Not many people have this blog address, and I've ignored this blog of mine for quite some time now. But this morning I took a long walk to Starbucks and had some thoughts about my new life ahead (the one after a break up and a move out which is all still in the process of happening).
A lot of things have been on my mind lately related to this big change in my life.
I'm not going to touch upon the personal, at least not in this space. Everyone knows break ups are hard and emotional. Instead, I just want to think and write out the logistics of my new life. It is something I am finding I'm excited about, and some I don't mind sharing with friends. Not that I think friends will visit this long-dead blog in a while, but a new development has cropped up, and I'm excited to share it, even though by the time it really hits my friends' (and family's) ears it will probably have already started. But anyway, no more mystery-speak, let me get started.
I find lists are pretty helpful for explaining sometimes. So here I go:
- I really like that the new place is neat and tidy. Clean and homey in the sense that the furniture and design of the place do not have the slapped-together, someone's-old-couch, table-found-on-the-sidewalk feel. Things match and it looks like someone's home, which is what I like.
- The room is spacious. Not humungous, but not too small, which is nice.
- Hardwood floors. It's a dark wood (wouldn't be my first pick) but it does look nice and I'll make it work.
- I'm buying a bed! I haven't had a bed since I was a teenager. I've gone the box mattress route, and my ex had a frame and box mattress. I uber like the bed I picked. It's nice looking, mid-century walnut wood design, with room beneath it. What I was looking for and didn't know until I started looking and searching. I took my time and found one I really like, so I'm happy about that. It was also on sale at Target (yay! sale!) so I've saved money. It wasn't a super-pricey bed anyways, but I like that I got a little extra off for it being on sale and and extra 5% for using my Target card. Yay. :)
- I also got a really nice, comfortable mattress. I got the Lull which was $50 off. It's memory foam, gel something. Affordable for the kind of mattress it is. I get 100 nights to try it too. But just for the hand-push test, I do like it!
- The bed and mattress are full size. I know everyone else in the world prefers queen sized, but honestly it'll just be me, right? For most of the time. I'd rather have the extra space in my room and I've been sleeping alone in a queen for a while and it's been feeling too big for just me. So I saved money on the bed, mattress, and bedding all because I went a size smaller. (I didn't want a twin because I like to roll around.)
- I bought a dresser I liked also on sale at Ikea. Looks like it'll be large enough for me (8 drawers total), not take up too much room, and has room and the right size to put things on. So I think I'll be pretty happy with that.
- Bought a non-down duvet. I like using a fitted sheet with a duvet and cover. So I got a good quality alternative down duvet from Amazon. Waiting for that to come.
- Bought 2 duvet covers and 4 new pillows (mine is very old and probably pretty gross honestly inside). Hoping the pillow sizes/type will work for my very picky neck. I really like one of the duvet cover designs, the coloring and design (has a hummingbird) and the other one is more modern with circles, from Ikea. I'm happy with both.
- I also like I can change the look of the room with a simple duvet cover switch. There's one more duvet cover I may get but so far into saving money. I might though. It's probably on sale today for Memorial Day.
- Also bought new bamboo shoe shelves. They are high quality, sturdy, hold a lot of shoes and look nice. The ones I had I kept outside on the porch so they did get a bit dirty. The new ones will stay inside of course. They were cheaper than when I first bought them (yay!) which was nice.
- Bought a electric scooter! Eon Scooter is the name. It's an Indie-gogo, supposed to ship in September. Yay. Since I've bought it early I saved quite a bit on what it'll be when it goes retail.
- I'll probably (at some point) sell my ugly, heavy, but very comfy bike and get a new one, and maybe (probably) at some point convert it to an ebike with a Hill Topper kit. I'm not in a rush about that, but it's something I'll want to get around to after I've saved some money, since I have been spending money lately.
- This morning I bought a new alarm clock that wakes you up with light gradually! It was on sale for Memorial Day. Also has other color options. So I'm excited to start using that. A lot of the reviews claim waking up more rejuvenated since it's more of a natural wake up. We'll see.
- I can't think of anything else I've bought recently except I will likely also be getting black out curtains/window somethings for the room. Although since I want to save up some money first I will probably just do a cardboard black out thingy at first (I do have my huge mattress box, right). Also, I'll likely buy some nice towels (just a couple, for me) that will match nicely with my new place, although different than my new roommates. Likely maybe in the accent color or a color that goes well. That's something I've never bought before either. I like super-absorbant and soft rather than ultra soft but not very absorbant. I'll deal with towels later though.
- On a last note, my new commute has been on my mind for some time. I've been thinking I'd have to get a pricey ebike since parking looks pretty difficult where I'll be living. I've been investigating ebikes and scooters, did end up getting the Eon Scooter, but walking this morning I had a light bulb idea! I remembered my friend, we'll call her Inyad, walks around Lake Merritt pretty regularly before her work (a 50 minute walk she tells me). I've been missing exercise and would like to walk more but never feel I have time. So this morning, on my long walk to Starbucks, I thought, "Hey! This isn't so bad! I'm getting my walk in and I can walk up the hill!" No need to bring my laptop or anything else heavy with me to work. Maybe just on Mondays bring the week's worth of lunches and snacks. Then I can walk with a light backpack and change my shoes at work. I'd get exercise pretty regularly and I do think I'll enjoy it since I have a ton of podcasts and audiobooks I like to listen to that I haven't been for a while since my biking commute changed to a driving commute. So I think that's my plan. I'll walk commute to work. I think it's about a 2 mile (maybe more) walk, and there is a huge hill, but it does seem doable, and certainly more pleasant than even huffing a good ebike up the hill. It's such a steep hill also, not sure I want to damage the Eon Scooter (once I get it) but trying it on that hill. I can use the Eon for groceries (I can by a trailer or bag to hook to it) and quick commutes to Luarel village, around Oakland, Bart, etc. Or my bike/ebike. So I'll make it work and I'm excited about it. I really am excited to start getting some walks in, some serious walks. Walking is enjoyable, beneficial, good for the soul. :) Funny it was the last option I considered but I'm pretty gung-ho about it. Guess I'll see what happens with reality. I do have some good walking shoes though. :)
That's about it. All I can think of that's fit for sharing about my new life. I'm glad ex and I will stay friends and I'll see the little guy too. They are wonderful people and I love them.
That's it for now. Maybe I'll check in again in another few years.
Wish you all well and sending love,
caro
