so.... where to begin... i am now currently and officially a resident of austin, tx. this is exciting for several reasons: one, i've never lived outside of california until now and always wanted to and now i am. two, i love texas, and have decided that this is most likely where i will raise my children when the time is right. three, the people here are incredibly warm and inviting, not at all like the bay area. its a different way of living here. there is the city aspect of it, so if you are into the more hustle and bustle type of life, you can have it. but if you just want to spend the day by the river, or a lake, or at a coffee shop (as i am currently doing) or country dancing or hip hop dancing, you can do all those things here. my bff megan thinks i was pretty much born to live here. and i'm sure within the next few weeks, i will really have the hang of things. but for right now, i have bouts of sadness and lonliness, which i guess is expected when you move to a city 1800 miles from home without knowing anyone. well, correction, i know one person but she boarded a flight to costa rica yesterday morning and will be there for the next 8 days, so i'm back down to zero. so, yeah, i get lonely. the first week or so i was here i didnt feel it so much, as the newness set it and i spent my free time running errands, buying crap for my new apartment, replacing my life in terms of plates and couches and cleaning products, etc. but now, i've pretty much run all my errands and now i have a little too much free time. dont get me wrong, i'm enjoying the extra time, but do miss having friends to share it with. the dog and i wake up around 8, hop in the car, grab a cup of coffee and head to the dog park. he has just discovered mud, and is quite fond of it. at first it was cute, but now its just a pain in the ass. see below:
so after the park, we generally come home, maybe i tidy up some, give him a bath, then go lay out by the pool. yesterday's pool loungings were cut short though, because there were all these little gray fuzzy spiders that jumped around in the grass and they freaked me out so i left. i also received my last two boxes in the mail, again, most contents broken, so all my stuff is here that is going to be here. and i look around at my very empty apartment and think, wow. i pay for a one bedroom and could very easily be perfectly content in a studio. i dont even have a bed. i have an air mattress, which now that i have a couch, i havent slept on at all. sometimes i do some crafty things, like reupholster bar stools to make them awesome (yes, the leopard print is the upgrade):
sometimes i stand in awe of my huge closet, and admire how nicely all my shoes are in plain view for me, brand by brand:
i've finally started working actual shifts at the store, and i think thats really going to help pick up my mood, because i will be able to start interacting with people on a much more frequent basis and make friends quicker. yesterday was my first day in the bakery, and although i've heard horror stories about this department, i actually enjoyed it. i worked the bread department, time flew by, my coworkers were really pleasant (although the dudes far outnumber the ladies in this department, which is strange, because every other bakery i've seen is the reverse. it actually seems like dudes outnumber the ladies across the board in this store, which also seems strange to me.) and as funny as it sounds, i really enjoyed working. not just going to work, but doing actual work. lifting and moving and sweeping and whatever else. it made me feel productive and good about what i was doing. also, what really took me by surprise, is how much i enjoy the customer service aspect of it. i am really a people person, which makes me think i am really going to enjoy doing hair, and am super excited for school to start. i just wish it was sooner. so, work was good, and i think it will continue to be good. a bunch of coworkers invited me out after work last night and it felt good to be included and to do stuff that makes me feel like i really live here, and am not just visiting. i have another invite out on thursday; i guess a group of people go out to this place called the jackelope on thursdays and someone was all, you should go. so i'm going. again, feeling like i live here. the more friends i make here, the less lonely i will feel and the more independent i will feel. its pretty much a win-win. also, i'm sure my friends back at home will be glad when i start making friends because i'm sure this transition has been really hard on them too, with my much-more-frequent phone calls and texts at any given hour of the day. and friends- thank you for being so supportive and letting me whine and cry to you fromthis far away. you have no idea what it means. it can be hard to feel alienated, and what i'm realizing is that when you are this far from everyone you know, you end of feeling alienated from both sideas. like, your friends at home have their own things going on and can't just drop anything they're doing to take your call and because you arent there to know when they are free or busy, you arent sure if it is a good time to call so you feel a little isolated from your old comfort zone. and in your new city, you havent had enough time to create a comfort zone here yet, and so you are just sort of floating around in the middle feeling really lost. i'm doing my best, but it gets hard. so hard that i almost booked a flight home for the weekend, but was talked out of it by several good friends. not to mention, since i've only been working a few days a week (and not until about 3), and i'm up for two hours generally before anyone at home, i have a lot of free time just sitting around wishing i had someone to talk to. i keep pretty busy, but still... also, its scary to think your friends will forget about you since you arent there anymore, and so there is this need to maintain constant contact. so friends out there; if you get random texts about what i had for lunch, or whatever else, this is why. so this is why, this morning, instead of taking the dog to the park in the normal fashion, i decided to come to the coffee shop and be around other humans. because human interaction is impoortant, and it makes me feel better just hearing other people talking, even if it isnt to me per se. we will go to the park later, but i needed this morning for myself.
so, a few other observations about texas: sarcasm is not at all the free flowing medium of communication here as it is on california. i am no less clumsy or accident prone in texas thanb i am in california. at the park the other day, i plowed head first into a gigantic tree limb. and still trip on everything, and am covered in bruises from head to toe. also, the freeways here are fucked. you pretty much have to know where you want to go before you get there, because you cant backtrack the way you can in california. if you see something off the side of the freeway and try to get off at the next exit, it is close to impossible to just simply loop around. hmmm. other observations... well, its hot (duh) but i havent found it to be too unbearable yet. there are cockroaches and beetles here far more than in the bay, but again, not unbearable. i dunno. its just pretty great.
also, i like receiveing mail. so if you want to send me care packages or love letters or notes just saying hi and letting me know you havent forgotten about me, i would love to receive those. if you havent sent these things yet because you dont have my address, just ask me for it. also, if you have any pictures you'd like me to hang on my fridge, hand drawn or otherwise, send them and i will put them up. because even though i may be 1800 miles away, i will never forget you guys and i will always make time for you, even if things get hectic here in texas. or just bring them to me in person. i love visitors. love you and miss you.
ok, and song of the day...
No comments:
Post a Comment