huzzah! i've finally made it back to the city i love. i'm sitting in my new apartment in my own room right now, watching the sunset over the city through my big beautiful windows. it's glorious. just happiness right now.

so, apparently, everyone now gets journal skins for a limited time... of course i'm gonna take advantage of that. i don't right journals often, but this calls for one.

so yes. i'm in chicago. I'M IN CHICAGO! it is still quite surreal. possibly because we have barely left our apartment since we got here. all the unloading, unpacking, arranging, cleaning, and getting cable/internet/electricity set up. but it's coming along. my room is pretty much done, other than decorating the walls. i have my own bathroom, too, which is fantastic. especially since i'm sharing the apartment with a boy who has more girly habits than i do.

i love waking up and knowing that i am here, this is real. i like knowing i have a best friend in the room next to mine- someone i can talk to at any time. someone to make it through this transition with. i like being able to call my friends and brag about this kick ass apartment. i'm sure sooner or later i'll start to miss things about home. like the little siblings and my cats and family. but right now, i'm on top of the world and nothing can bring me down.

the neighborhood we are in is pretty great. pretty close to but not in wrigleyville. grocery store next door. three blocks from a CTA train station. they are building a target down the street. and there is a wonderful hole in the wall mexican restaurant a block away. love it. ate there last night. also by complete coincidence, we picked an apartment only two blocks away from the girl i roomed with when i did Chicago Semester last year with school. yay for friends!

we live on the 8tht floor, a corner apartment, and we have a great view. bedrooms look west, living room windows look west and north. and the windows are big! basically they take up the entire wall. we can see a little bit of the lake, even. it was very blue and beautiful today. maybe if it is nicer out tomorrow i will walk that way. i don't think there are any beaches in this area. not that we would want one at this time of year anyways. besides, our building has a pool! and a tennis court, a half basketball court, and a fitness center. i love it.
i can't believe we have such an amazing place to live. now we just need jobs... hopefully we can work out that and other minor details this week.

it's wonderful being somewhere new. we know some people in the city so it's not like we are totally alone and abandoned. and not having that horrid job anymore is a huge relief. whatever job i get here, i at least will know that it can't be as bad as Burger King.

i wonder when this euphoric feeling will pass. will the view ever become just another neglected landscape? will the novelty wear off? when the pressure and stress of the real world sets in again, will we still find joy in the fact that we are in Chicago, away from home, and starting new lives as independent people? i don't know. that is kind of the way life goes, but i hope the joy lasts a long time.