16 May 2010
moving on up
It's barely past one on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, and I'm listening to Andrew Bird, doing laundry (and wearing clothes I haven't worn in months... and should wear more often), and reveling in delicious coffee and challah with scrambled eggs after a good workout at the gym this morning. This is not the usual Sunday routine this early in the day, but I'm digging it and want to make it more of a weekly feature. I love being up earlier than the rest of the world, and embracing a day where I don't have to go into the office. The whole day is mine.
This morning Kevin and I roused ourselves before 8am and shuffled around getting bags and things ready to take down to LAX airport. Now he is back in the Bay Area for two weeks before returning for Memorial Day weekend. I'm going to miss him lots, but I have something to look forward to: next Saturday I'm driving back across the desert to Arizona and spending a week with my family -- brother included! -- for my sister's high school graduation. I'm excited for lots of down time, lazy time, and momma's cooking. Going home is a funny thing, especially now that I am officially on my own... kinda. What does it mean to "visit home"? I'm also going to hopefully see my dear Mono Lake friend Claire, who lives nearby in Tucson. This will be one of my two weeks of vacation a year, as a working woman; the other I'll take in August, TBD. And then, over Memorial Day weekend, I will drive back to LA, pick up my man at the airport, and spend the weekend moving in to my new apartment in Silver Lake. I lucked out hardcore. It's a huge studio in a 1920s building with hardwood floors, south-facing windows, a loft space, tiled kitchen walls, a private little patio outside with a gate and archway, and a reserved parking spot... and utilities are included. The neighbors are young professionals, single and some couples, and the atmosphere seems to be quiet, cozy, relaxed. My lease contains the line "no loud music", which I am looking forward to after four months of listening to an aspiring guitar-piano musician who shares a wall with my bedroom kill me with monotone chords all evenings of the week.
My roommate Eva is moving west, to Santa Monica. Her temporary-turned-indefinite job at a research thinktank is there, and the commute is a bust. She's also just an ocean girl, and it's more her style over there. I happen to love this side of town, especially Silver Lake, and can't wait to feel settled. My lease is the standard year, which gives me stability... I'm going to make this my little home. And I am especially looking forward to Kevin living with me for June and July, while he does research at USC. It's going to be fun to be together without the interruptions and stress of school and work keeping us physically apart, as they do most of the year. But for the next two weeks, I am the appointed guardian of some of his most precious items: his desktop computer, monitors, and pool cue. I am looking forward to packing up my room this week, and the spring cleaning that inevitably follows.