Good Stuff:
- Bank accounts are set up. The guy at the bank was a hoot. He told me to give the city six months before fleeing to the 'burbs. Not hard; we're in our lease until October 1, and the thought of moving again makes me queasy.
- I haven't eaten all of my Valentine's candy. Not that we got a lot. There's a Fanny May store across the street, and we got a box to share. Really, really trying to limit sweets, but keeping it out of the house isn't easy.
- I drove to the commissary yesterday and chose the route home. Eric navigated when he needed to. I'm learning my way around.
- There's a place about a mile from here that advertises southern barbecue. Southern IL, maybe; not the vinegar-based Carolina sauce I was envisioning, but they do a fabulous BBQ Eggs Benedict. I think manna must have tasted like Hollandaise.
- I found Whole Foods and a Caribou Coffee shop.
- Words were good this week. Friday was an especially good day. For me, not for my heroine. :-)
- The car didn't get towed.
- Eric figured out how to get all of our TV-related devices on one remote. So nice to have that back again.
Not So Good Stuff:
- The towing company didn't just knock the car out of alignment. They bent the adjustment bar on the left rear tire. Lunch last Sunday cost us about $700 when you consider towing fees and repair costs. Yeah. Welcome to Chicago. FWIW, it's cheaper to park illegally on the street, and if the city tow truck damages your car, the city pays for repairs. The one bright spot is I found our mechanic, and he's at the other end of our block. You can't beat that for convenience, especially when the car isn't safe to drive. Thank goodness he's trustworthy.
- Our roof sprang a leak yesterday. This winter has been hard on roofs in general. The snow and super cold form ice floes that don't allow water to shed, so it soaks through the shingles. I know this because I saw a report about on the news a couple days ago. The maintenance guy came and did when he could to stop the leak but a roofer will need to do a permanent fix. Yeah for being the tenant!
- I'm probably just being hormonal, but it feels harder this week. I've been convinced for a couple weeks that my kids made me brave. Even when we moved to Italy I was able to hunker down and get things done. If I had to drive them to school, I just did it. Now that I don't have that motivation and don't HAVE to do things, I'm afraid to do them. I tremble when I have to drive. I avoid going places alone if I can't walk there. I'm skipping church today because Eric has a migraine. That never stopped me before. I hate this. I want to be that fierce woman, that mama bear, again, but I don't know where she went. If you've seen her, tell her to get her butt home. Now!
This place is a paradox. On the one hand, every single person I've met has been nice. I have yet to talk to one grouchy person, which is more than I could say downstate. OTOH, it seems like the city has an atmosphere of screwing people. The towing company is a case in point. I read the reviews of that company on Yelp, and they got all one star reviews, mostly because you have to give them at least one star. They have a reputation for towing everything in sight, even cars that are legitimately in the lots they monitor. I can't reconcile the two in my brain. I think I might have to find a job just so I can get out among people who will help me understand the culture here.
Here's to hoping the lack of hormonal tidal wave brings clarity and bravery.
6 comments:
Despite how it feels, your week (except for the towing-related car repairs) sounds pretty good.
I can make a case for an iPhone for you. We've always had trouble driving in downtown Chicago, but with turn by turn directions on the iPhone, driving was easy. (Perhaps Google maps does the same thing -- I don't remember how much of a smartphone you do or don't have). The verbal directions were good enough that a quick glance at the phone could confirm if I was doing the right thing or not, and if I missed a turn, it recalculated and got me back on track. I suggest this, because it may help you find your mama bear confidence again. At least, you won't fear being irretrievably lost.
I saw a sign in an antique mall and thought of you. "Lost my mind. Back in five minutes."
It sounds like Chicago is like NYC. The bureaucracy is a nightmare, but the people are really nice. I think you'll also discover your neighborhood is more small town than where you lived before. That's generally because you're probably dealing with more independent, small business people who are there when you go in. Or the grocery store is smaller, and you have the same checkout clerk every time, so everything begins to feel more familiar. The wider you range from your neighborhood, though, the more foreign things will seem.
I made a dozen cookies earlier this week (the rest of the dough is in the fridge to make a dozen at a time as desired), and a half dozen are still in the cupboard. That's never happened before. Pretty proud of myself.
I agree w/ Jean about the pretty good week - And the sign! Did you buy it, Jean?? Makes me want to make one in cross stitch! lol - and she's right, too, about the 'neighborhood' thing. You will adjust and adapt and learn your way around just fine. Give it some time. :)
{{hugs}}
Btw, Hollandaise is the primary ingredient in Manna. ;)
No, I didn't buy it. I thought about taking a picture of it, though.
Jean, I have an iPhone. I find most of the time the Google Maps app is preferable because it talks to me. The Apple map app doesn't, so I have to look at it to follow it. In this traffic, it's another distraction. Chad gave me his Garmin, so the next time I go down there, I'll try using that instead but have the old school method for back-up.
Whoa! What did you do to tick off your Apple Maps so it won't talk to you? Mine does. Go into settings and change the navigation voice volume. You can even select preferred directions for walking or driving.
I've heard what Jean says about big cities having thousands of small neighborhoods in them. I've never enjoyed big cities and have chosen to live in small ones my entire life. Don't like the traffic and all the people -- I once saw a photo of all the people crammed into a subway station in NYC and it made feel faint.
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