Bonnie Gross

Well friends it’s official, I signed a lease and now live in Birmingham, Alabama. Just when I thought moving to Los Angeles with no job or place to live would be difficult, I actually found this move a bit more infuriating. The first move, I had no furniture or kitchen supplies. I bought most stuff there and packed my car with clothes and my beloved air mattress. This time, I had things to worry about. I had a bed frame, box spring, and a mattress! I even had a dresser. This was my first experience hiring a moving company and so far, I am in an empty apartment, with no internet, barely any furniture, awaiting all my belongings, with an ETA that is over a week off from the move in day. Oh yeah, the internet is still not up.

I’m currently writing from a local coffee shop I found down the block. It is actually quite nice. Shout out to O’Henry’s Coffee. Meanwhile, I’ve spent the whole day on the phone trying to set up everything else. After only two mental breakdowns, I think I’m in an okay place considering I just uprooted everything. I guess you will need to ask me after I go to the DMV next week for my mood. I think tonight, I will do my favorite activity of staring at a blank wall, trying to fall asleep on the new couch I had to buy just to have somewhere to sit and sleep till my stuff arrives. Granted, I was going to buy a couch eventually, but my credit card thinks otherwise.

I sounds like I’m ranting, well because I am. Moving totally sucks. I’ve spent all my money and can’t even watch Netflix in my own place until the internet decides to show up. I am not sure if I just blocked out the memory of moving all my stuff to Los Angeles, or if it really was not as bad. On the bright side, my shower tub was fixed and my water is turned on so I can take a shower. Also, the electricity is on and I can use the kitchen. In terms of my stuff not arriving, a quick trip to Target for a towel, some plates and other kitchen things can last out the week. Side note: I now live 2 minutes from a Target and Fresh Market and will spend all my time there. If you have not been to a Fresh Market you have not lived. I used to go there for fun in college (I had no life as you can tell).

This is my first time living alone. I have always had room mates, but now that the rent is cheaper down south, I finally decided to live alone. It is really weird. You come back inside and no one is there. You go to the fridge and everything is yours. Even the common space has only your decorations or things. This is my first time ever having to even purchase a TV, TV stand, couch, matching chairs (I have never had 2 matching chairs till now), and a rug. I truly thought all of that would fill the place, but alas it still looks very empty. If it weren’t for the spending money aspect of it, I really did enjoy getting to pick out furniture. If someone wants to put me on one of those decorating/design shows on HGTV, I will not fight you. I will also give you my Venmo.

For the past days my mom and dad have been down in Alabama helping me move. Sadly, since the moving company messed up and none of my things are here, there was only so much we could set up and unpack. Thank you to both of them for taking the time to help me down here. I don’t think I could have done all of this alone. They both left for Philly this afternoon, and then that’s when it hit me. I am alone. Silence. No one in this place, but me (and well the techno music coming from the upstairs unit). I felt like Liz Lemon in the pilot of Thirty Rock, where she chokes alone in her single apartment. I’m fine. We are all fine.

I know so many other people go through this every day. People move every day. People live alone every day. At 25 I thought I’d be better equipped and emotionally ready, but I am still terrified. I guess it is time to start discovering the area and going outside the apartment. It is way easier to write that than to go out and do it. I still have so much to get done, but now I am just awaiting other things to happen.

Once I am more settled, I want to do something to force myself to get to know the city (and possibly meet some friends along the way). A shout out to Julia, who actually did this in Los Angeles and gave me the idea. She did a new LA only thing every week. Whether it be a museum, park, shop, or even a dining experience, it had to be something new each week that was LA specific. I thought it was an amazing idea, especially for someone like myself who is new to a city. With this in mind, I may start 52 things to do in Birmingham, which is basically me just doing something new in the city every week that I can only do in Birmingham. If we can count Vulcan as my first week that would be great! Don’t worry you’ll read about it in the next paragraph. I may need to wait until I am a little more settled in, but I do plan on starting this and keeping the blog updated with each new thing. If any Birmingham friends want to join please let me know as you can tell I am very lonely at this time.

On a more light-hearted note, we visited the Vulcan Statue and park in Homewood, Alabama. It is a suburb of Birmingham, where I now live. It is a giant sculpture of the Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and forge, that is a symbol of the city’s iron origins. There is a museum to walk around that tells the history of Birmingham and its role in the industrial revolution. Since we are children, we played the scavenger hunt meant for children through the museum. Highly suggest the scavenger hunt!

The Vulcan sits atop a hill and you can take the stairs or elevator up to see views of the city. One admission ticket works all day so you can even go back at night to take in the views with some wine and beer in hand. The park is also gorgeous and features a great walking/biking path.

Here is to new adventures in a new city! It can only get better once the movers arrive this weekend!

Until next time, please enjoy the most important view of the Vulcan statue…