Well, I'm here. Seattle! My new home.
Scratch that. Seattle is where I now live, but it's not quite home yet. For one thing, while I have an apartment, I don't have anything to put in that apartment. I'm literally sleeping on the floor and eating with paper plates. If all goes well, the movers will deliver my things on Tuesday and I'll be able to settle in more comfortably.
But more than my furniture, I'm missing the sense of familiarity, the routines, the network of friends and colleagues, and the feeling of identity that make a place feel like home. I still use Google maps whenever I leave the apartment. I have no idea where anything is in the grocery store. I dress like I live in Virginia and feel out of place amongst all these black-clad hipster types. Worst of all, I don't have Internet in my apartment.
This situation will change, of course. As I start work (tomorrow!) and begin building my life, I'll discover my routines and meet new friends. I'll figure out what to wear in this rain so that I don't feel like I'm constantly wet. But in the meantime, I'm just going to need to deal with the frustration and sense of disorientation and loneliness.
That's what I did yesterday. I joined a gym and worked out. I bought a ticket to see Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Because there's nothing like watching theatre's most dysfunctional couple do battle for three hours to make you feel like your own life is pretty good after all. And then this morning I got up and found a coffee shop with Wi-Fi so that I could catch up on emails and blogging and make a list of all the friends-of-friends that I've been encouraged to contact now that I'm here. It'll all come together; I just need to be patient.
And now, here are some photos of my empty apartment:
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| Looking down the galley kitchen to the living room |
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| The bathroom is just off the entryway |
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| Living room |
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| Other half of the living room |
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| Bedroom |
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| View from the living room -- northeast |
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| Southwest view from the living room. I love that I can see the port. |
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| South view from the living room. That's the Seattle downtown. |
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| Rainbow! |
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| Urban camping |
1 comment:
I understand your feelings... completely! Hey, at least you have a sleeping bag. Could be worse. The kitchen looks like it could have more storeage. That's a good thing. Is the carpet in the bedroom red? Fabulous views! Once you get done arranging and decorating, it's going to be wonderful! Good luck with this first week. Lady
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