#198 - my new apartment

i titled it like a scrubs episode, which i've been watching a lot lately. good stuff! i am moving in two weeks into a two bedroom apartment with my friend and fellow nurse, jen. we had been talking about moving in together for awhile. we used to work together and are both pretty chill and not too anal so i think it will work out. i haven't seen the place yet but she did and i trust her judgement. usually i am the one who will live in any dumpy place so if she says it's cool then i am down. the thing is it's really, really close to a lot of essentials. there is a fred meyer (like safeway that sells clothes and electronics) about two blocks away, really good thai food about 6 blocks away, a couple frequent bus lines two blocks away, dodgeball gym 8 blocks and the 24 hour is 16 blocks away. i can actually walk there...but the bus ride is probably about 4 minutes so i will do that instead. now i have absolutely no excuses!

my room will be a little smaller than jen's room but i think i'll be paying a little less. all i need is a place to sleep and a good kitchen. she says it's got good cabinet space so that is awesome. i'm just excited to be moving in closer to society. right now i am really far from everything and everyone that matters. although i'll need to take two buses to jeremy's place, it'll only be 20 minutes at the most. it's so convenient and for a decent price!! i'm so excited!

this will be portland rental #10. yes, this is the 10th place that i have lived in 5 years. yikes! that is a lot of moving around and packing/unpacking. i am used to it but really what i want to do is get rid of a lot and just have the essentials. i feel like i have a lot of crap that i don't need or use. "the things you own, end up owning you." -fight club, yo. you buy all this stuff and have to haul it around with you and you have to find an apartment/house big enough to keep that stuff. while the monk's life with just a robe and a bowl is not as far as i want to go, i certainly don't want to be weighed down by unnecessary belongings. the less i have, the less i have to worry about. but i am an american consumer and that is engrained into my being, so i do like a trip out to ikea every now and then. i tell myself i NEED that new ____. it doesn't even matter if i have the money, i know i don't need it but it feels good to buy it. there is something wrong with that. just cause i can, i do.

i just watched "Blood Diamond" again the other night and it is a pretty powerful movie. sure, i watched it to make googley eyes at leo but it also shows a world that is totally unknown and foreign to me and to many others. there is so much that goes on in the world that we have no idea is happening. they don't show a lot of these controversial issues on the 6:00 news. genocide in africa using child soldiers on crack is not a pressing issue. this stuff is still going on. how can we help? for one, when you buys diamonds (cause i do all the time) make sure they are conflict-free. but there is really no way to really know for sure so why buy them in the first place? people die so that you can have some bling. it's sad. there are other ways to show your lover that you love them, it doesn't always have to be so consumeristic and materialistic. and who says when you get married you need to have this ring with a giant sparkly rock? i don't know who started it but plenty of people get the nicest ring with the biggest rock then have to sell it later because they get divorced. it does not represent love, just money.

anyway, that was my rant of the day. i am excited for my new apartment though!!