So it's been a minute...sorry bout that. Moving was very time consuming and stressful. Then holidays and soon to be more holidays so still getting my routine back into place but I'd like to at least post a few of the things I'd been meaning to the past few months. Prepare for a stream of my consciousness (beep boop I'm a space cadet)!

In my last post, I mentioned leaving a bad review regardless of Meagan's kindness and I'm glad I didn't follow through with that (not following through? that tracks.) because Meagan actually saved me a lot of money and was a real person. The place I was moving to wanted me to start in mid November so I checked with the front desk to see if I could just give two months notice instead of 3 like my lease specified. Luckily, Meagan and the other managers were like "yea that policy wasn't really working the best for our residents so we only require 1.5x rent and 30 day notice." Like damn okay queen respect for being a real one you have no idea how much that helps me out god bless you. So yea glad I didn't post my ranting review and big shout out to Meagan. Sad side note: I did find out a few weeks later when confirming everything was good to go that Meagan "was no longer with the company" from some random guy that sounded like a suit. So RIP and fuck maximizing profits; FREE MEAGAN!!

Halloween Weekend I came to Chicago to look at my place and pick up some papers as well as go out with Jacob/Kerri and friends. It was a great weekend overall but a few thoughts stuck out as I was 2 weeks away from relocating here permanently. 1.) I left after work so it was dark as I was getting into the city. I don't think I had ever driven into Chicago at night and it was really pretty/exciting seeing all the lights. Right as I was getting on Lakeshore Dr "Am I Dreaming" by Metro came on and it was hilarious and exhilarating because it captured the emotions so perfectly. I was captivated and I couldn't believe I was finally moving to a big city—it had been a long time coming. 2.) It was a Thursday night, so we didn't really have any plans before I got there. But when I arrived Jacob was like yea we're going to this casual party at a college friend's place. These "in the moment" plans were what I loved most about college/being in a walkable environment. It was something I was very much looking forward to. 3.) On my way back from seeing my apartment/meeting my landlord, I was just walking and reading through the tenant info. I must have passed my friend Audrey's place because she texted me asking if I was in Chicago since she thought she just saw me from her window. I laughed and responded I'd be moving in 2 weeks. It wasn't necessarily this specific interaction that made me laugh but more so the fact that even in such a big city, I'll constantly bump into people I know. This was another thing I loved and missed about college/walkable environments. And it was a large reason I wanted to be in Chicago. Tangentially, the Halloween party had probably 80+ come through there throughout the night. There was a keg and many people I had never met before but also many old friends (or gaming friends I hadn't met in person (shoutout Plaz and Sarah)). It was a really great time, and I specifically remember being so excited for this type of event to become a regular occurrence.

Moving in right before Thanksgiving was hectic and quite akin to when you got new video games for Christmas that you were super excited to play but you couldn't play until you got home from Louisville which was usually like right at the end of break so then you had to go back to school before you could really grind out those necessary hours of gaming time.

Dec 5, I was finally getting over the flu a few weeks ago and had been trapped in my apartment working/sleeping for the past few days, so I was a little stir crazed and slightly unhinged. I think Jacob picked up on this because he told me to remember to get fresh air (very cold fresh air mind you). While I had planned to do so anyway (I needed food and nicotine), the gesture was much appreciated as the walk was revitalizing and certainly needed. BUT, I also got to really bask in the Lincoln Park aura, enjoy a super pretty sunset, and watch people going about their everday life—which was conveniently my own everyday life now as well. The pics are below and don't really do the scene justice because I was taking em while walking. I first noticed the glow on the buildings coming back towards my apartment. I'm not trying to exagerate but to me it looked like a scene out of a 90s movie or sitcom opening where it's just very golden, rustic, city pituresque. It was dope ngl. Then the main show was the sunset in the background of Oz park at the corner of my street. Mr. Tinman was lookin mighty fine. So yea if it wasn't clear, super stoked to be here and be neighbors with such good friends who care about my well-being.

This is a random throwback from when I grabbed lunch at Zuki with Audra sophomore year I think. We were catching up and talking about college/what we had been up to—pretty normal stuff. Mid-conversation I had like a daydream/super vivid memory of some girl I was super close with. For some reason, I couldn't remember who it was even though I could vividly picture her. It was so disturbing I actually brought it up with Audra as I tried to remember who tf this was. It was pretty uncanny and felt like I was in Steins Gate or some shit and had shifted world lines. I don't really have much else to say about it but the memory of that conversation with Audra is still vivid and makes me fairly confident there are alternate worldlines. So yea if I ever randomly run into this person and they are real then I will update y'all so you can corraborate my story.

Had a wine and dinner night at Jacob/Kerri's this past week where we made homemade butternut squash ravioli with a sage/brown sugar butter sauce. It took a while but it was really rewarding and a great time; the wine was great and they're really great with food ideas. I'm excited for more nights like this and to dive into cooking with so many groceries next door.

Some good friends from college/pre-med fraterntiy visited Christian, AJ, and me so we went out and caught up over brunch/mimosas. Great time, but she (Kylie) shit on me for not catching up with her more since college. Which fair, but I also pointed out that this was sorta what my website is supposed to help me do. Well she said fuck your blog so I said ok bitch then don't read it!! (if you do read this then ok you can get mad at me, if not then tough!) It's difficult to keep everyone important to me up to date with my life/their lives when everyone's so busy. My family is infinitely big somehow and I forget to respond often. Is that shitty of me? yea prob but I'm trying mfers. Maybe I take it for granted being young, but I know I'll see and keep up with all the people important to me eventually. Great friends don't need to stress so much on goodbyes; it's always a cya later and we'll pick up right where we left off. Ok rant over, I still got a lot to fix on this website but UI shit was harder than I thought and my ChatGPT agent is a bot so until then just use a computer or deal with it! Thanks for coming to my TedTalk and Happy Hoidays.