Lazy Hazy Crazy Days

I will be sad to see summer come to a close.  The past few days have been picture perfect end of summer vacation days.

Friday night, we did the coolest thing.  Thousands of skaters and cyclists massed up in the smack dab middle of downtown and rode 16 miles around the city, totally ignoring motorists and traffic lights.  It's called Critical Mass.  And who knows if it's supposed to be some political statement or not, but it was FUN!  BF fixed up a bike for me, so now I have wheels around the city, and was able to go on the really awesome ride.  The sore booty is worth it.

Saturday: went out to BF's place and made my famous chocolate chip cookies.  With my stand mixer.  Which unfortunately has to live at BF's since I live in a 350 sq ft apartment with no countertop. :)  But regardless of the location, the cookies were a big hit.

Today, the most fun.  Biked from my apartment up to North Avenue Beach and watched BF's group do their tricksy skating.  I got quite a suntan, and actually avoided sunburn this time!  Thanks to Neutrogena's SPF 30.  Reapplied twice. That too is worth it.  Followed that up with taking Leo to the dog beach.  That's right, a DOG BEACH!  How cool.  He was tentative about the water, but once he watched the other dogs enough, he thought diving in would be the right thing to do, and wow!  He didn't stop running or jumping in the water for a good hour.  He's a tired pup tonight.

Since we were so hot and thirsty all day long, I convinced BF to walk down to the ice cream place down the street.  Not that it took much convincing.  However, this is not your normal ice cream place.  This is Cloud 9.  Some weird shaved ice and fruit mixture drizzled with a topping of your choice.  It's been called a "sticky, ethereal puff of summer relief" and they are right.  It was SO GOOD!  Totally hit the spot better than ice cream would have.

So now I lay here in my hot apartment just smiling about how cool Chicago is.  And it's my city. :)

First few days

Click here for pics of my new apartment!

Well, I have food in the fridge.  I have stuffed most of my clothes in the closet.  Maintenance has already been called up here to fix a few things.  It has been a really busy, really tiring couple of days.

Took my first trip to a Chicago grocery store yesterday - Jewel Osco.  I was able to use my Chicago Card Plus for the first time on the bus ride up there, and then we carried 6 bags of groceries on the bus on the way back!  As a side note, I think I'm allergic to all the city grit.  You don't really notice it, but I'm all stuffy I think from the bus exhaust, etc...BF says I will get used to it.

Today, I went down to the mattress store to pick up a mattress and box springs, and as a bonus, I got the rails!  This should supply me with lots more storage space!  We also walked my route to work, and it's a bit long...25 mins at a fairly quick pace.  But on the plus side, there are at least 25 restaurants, a starbucks, 2 hardware stores, a french grocery, and about a million people!  It's so fun having everything in walking distance, and I'm betting I've already lost 5 lbs.  I am curious though, will the feet aching ever go away?

Finally Here!

Wow, I haven't written anything here in a couple weeks.  Things got a little crazy at work, and then I actually made the move!  I am living in Chicago now.  Got my things moved into my apartment today.  That was an interesting adventure.

The day began with us driving downtown during rush hour traffic, which turned out to be moving fairly quickly.  Bear in mind that "fairly quickly" still took us over an hour.  We stopped by bf's office to pick up a furniture dolly, and I stayed with the car on Lower Wacker (think Batman Begins) while watching fish and flower delivery trucks ride by.  We had quite a little trek around the downtown area, and I was able to see just how much hustle and bustle there is.  It's amazing!  SO many little restaurants, shops, florists...since I pointed out all of the latter, I expect to be getting many flowers. ;)

Once we found the apartments, we had to go turn around so that we'd be going the right direction for the trailer.  I've always heard that Chicago traffic is the worst, but we had really had such an easy drive so far, I was starting to be lulled into complacency.  Well, my hopes of easy driving were dashed.  Went up one block, and even though there were no signs, a utility company was blocking the entire road.  Everyone had to turn around.  Turning around in a long truck with a trailer attached is VERY difficult, I've discovered.  I spent about an hour telling people to back up and shouting directions and making wild hand gestures just to try to get us backed down the street.  Bf did such a great job.  We were both a little rattled after that experience, but the next part made it all worth it.

We finally got to the apartment and I took a look around after signing the lease,  I was very pleased with what I saw.  The building is really lovely.  It bills itself as "Luxury Lake Front Apartments" and it's really true.  There are dog treats and coffee in the lobby!   Just walk out the front door, turn to the left, and there's the lake. I was so close to the lake that I could feel the spray whenever the wind blows!  The apartment is small, no doubt, but not as small as I had envisioned.  All the doors, fixtures, appliances, and surfaces are very nice, and a box fan in the window should solve the stuffiness issue.  Pics to come later today.

A freight elevator helped us with our stuff (only took about 30 trips in the elevator).  But let me just say, an elevator with a manual door that has to be held while the dolly gets wheeled in and out is almost just as difficult as carrying boxes!  By the time we were done, we were absolutely exhausted.  But I am thrilled with my new neighborhood.  Within 30 steps of my building there are no fewer than 4 mani/pedi places!  What am I going to do!?!  Leo will also be very happy.  Less than half a mile from our building is a dog beach.  We'll probably head down there today.

