Musing on Studio Apartments....

Written August 25, 2016

Hello, dear friends and readers - it’s been a short while hasn’t it? I’m not sure when I last updated or what was going on then, but naturally, as time moves things continue to happen and things have definitely happened.

Thing, the first - Tyler and I now have an apartment! Well, it’s just a little studio near downtown St Paul, but our names are on the lease and we moved in last Saturday. We had been renting out a crappy bedroom in a shithole-hovel in Eden Prairie but she kicked us out August 1st, so in the meantime I’d been staying with family and Tyler had been crashing with a coworker - we went to a couple of apartment showings and put in applications, not sure if anything would really pan out, but luckily we were approved for this unit in an 1800’s complex that’s currently being renovated. And when I say currently, I mean the Masters of Disasters are literally in the unit next door pounding out door frames and shit. So it gets pretty noisy in here during the day.

We had some issues upon move in as well, our stove didn’t work and then the fridge stopped working. We had to move our stove into the unit next door, (where it miraculously worked!) and hook our fridge up to a different outlet (which then worked fine) and concluded there must be an electrical issue in our kitchen. It ended up being a really simple fix - the power outlet in the kitchen had tripped and just needed to be reset. So NOW everything in the kitchen works fine and that’s dandy with me.

The room itself is super cute - there’s an old mantle w/ filled in fireplace - original woodwork from the 1800’s and the oak floor is a bit scuffed up from years of use but sturdy and nice. There’s an awesome little nook right by the big windows that our bed fits into snugly, totally freeing up the space for future sofa, coffee table, shelving, etc. We have a cheap desk near the door doubling as a dining table, works for just the two of us. The only downside is that there are no closets anywhere - so we’ll have to get a dresser and some clothing racks - which is fine. Since the ceilings are high too, shelving and storing things vertically will be no problem at all, but I might need a step ladder to reach stuff in the future, heh.

Tyler is doing really well with his job as a canvasser with TPT - Twin Cities Public Television. Well, maybe not super well, he’s had a rough week so far, but it bounces back and forth depending on where they canvass each week. I’m sure things will pick up for him…

In other good job-related news, I FINALLY got a job offer! I interviewed at Sears a couple of weeks ago and it went really well - I interviewed for the softlines merchandising/apparel associate position and the interviewer was the assistant store manager who more or less runs that department and we hit it off right away. So that was great - I was starting to get nervous though since I wasn’t getting that job offer email right away. But it arrived, I accepted, and now I’m looking forward to moving on with the next steps in the hiring process. I honestly can’t wait to start and begin making money.

Funds have been super tight lately and we can’t even really afford food, which is shitty. I think we have some sandwich stuff right now, a few cans of soup, and Kraft Dinner boxes. Lots of tea and coffee - but that only goes so far in filling your stomach.

I don’t have quarters to do laundry at the facilities here either, so I’ve been using the kitchen sink and a bit of dish soap for the stuff that really needs doing - like towels, socks, underwear etc. It’s a pain, but so far it’s worked. We’ve definitely saved a lot of money on gas too, since Tyler walks to work and I’ll be able to do the same thing once I start at Sears (I can see it from my window, almost) so that’ll be a HUGE savings.

Yeah, we definitely lucked out in finding this place. Still a few kinks to work out, and the noise from all the local construction and building renovations are a pain, but those will go away eventually.

And now, without further ado, here are some photos!