Wednesday, October 31, 2007

squatter's rights

life in the apartment has been less than ideal. we just got hot water two days ago. we have yet to get heat. since when are heat and hot water considered luxuries? the construction still hasn't been finished. melissa is still staying at her friend's because her bathroom still has no shower wall or toilet seat. after having a pow wow tonight, the roommates decided they are banding together to pursue some sort of landlord ultimatum. wish us luck.

on the bright side, we did get a new refrigerator (a huge step up from the unusable old one with a cut cord and mold growing inside). my room is coming along, i got a 5-shelf bookcase (taller than me) at target for only $30. let me remind you that a bookcase has been on my wish list since minneapolis. this is a big deal for me.

also on the noteworthy list is my $200 brand-spankin-new couch. i'm sure that anyone who has ever been in a crummy apartment situation can testify that having a couch is a serious silver lining. even more, we got it delivered for cheap that very same day (not to mention a free ride back in the delivery truck).

i've also ordered a new bedspread (no more country quilt motif) and some curtains for the giant living room window. i'm determined to make this a real place, as opposed to a cheaply-furnished apartment, because really, an awesome home may be the only thing to keep me from deciding to do tokyo or korea again at the end of the internship.

i'm really looking forward to being settled. in all, it will be a great place to live - it will be a nice apartment once everything is finished. and prospect park is amazing.

in my previous post, i failed to mention what i had been up to outside of work and the place. celeste visited two weekends ago, and it was more fun than i'd had in a long time. we walked all over the city and even stumbled upon bon jovi's new video shoot. we got some food with melissa that night in korea town. that sunday we drove back upstate for my cousin dylan's wedding. it was a lot of fun and we danced a lot. and by "a lot," i mean we danced the first two songs and realized it was time to get me back to the bus station. we won't talk about the buses running late and me not getting home until 3:30 am.

the weekend before that i also went home to gather the rest of my things and drive back in a huge u-haul (side note: successfully driving this into brooklyn is definitely one of my prouder moments in life). i also got a new tattoo. my mom, celeste, and i thought it would be a good idea to get one on the same day while i was home. my mom got a celtic band around her ankle with a (prepare yourself) scottish deerhound profile in the center and thistle at either side. celeste got the mackenzie clan coat of arms on her hip. i got a lotus flower on my back/left shoulder. thank god for needlewurks, because they really do an amazing job. all three of the tattoos turned out incredible. eventually i want the artist to get the flowers going all the way down the left side of my back. the colors and design are perfect and i'm glad i finally got a korea-inspired tattoo, considering i had been waiting about two years to get one.

with that said, it is time to unload more books onto my bookcase.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

live from new york

guess it's time for an update. life has had its ups and downs lately, to say the least. i'm writing from my apartment, but we are far from settled. miraculously, jude and i discovered that we have a wireless signal and are both currently lost in internetland. it's especially amazing considering the fact that we don't have power.

that's right. when we moved in, i was aware that the apartment would still be under construction. i was aware that i would have to call to have the electricity set up. i WASN'T aware of the fact that we don't even have a meter. apparently, according to the electric company, the last tenants were so behind on bills that the marshall ordered the meter to be removed. it isn't just a simple matter of flipping a switch and turning the power back on. i had to fax some paperwork, which they have to review to make sure we have nothing to do with the previous tenants. after that, they will send someone to install a meter. the lady on sunday told me that because cases like this aren't common, we would be given priority.

this in itself has been an endeavor. after trying to fax the paperwork last night (not to mention a whirlwind of phone calls and meetings with the broker to get the lease to fax), the fax machine failed. i arrived to work early this morning to try again and called the electric company to check if any of the faxes were received. more tears ensued after the lady this time told me that they can only track back to faxes received on 10/9, because those were the cases currently being handled. she claimed she couldn't even get into the files to see if my fax was successfully sent. having a hard time believing that this was the answer, that i would have to wait days for a fax that may not have even gotten there to be reviewed, i called celeste in tears. she took it upon herself to call the company saying it's ludicrous for three young girls to be living in brooklyn without power. the guy she talked to this time said he found the fax and would expedite it, and maybe they would be able to install a meter tomorrow. keep your fingers crossed.

that being said, life has been stressful and i feel drained in every way, shape, and form. there has been one problem after another and i'm getting to the point where i'm just ready for everything to be done and settled.

in the meantime, jude, kimchi, and i are staying here while melissa stays with a friend. jude and i decided it's just easier to stay here, construction, no hot water, darkness, and all, so we just go to her friend's to shower. the broker did bring a cord connecting to the basement along with a power strip, so we are able to charge things, hook up our lamps, and watch tv. and the internet is a nice little surprise.

my job is getting there. basically i have two bosses so things can get kind of hectic, which is what i expected from a magazine job. i feel in over my head sometimes, but that goes with all new jobs. it's definitely a nice environment to work in, and i'm learning a lot about publishing, food, and (you guessed it) wine.

i think i'm spent for the night. time to turn out the light(no s).