All in all, very exciting and successful day.  A bit of sunburn, VERY tired, but very happy.  More to come...

It's coming, it's coming

More and more things are having to be done as I move!  I'm getting so excited!  I ordered my Chicago Card Plus yesterday - a card that takes 7-10 days to be delivered by mail, and can be preloaded with funds to get me around the CTA and El train.  I also changed the information on my website (www.bergmusicstudio.com) to reflect my new city!  Went to the bank to find out about changing my account information, bought new sunglasses...well, not EVERYTHING has to be about Chicago, right? :)


One major bummer.  Boyfriend's home phone stopped working.  So no talking during the day.  Just another reminder that it's so good I'm making this move.  I miss him.

In other news, I am working on my own bonus structure! It's been an interesting process, and just another step in my professional growth.  I love my job and I'm so happy to start fresh in a new place with a clean slate.

Nothing ever goes as smoothly as it should

I finally have an apartment!  I tell you what.  Finding an apartment in the city seems a lot more fun than it really is.  You have to weigh so many different things and decide what you can live without, because you're never going to get everything you want in one place.  And then you have to deal with realtors, because big cities like Chicago have middlemen for just about everything, it seems.  (BTW, realtors are dead to me because of many things that happened a few years back, but that's a story for another time)

So this apartment is lovely.  Everything is brand new, it's in a wonderful location, heat is included in the very reasonable rent...what's the caveat?  It's only 350 square feet.  Yes.  I realize I'm going to be living in a box.  However, I tend to look at these things as somewhat of a challenge to be conquered.  Boyfriend is very nervous that I'm going to be miserable, but I don't think so.  I'm excited!  But the worst part is that I had my heart set on a particular unit, overnighted the money to them to reserve that unit, and it was rented out from under me!  Boyfriend was SO upset and went all mama bear on that realty company.  It was beautiful.  He called them up and told them that I never would have spent the money on overnighting if I knew that apartment wasn't available, etc, and they apparently were so afraid of him that they said they'd reimburse me the $45. :)  And I have a different unit, one where everything is brand spanking new. :)  But really, why can't things ever run as smoothly as they should?

So I'm really doing it.  I have a tiny studio apartment in a really hip part of a huge city.  I am doing the city thing.  Should I be more nervous?  I hope not.  So far this is fun!

Is today the day?

It was a no-go on the apartment I thought I wanted.  I say that because I am going to get an even better one in a better location now!  (that's thinking positively for you).  The lovely boyfriend is headed downtown today for a full afternoon of apartment hunting on my behalf.  :)  I have him scoping one in the Gold Coast, and 3 in Lakeview.  2 are studios and 2 are 1 brm.  Will today be the day I find my city home?  And would you believe it's so hard to weigh location vs. price vs. space vs. shopping?  At least I don't have any furniture to worry about.  I have never been so happy I decided to sell it all!  I'm really digging the one in the photo.  I love that corner window look.

Another thing I realized, after dealing with these blazing hot summer days in SC, is that I am actually looking forward to a chill in the air!  Autumn is my favorite season and I get to enjoy it with my favorite boy in my new city. :)

Still Waiting...

Well, I'm still waiting for word on the apartment.  I only know that there are 2 other applicants also waiting to hear.  Leo and I are sitting alone in our room again this morning.  He has a grooming appointment today - gotta make sure he's set for all those cute babes up in Chicago.  This interim experience living with my boss has been good practice for us.  We'll be in a small space up there, so we're getting used to it now.  He's going to need LOTS of walking to make up for not being able to roam around a yard, like we had in our old house.  It's just good for him that I enjoy going on walks with him...we'll see how I feel in December. :)

Pins and Needles

Waiting is something I have never been good at.  Patience is a virtue I only possess sometimes.  I have found a great apartment that the lovely boyfriend says is perfect for me, at a great price, in the perfect location.  He went to check it out last week, I filled out the applications, and now I am waiting on pins and needles to find out if I got it.  Not very patient...staring at my email, waiting for that inbox unread number to change.

EEK! A Deer!

I probably won't run into much of this once I move, but I almost hit a deer tonight!  On my way home from work, Bambi's mom just hopped right out in front of me! Thank goodness for quick reflexes and decent brakes.  Trade off no deer for city traffic?

The Journey

So for those of you who don't know, I am currently staying with a great friend of mine (and her family) since I rented my house out before I was quite ready to move to Chicago.  It's been wonderful and interesting so far.  All the things I missed while living alone are no longer a problem - there are people in the house, folks to watch tv and movies with, lots of kid food (read: tasty and lacking in nutrition), and dogs for Leo to play with.  I have discovered, though, that there is something to be said for being alone with yourself.  Sitting alone in my room this morning, petting my puppy, watching Animal Planet, and writing to you all.  I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing except getting on my way to my new home. :)