If It's Meant To Be...

Jay and I got the apartment we wanted. That's the big news. It's huge, everything is brand new and the price is right. Who can beat 1100$ a month with utilities included in an apartment where even light switch plates look brand new. As an added bonus, it's only about 8 blocks from his house and within walking distance to the express bus and the supermarket. So I guess now comes the monumental task of leaving the nest once and for all (college being the first time) and starting a new chapter in the good ol' book of life. I guess I'm happy and terrified at the same time. Happy that we got the place we wanted, terrified at the thought of the the financial implications of furnishing it and all that fun stuff. Happy that I get to see Jay every day, terrified that my laundry will no longer be done for me (although I may get free pass on that one if I take it to the Asians that wash and fold all your clothers for 1$ per pound. So worth it.).

I've been on Ikea's website all day trying to figure out things like "oh shit..we are totally going to need dishtowels" or "how much are sectional sofas?". You don't understand. The living room is BIG. We're going to need furniture to fill it up. I don't know how the fuck we're going to do this, but I guess in the end things will work out...After all, the only reason we got this apartment is because I drove to the landlords house on Thursday night and pleaded with her to give it to us and not the single hard on her luck mom with the neck tumor. I promised we would shovel her driveway in the winter. What the fuck was I thinking.

Whatever the case, the place is ours, and I'm very happy that the stress of finding an apartment has ended, and with spectacular results. Now comes the stress of moving, furnishing and learning what it feels like to cook your own dinner every night.

Life is fun.

PS- Made my Philly debut this weekend at Pure. Had an AWESOME time. Thank you Frank Manzo for Sweet Pussy Pauline and thank you Jay for staying up for 24 hours and all your text messages from the dance floor.

This Is A Typical Conversation Between Jen and I..

JamesAnthonyKTU [11:09 A.M.]: i draw the line at salad...i will NOT eat salad
DiFFiGrL81 [11:09 A.M.]: I hate salad.
JamesAnthonyKTU [11:10 A.M.]: it grosses me out...and salad dressing grosses me out even more
JamesAnthonyKTU [11:11 A.M.]: oil and vinegar....i would die
JamesAnthonyKTU [11:11 A.M.]: OIL and VINEGAR
DiFFiGrL81 [11:11 A.M.]: lol
JamesAnthonyKTU [11:12 A.M.]: just think about that...
JamesAnthonyKTU [11:13 A.M.]: or ranch dressing....or french
JamesAnthonyKTU [11:13 A.M.]: are you picturing them in your mind right now?
DiFFiGrL81 [11:13 A.M.]: See the dressings like that don't even bother me: it's the leaves.
JamesAnthonyKTU [11:16 A.M.]: the leaves..what about the olives and the tomatos
DiFFiGrL81 [11:16 A.M.]: That, too.
JamesAnthonyKTU [11:16 A.M.]: the leaves hahahahaahahah
DiFFiGrL81 [11:16 A.M.]: That's what they are.
JamesAnthonyKTU [11:16 A.M.]: you are too fucking funny...i love how its 11:15 and ive done no work yet today
JamesAnthonyKTU [11:17 A.M.]: and by "leaves" you dont differentiate between like, different kinds of lettuce? its all just leaves
DiFFiGrL81 [11:17 A.M.]: Oh, God, not one stitch.
DiFFiGrL81 [11:17 A.M.]: Yep.
JamesAnthonyKTU [11:18 A.M.]: i think once i live with jay and we have to fend for ourselves for food i will prob just eat like a normal person...but salad will never happen
DiFFiGrL81 [11:19 A.M.]: I will stand by you.
JamesAnthonyKTU [11:19 A.M.]: im glad ....salmon yes, salad no

Growing Up

Mental preparations have officially begun for the "big move". My parents have sold the house to filthy Russians, and while there's really nothing more that can be said about that, I've started to make my peace with the fact that the house and the place I grew up in is no longer going to belong to me in a matter of weeks. I suppose it would be simple to say that I was going to move out anyway this year, which is stressful enough in itself (don't tell Jay that though). But just knowing that the rest of my family is going to be far away and not at 102 Cotter Ave is even harder. Tom is going off to college, my parents are moving to the ass end of Long Island, and I'm just sort of still here.

The weather was nice yesterday, so I decided to go for a run in the neighborhood instead of the usual trip to Gateway. As I ran (and walked) up and down blocks I haven't been up and down since I was a kid on my bike and "allowed to go around the development", it really hit me that this is really the end of something big. I didn't cry over it or anything, so don't go getting that picture in your head.


After I finished running, showered and got dressed again, I went over to the "green area" at the end of my block (I haven't referred to it as "the green area" in years) and walked through the patch of woods into the Jewish cemetary. It's funny how things change. When I was a kid, the woods used to be bigger, and the cemetary further away. Now most of the woods have been bulldozed away and dead Jews are living there now. Even the little pond that we used to dare each other to walk on when it was frozen in the winter is gone. More dead Jews. I walked through the cemetary some, it was nice just to walk around and think. It was warm and totally silent out there. Dead Jews make very little noise. It was funny to think about how, as a kid, the woods were totally off limits. Threats of tics, broken glass, devil worshipers, rusty nails and rabid animals come to mind (I SWEAR I saw a devil worshiper once back there in a black hooded cape). But it wasn't so bad. I guess everything just seems bigger and badder as a kid.

So yesterday was my day to make peace with the neighborhood. I'll probably never go into those woods again. Plus I am a living Gentile, not a dead Jew- so that further ensures my chances.

So I guess I'm a little bit more ready now than I was before.