originally posted january 18, 2003
life begins anew
It's been one week since I moved into my apartment, and nearly all is well. The big apartment-warming bash starts in eight hours.
we've gone to white
To commemorate this whole big change, I'm changing the color scheme of this site to a much brighter, more colorful scheme. The old scheme just seemed too dark: I was going for a retro look, but fell into the "white-on-black teen angst" trap. This front page has been updated, but other pages will take time.
The other cool thing is that the frames are gone, replacing the old frameset with a simple standards-compliant page that should render just fine in most web browsers.
new year's in new york
For about three and a half years, I have been a member of Everything2, an eclectic web community whose goal is to create a large database of all knowledge. In the process, the writers on this site create communities and subcultures within themselves, and even schedule gatherings. One particularly ambitious group is working to create an entire town from scratch, in the hope of rekindling the American frontier. More power to them.
So in my three-plus years as a "noder," I had never once been to a user gathering. After having missed two New York gatherings and just ten days from leaving New York for good, I hauled myself to the New York City Noder Compound, a large apartment in Brooklyn rented by three noders. The promise: nonstop craziness.
Boy, were they right.
I have never met a more diverse, funny, scary, and insane group of people before in my life. One noder in attendance came from Vancouver to attend; one came all the way from Germany. The woman whom I "escorted" for the evening drove from Chicago first to Massachusetts and then back down to New York. She was nice.
It's hard for me to explain in words how the party went, but I brought my camera with me. Many pictures are now available. Thanks to everyone for throwing one hell of a New Year's Eve bash. I will return next year.
living in the city
My apartment is furnished. Now I need to clean it.
When I first rented my apartment, I was overrun with anxiety. This was my first ever apartment. I had no furniture. I've never lived alone before. Fortunately, I have friends and access to a credit card.
The bare essentials -- bed, sofa, coffee table -- were purchased secondhand at the end of last semester, as some people were leaving town. After that, I spent some quality time with friends at IKEA.
I don't care what Fight Club says. I love IKEA. Walking through huge aisles is eerily reminiscent of playing "The Sims," what with all the cutesy names and surprisingly wide price range. (Did you know that IKEA sells sofas that cost $2300? I didn't.) The rest of the day, until around a quarter to midnight, was spent buying tools and using them to assemble my Sparren bathroom closet, my Ingo dining table, and other such goods. It can be frustrating, but my friends are more coordinated than I am at such things.
Furnishing my place was a frustrating task all by itself. Since I've never owned an apartment before, I have to buy everything I need brand-new. No matter how much I get, there's always something more. I'm nearing record levels of credit card debt, so I only hope my first paycheck clears before my credit card bill comes due.
Tonight is the payoff: the big apartment-warming party. I hope all goes well.
fighting a higher power
Lesson learned: you can't fight utility companies.
On Tuesday, I was all set to get cable service. I was awake and alert between the hours of 8:30 AM and 12:00 noon. Unfortunately, I didn't get the call. At 9:30 AM, AT&T called my cell phone, which was set to "Vibrate," and left a message. I didn't get the message until 11:00 AM, at which time I called back. I didn't hear the phone ring, and I didn't answer, so the technician assumed that I wasn't home. Per company policy, he skipped my appointment and went on to the next one.
What followed was the angriest series of phone calls that I've ever made, trying everything in my power to get the technician to come back. The earliest reschedule date they offered was the following Thursday, when I would be at work. They also offered to page the installer to come back after he had finished all his other jobs -- if he had time. This pinned me in the apartment all day, thoroughly wasting precious time. In the end, I failed to get cable service. I rescheduled for next Saturday. With luck, I'll be able to watch the Super Bowl, even though no New York or Pittsburgh teams will be playing.
Fortunately, the DMV was much more cooperative. After learning what documentation I needed, I was able to walk into the downtown office with my New York license and leave with a brand-new Pennsylvania driver's license about 15 minutes later. Insurance and registration will have to be handled next week.
wide open
There are no classes to look forward to, no homework assignments to keep me up all night, no roommates to deal with. Right now, for the first time, my life is completely in my own hands.
Let's go.
Back to January 2003, or to the year 2003.
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