Culture Shock

"I don't know if you drive
If you love the ground beneath you
I don't know if you write letters or you panic on the phone
I'd like to call you all the same,
If you want to
I am game

I don't know if you can swim
If the sea is any draw for you
If your better in the morning or when the sun goes down
I'd like to call you

I don't know if you can dance
If the thought ever occurred to you
If you eat what you've been given or you push it around your plate
I'd like to cook for you all the same
I would want to
I am game."

-Lisa Hannigan, I Don't Know

Can you experience culture shock from moving from a small to a big city? Because this is what I'm calling it.

The weirdest thing? KNOWING that if there's something you want, it's within walking distance.

My first full day in the city was full of welcome week stuff. A HUGE convocation bash in the park for new students. There were hipsters EVERYWHERE. If I was with one of my friends from home, we would have exchanged so so many side comments about all the hipster cliches. It really was humorous.
But the thing is, I loooove it. And literally NOTHING you can do/say/wear will stand out.

But I honestly felt bad for having a plastic water bottle. There was even a Washing/Rinsing/Filling station for metal water bottles.

Then I went to my department's connections program thing. I learned a lot about my program from three professors. (My favorite? A friendly looking man with a tactful mustache. He was adorable and passionate about dorky things.) One woman professor was a guest speaker at the BAUHAUS. This means nothing to most, but in the art world.... you know about the Bauhaus. It was architecturally and educationally revolutionary.

There I learned that we are pretty much friends with Threadless. FRIENDS! The AIGA (the professonal association for design) uses their warehouse from time to time. ^&WTRGBAFKEUY&W^A$&T
Anyway, then I hopped on the train to the Threadless store and bought a $10 Harry Potter tee. Free shipping. Ten dollars. Threadless doesn't get much cheaper than this!

(Ps. For 48 hours starting Labor Day ALL tees are $10. You are not going to want to miss this... Have fun. Splurge.)

OH, did I mention I got a pumpkin spice latte during that day because Chicago got the PSL a week before the rest of the country?! Oh. Yeah. That happened.

So. I ended that day completely and utterly elated.*

I feel like people in big cities are spoiled. Big time. I mean, everything is monies. But it's all here. And everyone looks cute. All the time.

Anyway. Our apartment is officially clean, organized and awesome. For the first time in 20 years I feel like my room is completely a current representation of my personality.

With all this being said, I still lack friends to do these cool things with... as much as I love exploring by myself. So, I am going to go continue chowing down on episodes of Arrested Development in the familiarity of my bed.

Pictures soon, once I get my camera.

Job soon.

School soon.

*Except for the fact that Burt wasn't eliminated from Project Runway yet. Who's with me?!