My New Apartment

I moved Saturday, and all went well. There were a few minor hiccups, like the movers being 25 minutes early while I was at a restaurant eating breakfast. Or the movers not being told where I live and relying on me to get them there, in broken Korean and English! Fortunately, I assumed that would happen and when I was taken there on Friday I made some mental notes of how to get there. From start to finish, took about 1 1/2 hours, not bad. That doesn't count, however, putting away all the little things in my new place (just finally finished that about 5 minutes ago).

Compare/contrast: my new place is much bigger, and even has a separate bedroom. I never needed a couch because my old place was so small I just used my bed, but now I have nothing to sit on (other than the floor). My new place is in a neighborhood of sorts, so food is further away and there's less of it. I am, however, surrounded by places to shop for clothes and shoes that are usually too small for me :) My new place is right next to an elementary school, so no more walking around naked with the windows open :( My new bathroom is smaller and less conveniently situated. The toilet paper hanger is on the other side of the door, so now I have to shut the bathroom door to take a poo even though I'm the only one in the apartment (John, it's like our place in S'ville). My new kitchen is much smaller, but since I rarely use it that's no problem. It also bleeds right into the living room, giving the whole room a much bigger feel. I have a closet of sorts, instead of hanging my clothes on rods in the corner of the room. The washer in my new place is a top-loader instead of a side loader, which means it's bigger but also less efficient. Even though I have to take a bus to work now, I'm only about a mile from work and there are lots of buses that go from A to B. It will cost me about $1.50/day to get to and from, however.

In short, it's neither better nor worse; it's different. There has, however, already come over me a change in spirit since moving further away from work. I now feel as if I have a real job, and I am on my own. I don't know why I wasn't feeling that way before, and in truth I didn't know I wasn't feeling that way, but my guess is that my old place felt like a dorm. It was also a 3-minute walk from work, which would also resemble a collegiate atmosphere. Another possibility is that everything was setup and provided for my by Topia. While that is still the case, I had to pack and move everything they provided, and I haven't been shown the places to eat, how to get to the subway station, or what buses to take; these are things I've had to find out myself this past weekend, or were things I already knew. Perhaps it is that, most of all, that explains this new feeling. In other words, in a very real sense, I am finally "out on my own," out from under the eye and tutelage of Topia and my boss, even though they have only been bent towards helping me.

Anyway, enough rambling. Here're some photos of my "street" and of my building. Also, a video of my apartment is on Facebook. I tried to put it on here but it took about an hour to do nothing. Just look at my videos on facebook, I think anyone can view it.