Move to Chicago: Check

I arrived in town on Monday morning, my wordily possessions arrived on Wednesday, my mother arrived Wednesday night, and my twin sister arrived Friday morning. Some unpacking has occurred in addition to cleaning, eating random food, hanging out with family, and a fair amount of working included. I was on call this weekend, which was regrettable but necessary, and it wasn't as bad as you may think. I did work some fairly long hours but they were stress free hours.

It's strange being in a different city, sort of like an extended visit that feels like it will never end. At the same time, life isn't so different. There are different problems to deal with, including parking, that have never really been an issue. The sad thing is that I used to avoid places in Atlanta that had valet, parallel, or limited parking. I can avoid these situations no longer. They are in fact, part of my daily life now. They say that whenever God closes a door somewhere he opens a window -- but I think the phrase that is more appropriate for this situation is that I have to learn to face my fears or life is a test or this was a lesson that I needed to learn or that things happen for a reason. Unfortunately, other than that the irony of the situation is not lost on me, I find no comfort in any of these ideas. It sort of sucks to have to look for parking all the time. But whatev. I'll get over it. (I'll top comparing everything to Atlanta soon, I promise)

Back to my original thought: it's funny that being at work is actually comforting because it's something that I know how to do. It's something I'm good at. And the people there are familiar. And even though I still feel a little like a nomad because I don't have a permanent office/work space at work, it's nice to be there. It's a point of reference in a strange city. I still want to go home at the end of the day, I'm certainly not thinking about pitching a tent at the office but it's good to point out that it's a comforting place in an otherwise alien place to me.

And now I'm sitting in my kitchen unpacking and watching Stranger Than Fiction as a tribute to my new city. I wonder where Harold Crick lives?

Perhaps the most surprising thing to me in this entire process is how nice people are. Everyone is so damn nice everywhere I go and it never ceases to surprise me. Everyone is happy to help.