Two Weeks

I have officially been living in my New York apartment for two weeks now and, I must say, it's been a little more difficult than I initially anticipated. I thought I had prepared myself, knowing that I would be lonely and homesick and all of those other emotions that come along with moving to a new city far from home. There were, however, a few adjustments that I didn't realize would be so difficult.

My roommate Meghan and I arrived to a less than clean apartment on the evening of August 3rd. Yes, the 3rd, not the 1st, because we had to leave time for the super to paint and clean up after the slobs that inhabited the space before us. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. First of all, the "kitchen" (if you can even call it that) consists of a small refrigerator, a few cabinets, about a foot and a half of counter space, and an oven that may as well use a 60-watt light bulb as its heat source because it is so small. Upon opening said cabinets, we came to discover about 50 to 100 cockroach carcasses that were left, presumably as a housewarming gift to us by the previous tenants, with a few survivors scurrying around what looked like a miniature war zone. (Oh, the humanity!)

After letting out a few squeals and squishing one with a small box, we proceeded to our new bedrooms, suitcases and aeromattresses in hand. My feet now black from the thin layer of dust that covered the wood floor, I decided to take the only bedroom with a window that faces the back of the building, rather than the street. Excellent decision, it turns out, since the avenue is a constant symphony of trash trucks, buses, cabs, people... all sounds of the city that would surely keep me up at night. Instead, I have a nice quiet room that I can sleep soundly in... or at least I can now that I have my bed, complete with sheets and comforter and such, things that were not as easy to come by as one might think.

One thing that I had grown accustomed to while living in California was easy access to any type of store that I needed at any given time. I could just hop in my car and, within 20 minutes, I could be at Target, Ikea, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Albertsons, Target (I know I already mentioned it, but it's an important one); just a quick jaunt in the car and I'm there. I had no idea how much I really relied on my car until I didn't have one anymore. Now, in order to get to Ikea, I have to take the 4 train all the way into Brooklyn (not a short trip from the Upper East Side), where I can catch a shuttle that comes once every 20 minutes (or, it seems, whenever they feel like it). In all, the trip takes about an hour. Then, since this is the only Ikea within the five boroughs, I'm forced to fight the (less-than-desirable) crowds of people that can't wait to build their own furniture. Once I'm through picking out all of the cheap furniture and home decor my penny-pinching heart desires, I can just toss it in my.... oh wait, I didn't drive here. Crap. Luckily, they deliver, as do many places around the city. I have since had my bed, sheets, dresser, bookcase, nightstand, and some yummy Thai food delivered right to my door.

So, how am I adjusting, you ask? Well, I'm getting there. After finally getting my bed together complete with sheets (compliments of my loving mother) and comforter, cleaning up the cockroach carcasses, Swiffer Wet Jetting the floor, cleaning the bathroom thoroughly with bleach, and building my cheap Ikea furniture, this little Upper East Side apartment is finally starting to feel like home. Now I just need to start unpacking....