The first week I lived in Syracuse I did a lot of things that made me feel 'grown-up' or many things that for me, have become rites of passage into my new life.
I flew out to Syracuse with my parents on a red eye flight on Sunday, August 15 and arrived in Syracuse around 11:30 am on Monday. This had some pros and cons...pro because I had gotten three hours of sleep, jet lag didn't affect me. Con, my first introduction to Syracuse happened when I was incredibly sleep deprived. Thank heavens I had my parents with me.
Rite of Passage #1: Our first step that day was to find my apartment and sign the lease. I was incredibly fortunate that the College of Grad Studies (COGS from now on) sent out an email back in May listing some places that people lived and what they thought about these locations. This enabled me to feel confident about the apartment I was renting without seeing it. My apartment is wonderful. I am in a one bedroom apartment that is over on Onondaga Hill or by OCC. Its large and spacious and in a quite complex. I also have great neighbors. The Freund's our kind of like the building grandparents, they give us cookies and ask how things are going. Unfortunately, they fly south for the winter.
The next step that day was to go get my car. I shipped my car to Syracuse because I didn't want to take the three days to drive from Pocatello to here. The guy who owned the garage it got shipped to was really nice. He gave us some advice on where to eat and somethings that were distinctly Syracuse that we had to experience.
Rite of Passage #2: After we had the lease signed and the car picked up, I needed some furniture. The summer before I moved to Syracuse, I worked as an intern at ON Semiconductor. Because I was living at home (where food, rent and laundry are free) I was able to save up enough money to do things like ship my car and buy furniture. The main two items on my list were a bed and a dresser. I also wanted bookshelves and a desk, but I knew those would be easier to find. A kitchen table and chairs isn't on that list because I had already bought that and shipped it to myself. This was my next rite of passage, buying a bed. I learned that I knew nothing about buying a bed and that the price difference between a full and queen is about $50. While I was discussing with my parents which size to get, they suggested a queen would be better so if they visited me they could sleep on it. Yeah, that is an acceptable thought process. I also bought a really pretty black dresser and a black night stand. My bedroom was all set...once they delivered it all.
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This is my bed with the pretty bedspread that Grandma Helen made for me and I got for Christmas 2 or 3 years ago.
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| My living room. I love the way it is set up, especially my bookshelf!!! |
For the record, I didn't end up buying a desk. While we were in Staples looking at desks (and I was being incredibly indecisive) we found this 'dorm room' set that I choose to buy instead. It has a chair and loveseat type thing, but they fold like camp chairs. However, they are actually comfortable. It also had a coffee table and all of it is black. So, I bought a black bookcase, black ottoman, a magenta in-table and a lime green in-table and decorated my living room with pictures and tie-dye. Yay for my house being furnished.
Rite of Passage #3: The next thing I needed to do that night was get to know some people in the branch. I had been in communication with the branch president (Pres. Stitt), relief society president (Brittany Salvage) and the first councilor's wife (Emilee Lawson Hatch). The day I got in, they were having a relief society gathering at the Hatch's house and I figured that I should attend at least for a little while so going to church the next Sunday wouldn't be so uncomfortable. Plus, I had shipped all of my belongings to the Hatch's home because my apartment complex said I needed to live there before shipping things there.
This was a great experience for me! This activity was the basis of my friendship with Emilee, Sister Stitt, Brittany, Janell and Lora (more about Lora and Janell later) and anyone else who was there. They are amazing women who welcomed me, made me feel important and made me feel like I would have a place in the YSA branch here.
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| Mom and me trying to set up my kitchen...I only rearranged it a couple times after we got everything in |
Rite of Passage #4: This final rite of passage deals with setting up a home. I spent all day shopping and unpacking Tuesday and Wednesday. For the record, it costs a lot of money to buy all of the little things that it wasn't worth it to ship out, e.g. getting ready stuff, cleaning supplies, food, etc. But I was able to (eventually) get my home in order. Everything got put a way, food got bought and the pictures got hung. My home is beautiful (might be the wrong word, but it looks like somewhere I would be comfortable and that is the right feeling) and is somewhere that I like to be, so I think I succeeded.
