We're online, up and running, and guess what? It's already cold! I'm wrapped up in a blanket as I'm writing this. How sad are we? Just wait until January - we'll have great photos then! Now for the update...
The move itself: horrible. Mom, Brandon, me - all in a 26 ft. Penske truck towing my car behind it. I think I grew six stomach ulcers and bit my nails to the quick going through the mountains with that thing. The entire trip felt like we hit a bad patch of turbulence on a plane. After Mom and Brandon gave me dramamine to make me sleep, I hear the trip went a lot smoother :)
As Dad says, next to the word "Friend" in the dictionary, there is a picture of our Best Man, Frosty. He flew up to help us move. He went up and down the stairs an approximate 116 times. Without him, I would still be lugging the sofa up the stairs. And no, there is no air conditioning in this apartment. We needed it then, but now we're glad we didn't bring one.
Brandon has been a ball of energy in getting this place together. He's repaired almost everything that needed it - leaky faucets, holes in the floor, etc. He also has great taste when it comes to design for the apartment. Just the other day, he happened to mention that the curtains would need some buttercream in them to match the walls. What a man's man I have. Sigh.
Illinois is an interesting place. Chicago looks fun and exciting, and we can't wait to finish setting up the apartment so we can go there! Evanston is great - we've found grocery stores, pet stores, ice cream stores, and Thai restaurants all in walking distance from our walk-up apartment. So city life is going to be great. Small problem, though. With the exception of our banker and our insurance agent (who IS, by the way, Matt Foley, Chris Farley's SNL motivational speaker, "in a van down by the river!!") , no one speaks English. We walked into Target, and I thought I had gone out of my mind. I have never heard so many languages spoken so loudly and quickly in my entire life. At least all that noise helps drown out the sirens! (Just kidding, Mom!)
Speaking of Mom, she flew back to Bangkok and arrived there safely. I'm sure she was grateful to get away from us - she was in a perpetual state of servitude: cooking, cleaning, lifting. You know, things she never does anymore!
We've had our fair share of embarrassing moments already. Lots of them having to do with paying at the table or the cash register. Our favorite so far has been at the bank. Brandon agreed to sign up for the bank's credit card. Now, for those of you who don't know Brandon's family tree, this may not seem funny, but it is: The banker asked us what his mother's maiden name was. We laughed for about ten minutes - red in the face, crying, you know, the out of control laughing. Eventually, she got it out of us, and promised not to laugh about southerners with the other bankers on her coffee break. Oh, we'll fit in quite nicely here :)
Well, we've only been here a week, and with this many adventures, the next 5 years should be quite entertaining! Hopefully, the next blog post will begin with the successful purchase of a puppy :) Laters!
1 comment:
Nice blog
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