Downs and Ups

If I were to have written last night, the tone of this blog would have been completely different.

I stayed at my grandparents' house Monday night to enable me to catch a 7:35AM Metra train into Chicago. This means I woke up around 6 and left the house at 6:30. At 7:40 I received a phone call and learned that my 10AM interview was cancelled due to a family emergency. As a result I hung out at Corner Bakery and used their free wifi until I met up with Lauren (my potential roommate) around 2. We met at a cute cafe owned by one of her friends: Noble Tree Cafe. I got a honey plum tea with steamed soy, and it was very good; it didn't need any added sweetener! Even though we are different in some aspects, Lauren and I hit it off right away. (She thought we would because we're both virgos.) After we talked for awhile, we decided to go to Apartment People to look for an apartment together. We were only shown two apartments in out price range: both garden apartments that neither of us wanted to even consider. The bedrooms were so small that you couldn't fit much more than a bed in either room, and they kind of smelled like basements. After our first two showings, we decided it might be beneficial to to have another roommate our two. So then I got in touch with Rachel. Lauren and I parted ways for the night and planned to get together again Wednesday.

She called me around 10:45 Thursday morning to let me know that she had an appointment for us to see a place around 1:30. The place was a money location as it was five minutes or so from my job, but the rooms were terribly different in size. Lauren really liked it, but I did not feel like home to me. We decided to spend the rest of the day walking around the neighborhoods we like(d), searching for "For Rent" signs. I would guess we called 8 or so places but were only able to see one 3 bedroom at 6:30. The apartment was beautiful; the appliances hadn't even been installed yet. Saying that... It was also out of our price range. Lauren had to go, but Rachel and I went to Starbucks to get to know one another. After talking with her I thought the three of us might live really well together. When I went home I went on my good friend Craig's List and searched for 3 bedroom apt listings. I sent an e-mail to both girls and then tried to fall asleep. I had some of my worst nights of sleep these past few nights.

Yesterday morning Lauren and I had an appointment with the Apartment Finders. Mark made me feel optimistic. He didn't think it was practical for the two of us to look for three bedrooms (Rachel had to work til 5), but we started with 6 options. He couldn't get a hold of one; two were leased once we started, and we were not happy with the other ones we saw. At the end of our appointment we decided that we needed to change one of our search criteria: price, location or requirements. As Lauren and I grabbed a late lunch she encouraged me to search out other options. (I don't think she was too into the 3 bedroom idea.) By this time I was getting pretty down, but I was excited to be spending my night working with kids at McCormick Place. I was in the room with the 4-12 year-olds, and it really took everything else off of my mind. On my way over there I returned a call from Rupa. [Rupa signed a lease with three others but has decided to leave Chicago.] I found out about this situation via Craig's List but felt bad calling her back once Lauren and I started searching. Rupa and I set up an appointment for me to see the place today at 12:30.

After work I went over to Anique's to crash for the night. I hadn't seen her since graduation, so it was really nice to catch up. On the way over I learned that my Mom got tickets for the Cubs game on Wednesday night! Anique and I talked until we fell asleep and then slept in until about 10:30 this morning. The two of us grabbed lunch at a place called Orange: with a peel. (I think the name is so cute!) I took a break from the vegan life and did some brunch splitting with Anique: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes (cinnamon-infused pancakes served with maple-pecan paste, served with vanilla glaze and powdered sugar) and Omelet #6 (a three egg omelet sauteed with garlic, forest mushrooms, asparagus, and dry aged jack cheese topped with with toasted almonds, then drizzled with balsamic reduction). I guess I was hungry because I ate my entire half! Anique was impressed. :)

I felt bad because I was running late to see the place, but Rupa and Tessa were incredibly understanding. I walked in the house and had a great feeling! Someone had created little mailboxes to sort the mail; there was a trash can and a recycling can; the kitchen table had fresh flowers on it, etc. It had everything I wanted and more: a dishwasher, a washer and dryer in the unit, close proximity to the Belmont el stop and Southport Corridor, a Whole Foods and gym close by, a back deck, a grassy area in back to lounge in... So while it's a little more than I wanted to spend, I fell in love and didn't want to look any more! <3 class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Evanston with Rupa, who had a writing workshop, and decided to head home and help Monica move back to Iowa tomorrow. It feels nice to be able to sit and not be worried about that stuff for a bit. I'm excited to take Moni to school and even more excited for my graduation party on Sunday! Things seem to be coming together fairly well.