Welcome To Improvising

Proof Of Creativity At It's Finest

Today was sunny and beautiful. Yesterday was rainy. So of course my friends and I had a picnic yesterday. It makes sense. We're an adventurous bunch. I love late summer rain showers (this is a fact). And more importantly FOOD!

We had everything except a spatula. That's right, the rain wasn't what almost foiled our plans. It was a spatula. How did we get around this? By grabbing a durable stick, wrapping it in aluminum foil and creating our own spatula.

Everything else was delicious and eventually the sun did come out.

But it made me think. How often do I now improvise as an independent adult without the advantage of my parents around. My answer is a lot. Most of my cleaning supplies revolve around vinegar and baking soda (I've graduated to bleach, but that was under duress). Since I don't have my own washing machine I've learned to do a lot of hand wash (also therapeutic to punch the living daylights out of my cloths). I've also fixed an exploding toilet with duck tape (don't ask) before the maintenance guys showed up.

Ah duck tape, the go to item for fixing anything. Why isn't it in more video games? It should just come standard in the inventory.

I recall my days in scouts where the troop moms turned improvising into an art. Heck we once made rice in a plastic bag (at least I think it was a plastic bag and it tasted great too). I'm sure I'll get to that level eventually. Though I did use a bike pump to keep the tires in my first car filled (don't ask).

Now back to trailblazing Wonderland with a hair pin, 42 Lego bricks and duck tape. Hopefully I'll find something to help me upgrade to better items soon.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please leave a comment, like or share with friends, family, or your worst enemy. I do love hearing from  my readers (and yes I know you're there; Google tells me so). Until next week.

Welcome To Letting Go

It Never Seems To Get Easier...

Happy Superb Owl Sunday! I am watching the game while writing this. I’m not really rooting for anyone. They aren’t my teams and I don’t have any motivation to simply pick one. I’m more interested in seeing the commercials and hearing about the after parties in the two states that have legalized pot.  I am betting that the news articles will be interesting tomorrow. 

I am watching the game on my new couch. It is my first new couch. I have decided to call her Sea Boat because of her color (a nice sea blue). Her little brother, Bubbles (the matching chair I ordered) is currently MIA. It is somewhat inconvenient for me, but I will live. With the addition of Sea Boat and Bubbles, I had to do some redecorating. This included getting rid and moving the chairs that had been in my living space since I moved in. 

The big green chair (I call him Big Blue even though he is technically green) has been moved to my dining area along with my desk and work stuff (for when it snows and I’m stuck at home to work).  The area now looks like a neat little study nook and lounge for when I need natural light and want to sit near my cactus. My lava lamp will be joining this area shortly. The dining table and chairs (read card table and folding chairs) is closer to the kitchen now, but not totally in the way. 

I have two “new” lamps. They are not actually new, they are actually really old. One is from the Philippines (circa 1950s or 60s) and I’m not sure where the other one is from. I finally got rid of the fire hazard that was the black floor lamp (its base was broken and no there wasn’t any way to fix it). I think these two new lamps bring a little more character to my home. 

Finally and saddest of all, I got rid of Big Brown. Yes the big brown chair that was nearly three decades old (27 years for an exact age), is now in couch heaven. Taps might have been heard playing as I paid my respects near the dumpster where I laid him to rest. I can’t even look at the dumpster he’s in right now. I almost called my mom to help me fish him back out, clean him and cuddle with him once more. I even cried a bit (I know it’s really pathetic, but I did). All of this emotion was used on a chair. I couldn’t have cared less about the lamp, but the chair I nearly lost it over. 

It is a little stupid to be broken up over a chair and before people ask about why I didn’t sell him on Craig’s List or donate him I will explain. This chair was old, broken and smelled like cigars and wet dogs. No amount of Febreze ever got rid of the smell. To me he smelled like home. To other people (friends who visited) he was just a little unpleasant and stinky. Also the matching couch was already in couch heaven. I thought they needed to be reunited after all the years of separation. 

I almost want to blame movies like “Toy Story” and “The Brave Little Toaster” for the emotional damage that came with tossing this couch. These movies (among others that personified inanimate objects) caused me to form major attachment to things and make me think of them as emotional beings. I thought they were great stories and movies, but I think they might have helped develop a psychological attachment to objects. I wonder how many others of my generation developed this odd sense of loyalty to things that can’t actually feel.

 I also recognize that it sort of symbolizes me further letting go of my childhood. Some of my first memories are of that chair and using it to make forts or as a jungle gym. I’m pretty sure I used to use it as a balance beam to practice gymnastics as a toddler. In essence, by getting rid of Big Brown I am getting rid of childhood and finally embracing adulthood. Hopefully I don’t keep having this problem otherwise my therapy bills are going to be through the roof.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please share or comment on it anyway you can. I love hearing from people who read my blog and thank all of you very much for taking the time to read about my transitions into adulthood. I am still exploring Wonderland and I hope someone somewhere is getting something out of this. I know I am (therapy). Until next time, enjoy the Big Game. Half time was awesome.

