I do have to catch the earlier 6:37 train instead of the 6:53, to allow more time to get to OTC. 

I've purchased a really nice pair of sneakers, because I was getting excruciating lateral shin splints when I was walking between train stations and work. I had a gait analysis done, and all sorts of other readings and analyses to see what kind of walking shoe was best. I ended up spending more than I usually do, but what I usually do has ended up with me limping and almost falling down stairs from my ankle giving out. I'll try them out tomorrow to see what kind of improvement I get. 

They are keeping me busy. There's not much in the way of large projects yet, they're still trying to see how much they can trust/rely on me, but I'm whizzing through the smaller things they're shoveling at me about as fast as they can send them. I've gotten a lot of great feedback already, and am hoping that the "3-6 month" timeline for promotion looks more in the way of 3 months than 6.

The biggest challenge for me has been overcoming whatever this food-sleepiness thing is. For months now, I've been having a problem with getting incredibly, overwhelmingly, unfightably sleepy immediately after eating. It's difficult to combat that in the office, where the constant hum of the AC is going, the clack clack of keyboards has become rhythmic, and the chair I'm in is super comfy. I've taken to popping a no-doz if it gets really bad. I *really* hate no-doz but it works for now. 

Tomorrow is the start of week 2! Oh yeah, oh yeah! This is my excitement dance! /shimmy

First Day of Work

What a day.

I woke up at 3:45am. Nerves. Excitement. Not my bed. Many reasons. I left the house at 6:30 to catch the 6:53 train at the station 8 miles away. Not early enough. I couldn't figure out the parking and ended up having to re-park twice because of the confusing space numbers and permit spots. (don't park in unmarked spaces until after 7:30. don't park in marked yellow spaces until after 9. park in white marked spaces anytime. parking is $2, cash only) So I missed the 6:53 train, but caught the next one. Barely. 

Made it to Union Station with 12 minutes to make the next train at the OTC station 2 blocks away. Too bad it takes 15 minutes to disembark the train with a gajillion people on it, filing along a very narrow train platform. I knew the OTC train was gone, so I got in a cab and made it to work only 5 minutes late. On my first day. Jeesh.

The office is beautiful. It's got that industrial loft feeling with clean straight lines and concrete walls/floors. It reminds me of hip start-up company offices. 

I met everyone in the office. Everyone is young, like my age. Including the owners. Here are a few of the standouts:

Claire, front desk girl. Rides bikes (woo!). Went to college in DC. Super sweet, and makes a mean home-made salted caramel.

Shana, assistant property manager, finance side. Not quite a hipster. Kinda sorta looks like one, but much cooler than one. Her cube is decorated with personality, and she is really sweet. Fun to talk to. 

Nicole, senior property manager. What a spitfire. Personality similar to mine, just less shy. Similar work backgrounds and interests. Pregnant, recently married. 

Jenny, operations manager. A-freaking-dorable. Wears a cute dress every day to work. Jack of all trades title does her no justice.

The culture in the office is awesome. People visit each others' cubes and talk a bit every now and then, and taking breaks is encouraged. Looking at Facebook (or other websites) isn't frowned upon as long as it's not constant or interrupting work.

There's a billboard outside our office window that I love. 

There are sheers in front of the windows, sorry for the fuzziness.

On the way home, I had a nice wait on a bench for the train to OTC. Once I got to OTC, I got lost trying to find Union Station, and missed the first train back home. However, another was boarding right as I walked up, so the wait wasn't terrible. 

In total, my commute was about 6 hours between morning and evening commutes. Not fun, but I have to tell you, it's not completely awful. The chance to read, or just enjoy the gentle swaying of the train, is quite lovely!

I'm in Chicago!

I left early on Thursday morning, and arrived at about 1am on Friday morning.

I had to take Doug's car, because poor Bianca wasn't out of the doctor's yet (She had a warranty issue and they replaced the transmission). I'll have his car until he gets here at the end of June. Let me tell you how much I love driving in Chicago traffic in a stick shift that I'm unfamiliar with. OMGWTFBBQHATE.

But I'm here, and settled, and ready for my first day of work tomorrow. Bring it on!

A picture from the drive:

The most interesting thing I saw on the drive was the RV and Mobile Home Hall of Fame.

That exists?!

The Last Supper

Not everyone was able to make it out to camping. And I wanted to see everyone one last time before I left. I arranged for everyone to meet at Red Robin for a last dinner.

Believe it or not, there are 20 people in that picture. Felt so loved. 

