Saturday, January 17, 2009

It's Official...


I have a ticket to the inauguration. I'm headed to Washington D.C. on Sunday to see President Obama sworn in. I will try to mobile blog or post photos to facebook and myspace. If not, check back next week for the scoop.

Monday, January 12, 2009

A month to the day...

Hey there,

It's been a month since my last blog. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It's 2009 and I'm so glad to be alive!!! I'm looking forward to an awesome year.

2008 was one of mixed emotions and after months of a dismal existence in that latter quarter, I made it to home on a high note. I'm moving forward into this year one step at a time. I know I won't be solely batting softballs, but I'm readying myself for fast balls and curve balls. I may have to switch hit a bit, but I plan on being ready and able. (Not sure where I got all of those baseball references?)

So much has happened in the past month that's kept me away from blogging, but I'm back and ready to divulge.

I bought a condo. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to be in my own space. Free to be or not be and live how I please, while building a little equity in the process. The economy has been in such as slump (surely, you've not noticed *smile*) that it's a buyers market right now. I got a great deal on a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 balcony, 1 deck, separate kitchen and dining room condo with hardwood floors and an exposed brick wall. If it sounds lovely, it's because it is. I'm overjoyed to have found this place. It's a major step for me and I feel good about it--genuinely good. That said, it hasn't been without some obstacles--ups and downs along the way. You can read about those here on my second blog. I created this blog just to gush/complain/whine/muse...whatever you want to call it about my home. I'm not abandoning this blog. In fact, I plan to blog with greater regularity here, but all things home related will be here for the next 6 months or so. Or, until the newness of it all wears off. :)

It's been a stressful few months. I started the home buying process in mid October and on December 5th, I closed on my place. I looked at 12 condos and the last one I saw was it. I knew it the moment I walked in. It was beyond anything I could have imagined for myself, a single woman or as a first place. I like that I have room and options to expand and grow right here. I have a master suite to myself complete with a bathroom and balcony. I have a second bedroom to use as guestroom. I have about as many friends outside of Chicago as I do in Chicago. I'm excited to finally be able to host them comfortably. Friends that want to visit Chicago for longer than a weekend can do so and sleep on a real bed, in a room with a door free of charge. I'm so happy to ope my door to friends and family.

I have a third bedroom which is now my office/library. It's the only room in the place that I've managed to get semi together. My desk and bookcase are arranged arranged nicely. My new all-in-one printer is set up and ready to do the job. Getting this space together is such a big deal to me for many reasons.

First I want to finagle my way into working from home one or two morning a week. I'm falling behind at work because I've become the "go to" person for almost everything non-fiscal. I could use a morning or two a week to just catch up or get ahead with emails, organizing and other projects. Now that I live 5 minutes a way from work, it's makes a lot of sense and it's feasible.

Secondly, I've made many contacts in the education and nonprofit world over the past four years. It's time I get myself some consulting work. Not only would I welcome the extra income, but I need some flexibility and a means to up my professional profile. For the most part, I like working in education, but there is so much more to learn and do. I think consulting would help expose me to other areas and opportunities.

Third, I want a comfortable space to write. I'm in my third quarter of the creative writing class that I started in the summer. I actually have a real project going, a novel. I want to complete, by the end of this year, a draft of it. I'm not going to enroll in a fourth quarter yet, so that I can focus on writing. I plan to have something substantial to workshop come Fall.

Now, I just have to get myself unpacked and decorated. I still have a long way to go before it looks the way I want it to, but I'm fending off daily, my anxiety about it. I just have to remember that settling in to a new place takes times and before I know it, I'll have it together.