I have friends!

My friends Kristal and Yancie came over from St. Louis for a visit this weekend and boy, was I glad to have them! Even though I’ve only been here a week, I’ve gotten a bit lonely for somebody to hang out with.

They drove in Friday night and we caught up a bit and planned their stay.  Saturday morning, we suited up in our winter garb and headed out for a day of sight-seeing. We walked down the Magnificent Mile, got hollered at for taking pictures in the historic water tower (while the security guard watched videos on his iPhone), visited Navy Pier, petted a Shiba Inu, ate burritos, saw several couples skank it up in photo booths, took pictures at the bean in Millenium Park, watched some ice skaters and then took the L to Bucktown where we met Kristal’s college friend, Christian and his wife Carri for supper and drinks at Bluebird.

Chris and Carri are so much fun and it was great to meet some other Southern transplants in Chicago (well, sort of. Chris is from Germany but Carri’s from the South.) Carri tried to take us to a place called The Violet Hour but the line was long and it was cold so we walked on to Wicker Park and had drinks at Small Bar – a cozy sports bar with a wide range of local brews. Worn out from our cold day of walking, we took a cab home and fell fast asleep.

This morning, I woke up extra early to get ready for my orientation at The Second City.  I  haven’t had any really strong emotions regarding my move or starting my classes but I suppose I was subconsciously nervous since I woke up every half hour, panicking that I was late. Thankfully, I arrived in plenty of time for my 10 a.m. orientation before meeting Kristal and  Yancie at the delicious Original Pancake House for brunch.

All of the new students met in the mainstage theater before we broke off into our program groups. There were about 15 of us starting the writing program. At one point, the instructor pointed to me and asked, “who’s your favorite comedian?” I was deciding which boy in the group was the best-looking kind of daydreaming at that point so I was a little startled to see that she was talking to me. I answered, “Miiiine?” in an accent that’s way more country than my normal voice. “Um, probably Steve Martin?” I do love Steve Martin. In fact, I’d marry him tomorrow if he asked but he was literally THE ONLY comedian I could call to mind. Oh well, so much for being cool and on the cutting edge of the comedy scene. I told Kristal when I got home that I sounded so country, people probably expected me to answer, “Well, shucks. I reckon I like them thar comedians on Hee Haw right well.”

I start classes Tuesday and I’m anxious to get going! Here’s hoping I won’t continue to talk like one of the Beverly Hillbillies :)

Groceries

I”m not promising that these Chicago posts are going to be funny or even interesting, I’m just writing them to avoid job searching, dish washing and laundry. Hopefully I’ll have some colorful and or interesting stories to share soon.

The biggest difference I’ve noticed between North and South (or at least Chicago and Augusta) over the last five days is the  grocery shopping.

1. Groceries are so expensive here!! A rotisserie chicken that would cost $5.99 at Kroger costs $10 at Jewel-Osco. (I almost choked to death when I saw the prices at Treasure Island. I quickly put my cart away and ran out without buying anything.)  I could easily go broke cooking all of the delicious things I want to fix so I have to be smart about buying multi-use ingredients.

2. They sell liquor in the grocery stores! I’ve seen this on the Food Network but it still shocked me to see a gallon jug of Bacardi at the end of the bread aisle. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they even sold liquor, wine and beer on Sundays.

3. The stores, aisles and buggies (or grocery carts) are so tiny compared to home. Both the Jewel-Osco and Treasure Island stores could fit inside the local Augusta Publix with room to spare. And at home, three extra-wide carts could fit in each aisle, here two extra skinny carts can barely squeeze by one another.

The end. See? I told you that wasn’t going to be funny or interesting. Maybe I’ll just start making stuff up for the sake of keeping readers.

Bleh.

I’m here!

My move to Chicago went very smoothly and I couldn’t be happier with my sight-unseen apartment. I’m in a historic building of condos and everybody’s been super nice.

Apartment

I don’t have a proper camera right now so you’ll just have to enjoy the photos from the rental company’s website.

My teeny tiny kitchen and front door in the left corner. Taken from the bedroom door. What you can’t see in this picture is my flat screen TV or my luxurious brown futon.

My teeny tiny fridge and teeny tiny oven are adorable and since I’m super close to a grocery store, I don’t need to worry about stuff not fitting in the fridge. Mama and I got a frozen pizza the other night and it just barely fit in the freezer and oven. The stove/oven are gas, which I haven’t used since we lived in Effingham (about 13 years ago) so hopefully I won’t blow the place up :)

Bedroom taken from the bathroom. What you can’t see here is my gorgeous bed in a bag comforter and the jagged edge of my sheer “curtain”. From my bedroom I have the view of a parking lot and the back of a church that is literally 5 feet away. I get lots of sun though and can’t complain.

See that radiator below the window? I’ve never had a radiator before and it’ll take some getting used to. The one in the living room clunks really loudly when it turns on and I’ve got to learn to not wake up in a cold sweat when I hear it.

Bathroom taken from the bedroom. This room is actually pretty cute. The only thing that’ll take some getting used to is the fact that the toilet can only handle about 1 square of toilet paper being flushed before it clogs.

Rooftop deck that I haven’t been on yet. Maybe I’ll venture up there when it gets a little warmer.

Location

I’m about 1/2 a block from the L train, a grocery store and 2 pharmacies and it only takes me about 10 minutes to walk to The Second City. Wahoo! The location couldn’t be better and there are dogs galore who live in the building so that thrills me to no end.

Job

Mama leaves in the morning so I’m sure I’ll be lonely and sad when she’s gone but hopefully I’ll meet some new friends and find a job soon.

Classes

I have orientation on Sunday, February 27 and my first class Tuesday, March 1.  I have no idea what to expect so I’m looking forward to getting started.

Weather

It’s definitely a far cry from the warm Georgia February. Saturday was sunny and clear but about 35 degrees, Sunday was rainy and about 35 degrees and today it snowed and was about 32 degrees. Poor Mama has been freezing but I haven’t been too bothered by the cold. Plenty of layers, gloves, scarves, earmuffs, etc have helped stave off the frigid wind. I just need to figure out how to walk up the street without snow blowing in my eyes. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Updates

I’m going to try really hard to do a weekly update but in the meantime, feel free to leave me any questions or comments.

(Slightly) Thwarted Plans

By now, you’ve probably seen the photos like this of Chicago.

Due to the rather impassable conditions, my move has been rescheduled from this week to February 19th. Let’s hope that some of this ridiculous snow has melted by then. I have a feeling that I won’t need to pack my clothes in a suitcase because wearing all of them at one time will be a necessity.

I’m a little disappointed that my trip has been postponed but at the same time, I’m soaking up every minute with family and friends and our comparably warm winter. Stay warm!