It was a sad time. I know that I will see many of them again. I can hope all of them, but I know that life takes people different directions. 

When we were leaving, there was a hug line. Everyone lined up to give me one last hug. 

I'd be leaving the next day at 7am. 

Memorial Day Camping & Climbing

Our last opportunity for a group camping and rock climbing trip was Memorial Day weekend. I'm scheduled to leave the DC area on May 30th to head to Chicago.

Doug and I picked up Bianca from the dealership the night of the 22nd. She hadn't even been home 12 hours, and she was already loaded up with camping and climbing gear. What a great way to induct her into our family! 

We headed out the morning of the 23rd and arrived at the Elizabeth's Furnace campground in the George Washington National Forest that evening. To rain. So much rain that it flooded our campsite and we had to put the already-popped-up tent onto the roof of the car and seek out another campsite. We must have looked a sight, with a tent on top of the car, driving through a campground. 

We had the first night and most of the second day to ourselves. After having other people around for everything we do (we most often do group things, since we have so many friends and so little time to see them all), the chance to reconnect and enjoy each other's company without anything on our must-do list was more than I can put into words. I am very thankful for that time, and think of it fondly.

We drove all around the area, with nothing particular on our list, just seeing what we could find.

We found a tower to climb, and saw sweeping views of the valley.

 

We had breakfast in a small town at a place called "Hi Neighbor."

We got lost and ended up at an 1840s living history encampment. 

And we found a stairway to nowhere.

We ended up at an antique store for about 3 hours. This antique store took up an entire city block. It was enormous!! I got some vintage salt and pepper shakers, and Doug got a brooch for his mom. Our original endeavor of finding a Moka pot, or some other stovetop percolator, went unresolved.

The second evening, Chris and Sarah (our homesteading friends!) arrived. We had delicious red beans and rice with andoullie sausage, cooked over the campfire. 

We went climbing the next day (Saturday) at Talking Heads rock. The climbs ranged from too easy to too hard. 

Ian and Corinne landed at our campsite later that evening. We enjoyed ribs over the campfire with loaded baked (campfired?) potatoes and grilled veggies. 

On sunday, we were set to climb Buzzard Rock, but we had a 2 mile hike to the rock at the top of the mountain. Near the summit, there is an overlook that is absolutely wicked.

After the overlook, there's still a quite steep uphill portion to go until you get to the slabs where you'll climb. We made it in good time, and a hammock was set up while Doug rappelled down to the ground. Unfortunately, he ran out of rope, and by the time we realized this, it was too late to make alternate plans. Except of course, to hike down the mountain and get a margarita, which is what we did. 

That night, we enjoyed some delicious chicken fajitas and one last night of company before heading back home the next morning. 

Welcome, Bianca!

Please welcome Bianca!

Bianca is a 2006 Subaru Forester. No, she is not the $500 pickup truck that I'd written about earlier. She came about because the $500 pickup fell through (the family decided they did want it, after all), and my car was as good as sold. I needed something, because if I sold my car and nothing else came through, what would I be driving?

The interest in my car was shocking. Despite a lot of cosmetic damage on the front and rear bumpers, and a bit of cosmetic damage on the inside carpet, I still got damn near the blue book value and much more than I was originally asking. There was a bidding war!

I had a day of panic, during which I drove to all of the dealerships in the Lexington Park area. It was a sad, frustrating trip. We had a very low spending limit, and sedans/coupes were out of the question. After all, I already had a sedan...why would I just switch it out and have payments again? I'd rather just keep mine if that were the case. The sales guys kept asking me, "what about a mini van?" HELL NO. First, I don't have kids. Second, even if I *did* have kids, I STILL wouldn't drive a mom-mobile. Just. No.

So by the time I got to the last dealership in the area, I was frustrated, tired, sweaty, and ready to throw in the towel. I walked in, went through my (shortened due to frustration) spiel. "Looking for a small SUV, crossover, or pickup truck in the $6-7k range. I know it's a long shot."  We walked the lot, and nothing was in the price range. Just as I was heading out, he did a search of all of the other sister dealerships in the DC area. The very first thing that popped up was everything I've wanted for years. 

-A Subaru

-A Forester

-A moonroof

-Good gas mileage

It was $10k. Sadface.

He did some number crunching though, and was able to get the payments within range of what we were expecting. I brought Doug later that evening, and we applied for the loan. 

The next day, Bianca was in our possession!

