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.