Welcome to your New Home

First you have to find it...

First I would like to give a shout out to Shark Week. Once again I am afraid to go into the Ocean. Beware the awesome power of the deep!

Finding a place to live was a lot harder than I had thought it was going to be. I had thought that I would search on the internet, go to the apartment place and (WHAM!) I’d be living on my own. This was the first reality check. Not only did I discover that cheap places to rent in the areas that I wanted to live were virtually non-existent, but if I did find something in my price range, it was already occupied. I also discovered that income requirements are another hurdle.

All of the places (except the first that did not have any free apartments in a normal price range) had income requirements. I also came to dread the term luxury in front of apartment ads. Honestly I don’t think luxury apartments are worth it if there isn’t any affordable housing anywhere else. Heck I’m still trying to figure out where poor people live in Fairfax County.

My mom and I went back home without any progress. I at first was convinced I would be living out of a cardboard box (or driving over an hour and a half commute to work). A few frustrated tears later led back to the internet. I was hoping to find a room for rent or a roommate. I found plenty of people looking for roommates, but I wasn’t sure how much I’d like kids, three cats (I’m allergic) or 18 year old French guys. There were a lot of 18 year old French guys looking for roommates. I finally found, with a good bit of help from my mom, a guy renting his basement with all utilities included. A phone call later and we had an appointment in two days to go check it out.

We also discovered that about twenty miles from where I was going to work was a small town with apartments with a rent that was at least reasonable. My mom started sorting through apartments while I just kind of nodded my head and agreed with whatever she said.

The next “new home hunt” started in the further away town very early in the morning. The first few places I looked at were nice. Mom helped me to identify what was lacking and what was a plus in some of the different places we looked at. One of the coolest things we discovered was that some apartments offer move in deals. If you move in by a certain date they cut the rent, wave fees for the pool or even give you a month free of rent (but check to see if it’s a 12 or 13 month lease).

After another long day of looking at apartments and still having an interview for a basement to rent, I found a really cute place that was in my price range. I decided to cancel the interview and put in an application for this place. There was also a lot of paper work required on my end. They are very serious about not doing illegal activates and knowing where the money for the rent is coming from.

About a month later I was ready to move in. I managed to bribe two of my friends, along with my dad, to help me to move all of my worldly possession to the new apartment. When we finally got everything in, just as it was starting to thunderstorm, I discovered that my apartment was a lot bigger than I had thought it was and that I did not have as much stuff as I thought I had. Don’t get me wrong, I have more stuff than I know what to do with sometimes, but I still don’t have a couch or a coffee table. For that matter my dining room is currently folding chairs and a card table. I guess I never realized how much furniture makes a home. My dad had to suggest the card table and folding chairs before I realized that I even needed dining room furniture.

After a few weeks, and my book case being rebuilt, I had finally managed to make my apartment seem more like a home. I especially love having a dishwasher. I didn’t have a dishwasher in college and I now realize how much I love them. I like having my own home. Now I just have to keep it clean.

Welcome To Wonderland

I Fell Down The Rabbit Hole!

Hello and welcome to my blog! I am a twenty something who just recently graduated from college, moved out of her parent’s house and have started a new job. It’s my first “grown up” job. This whole experience has been a little scary. Okay it’s actually really scary. That is why I decided to start a blog: to hopefully help people who are also just starting out and share my adventures.

 I will likely talk about my experiences and possibly reminisce about college, high school, talk about what’s interesting to people my age and other somewhat random things. However, I choose not to talk about work nor rant about any personal, political, monetary, or religious issues. There has been so much news in the media lately about people losing their jobs over a stupid post or tweet that I would prefer not to get into any of that. If at any time I seem to be straying from my original path, just let me know and I’ll get right back on track.

I would love feedback. Though hopefully not the creepy kind of feedback, but this is the Internet. One of the other reasons I wanted to start a blog was to keep practicing my writing skills. If anyone notices that I have misspelled anything or there is a grammar mistake, let me know so I can fix it. I love being able to improve. Since I am new to all of this I’ll keep this first post short. I’m hoping to average around 1000 to 2000 words each post. Since this is just my introduction, I don’t think I will be putting too much in.

I chose the name of this blog to be Starting Out In Wonderland because I feel like I, much like Alice, have fallen through a rabbit hole. I had thought that college had prepared me for the real world, but it was really a fantasy land. College established my independence as an individual, but not as a person. The individual independence allowed me to start making choices without constantly asking my parents’ permission. Independence as a person is making those decisions, but not having the safety net there to keep me from falling flat on my face. In college most of my problems required a phone call or a talk with a professor to solve. Now I have to solve those problems on my own. Luckily I have a lot of friends and family who are still willing to give advice, but ultimately I still have to fix them myself. I feel out of my element now. Hopefully it will not last too long. 

Who’s ready to explore wonderland with me?