The Moving Sale of the Century

Our flyer was distributed twice in the week before the moving sale. We posted it in libraries, post offices, restaurants, any place that had a bulletin board. In the neighborhood surrounding our moving sale spot, we posted the flyer on every multi-family mailbox we could find. I posted on craigsilst, on facebook, on yard sale websites. I advertised until I was blue in the face. 

But it paid off. We had three U-haul trailers full of stuff to sell. We had two other families with much less, but still a good amount, to sell. 

We battled rain, but the turnout was not really hampered. People REALLY wanted to see what this moving sale was about. I had a constant line at the cashier's desk. I gave out reusable shopping bags so people could shop without full hands. I made this the most epic moving sale ever.

We made much, much more than we expected, which was a huge help to our moving fund. 

We were so busy throughout the sale, and had so many early birds, that we couldn't even put everything out. At the end of the sale, I found many boxes and totes full of things that never even made it out. I was a bit bummed that we could have made so much more money, but I guess I shouldn't complain because we made out very well to begin with. 

During the sale, I actually contemplated that I'd like to do that for a living, or at least a part-time gig. I really enjoy organizing that kind of thing, and working out the logistics of it all. Maybe someday. Maybe when we're on the homestead. I'll specialize in teaching people to live with less and downsize their lives. 

For Sale

The Blueberry is for sale!

Doug came home today and said that one of his students, who works at an automobile shop, told him about a small truck the shop was trying to unload for $500. Apparently the owner brought it in to be painted, but that the owner had died before picking the truck up. The family signed over the truck, saying they didn't want it. 

For months before this conversation happened, we'd been lamenting over the tiny size of my car, and how I couldn't really fit anything into it. A truck would be a HUGE help to us, especially right before a move. 

Doug was going to talk to his student again and ask where we needed to go in order to test drive, etc. 

Suddenly I have more on my pre-moving plate. In addition to everything else, I need to find a buyer for my car! Thank you Wal-Mart for gigantic For Sale signs! 

Last night, an ad was posted to Craigslist and my car was parked in the parking lot of a closed-down bar on the side of a country road. 

Downsizing

One of the things I have been most concerned about with regard to homesteading is how to prepare. I'm not worried about gardening or milking cows or eating duck eggs instead of chicken eggs. I'm not worried about living off the grid.

What I'm worried about is STUFF.

With no disrespect to my boyfriend, he has borderline hoarder tendencies. Not the kind of hoarder tendencies you see on TV. He doesn't collect crap just to collect crap, doesn't let trash pile up, and doesn't have hoards of stuff that threatens the integrity of the building he's living in. When I say borderline hoarder tendencies, I am talking about his unwillingness to part with what he does have, his emotional ties to inanimate objects, and having a relationship with the items given to him by people he loves. 

For instance, a kitschy souvenir candle that he's never lit, and will never light, is just as important to him as the person who gave it to him. 

Since I moved in with him over a year ago, it has been a constant struggle to get rid of things that are not used, not needed, and make no sense to keep. Little by little, he has been working on it, but change is not Doug's strong point. I have lost my patience with him a few times, but with Doug, I have to have patience. And to his credit, he really, honestly tries to push himself beyond what's comfortable when it comes to paring down. 

Moving into our current place, a 3rd floor walkup, was a nightmare. We had movers for several hours, and still had to make our friends help for several more hours. Doug was so worn out his legs would not take him up and down the stairs even one more time. 

I think that nightmare was a wake-up call to him, that we have WAY too much stuff. When we move onto the homestead, we'll be living in a Tiny Home.

Tumbleweed Tiny Home

An enormous departure from "normal" living, going from 1200sqft to just over 160sqft of living space would be one of the biggest changes that will ever happen in our lives. With Doug's aversion to change, we've agreed that slowly stepping down in size over the next few years will be the best way to accomplish the paring down of our things. 

The first step starts now: we are going to have a moving sale on May 18 & 19! Anything not sold will be picked up by a local thrift store. It's not even coming back inside the house. It will hang out on the driveway until the thrift store truck comes. 

The goal is to pare down by 75%.

Wish us luck!

Will You Go To Prom With Me?

In April 2000, I asked a boy to my senior prom. He said yes. Oh man, he was hot, and a little bit of a bad boy. I was excited to have people see me with this guy. They'd think I was a hot little piece of ass, to be seen with this guy at prom.

They never got the chance. Two days before prom, I was told by the office that my prom date was not allowed at prom. Apparently he was a little too much of a bad boy. I found a stand-in date, but he didn't seem to want to be there with me. No dancing, no pictures, no nothing except sitting at the table. And I'm convinced he was checking out all the guys. Sigh. 

Now, 13 years later, I'm dating a high school teacher who just happened to be a leader for the planning and running of prom this year. He asked me to prom. I said yes! I volunteered to be a chaperone. 

It was a fun night. Things haven't changed much since my own prom, except the kids danced more now than I remember them dancing at my prom. I didn't get to spend much time with my honey, and we didn't get the dance he promised me (we were both busy with our duties), but we did steal a moment during a song that means something special to us, and we got a pic in the photo booth. 

Gosh, I really love that man. So handsome. <3<3

Taking Advantage

Beads, beads, the magical string

The more you wear the more you bling

The more you bling the hotter you are

So wear our beads to the Tiki Bar!

Every year, the Tiki Bar on Solomon's Island opens in mid-Spring. Tiki Bar opening is a huge event. An event so big they shut the roads down because of bar spill-over, vendors come from all over to sell food, souvenirs, and who knows what else. 

In 2012, I'd just returned from Mardi Gras a couple months prior, and had about 400 strings of beads from the parades. I drove onto the island late morning and sold beads for $1 a string out of the trunk of my car. I made about $275 before I had to leave because I didn't have a peddler's permit (who knew?).

This year, I teamed up with 2 other friends. We bought 84 dozen beads from a Mardi Gras wholesaler and sold them for a buck a piece, along with Red Bull and water. We got a peddler's permit so we couldn't be told to leave. We also offered sober rides to/from cars. The island gets so jam packed that some people have to park over a mile away.

We came in with high hopes, but the overhead and weather killed us. Tiki Bar, an outdoor sandy beach bar, does best when the sun is high and the temperatures are warm. We battled with rain and temps hovering around 50-55. After all of our expenses, we only made a little over $125 each. $125 into the moving fund, though.

The Route Home

The route home begins here. It's mid-February (even though I'm writing this later) and I have been unemployed for over a year. I've moved 60 miles south to be with the love of my life, but given up job prospects as a result. Southern Maryland has about as many condos for me to manage as Monsanto has non-GMOs.

My boyfriend, Doug, is a survivalist kind of guy. All things self-sufficient are right in his wheelhouse. I haven't ever been that into survivalism, but I have definitely always been in love with the idea of being self-sufficient as a way of life. Growing up, I never thought the idea of having a homestead and being self-sufficient was within reach. It was too expensive, too much work for just me, and I knew that the increase in government fingers in everyone's honey pots meant that even if I did somehow manage it, I'd be under constant scrutiny and/or regulation by people who thought they knew how I should be living. I gave up on the idea in late high school. 

We were at the bar one night with Doug's friend Chris, and his girlfriend Sarah. Chris pulled me aside and we got to talking. He asked, "So you know the plan Sarah and I have for a homestead in the Pacific Northwest, right?" I nodded. "Well, you know, we'd really love to have you and Doug with us there." That moment changed my life.

A few days later, I approached Doug. I knew he was interested in homesteading, but I didn't know how serious he was. We determined that the homestead was our goal. I asserted that everything we do should be with that goal in mind. And with that said, I asked him if it was even worth it for me to keep looking for jobs in that small town. Of course, it was not. We both wanted out, and if we were to leave, it should be something that will bring us closer to our goal of homesteading. 

Two weeks later, I'd revamped my resume, subscribed to a premium Linked In account, and studied interview strategies. I targeted a few select major cities between middle America and the West Coast. On March 3, I submitted my first application, and on March 4, the phone began ringing. 

Over the prior year, I'd submitted over 500 resumes to businesses local to Southern Maryland. I'd received TWO calls. With this new strategy, I received a call back for almost every resume/application I submitted. Depression had eaten me alive for the last year, and for the first time since it began, the clouds began to part, my confidence returned, and I was finally hopeful. 

About six weeks after I began, I had a job offer. A condo management opportunity in Chicago. They're lucky. I've said for years that the ONLY way I'd ever move back to the Midwest was if it was to Chicago. So on April 12, I accepted the offer. I'd start on June 3. 

Back in April, it seemed like I had so much time to get ready. I'd have plenty of time to pack, participate in the last few group outings, and get things in order before leaving. 

Turns out, life has a way of laughing at your "plans." 

But hey, I had a job! A job that was about 1,000 miles closer to the Pacific Northwest, would allow us to save for the homestead, and give us a little bit of adventure in a new town. 

Chi-town, here we come!