Thursday, August 17, 2006

Ah, home!

Did I mention I drove all night to get to Milwaukee? Maybe once or twice, eh? Well, suffice it to say that I was very tired and very cranky when I got here, and I just wanted everything to be perfect. These were, after all, the digs-I-hadn't-seen-yet, and there was trepidation, kids.

There's also major construction right next to my building (as in, they're ripping up all the major interstates that pass through town and rebuilding them. Ahem. Yes, major construction). So, I'm tooling into town and my building is easy to see from just about any direction:

I finally find a place to park the U-Haul and walk up to the lobby. It seems friendly enough:

I get my keys from the "guard" -- a 78 year old gentleman who, while kind and informative, is really more of a reception clerk than a guard. Whatever makes everyone happy, I guess. So, I take off for the elevator to make my way to my 14th (13th) floor abode:

YIKES! I'm positive that the above picture does not accurately depict the ickiness of said elevator. This is the "freight" elevator, thus the dingy padding hanging everywhere. It is, of course, used for daily resident use as well as moving. The only difference between this one and the other, "non-freight" elevator is the height of the ceiling and, of course, the padding. And perhaps the smell. Oy.
So, I ride the elevator, praying that all is well in my abode. But my stomach kind of hurts at this point. Remeber -- Tired! Cranky! In need of perfection! The elevator stops and I walk out into my hallway -- it's dark, it's got some of the yummiest wallpaper ever, and it smells no better than the elevator did. Dear Lord, help me out here, buddy. I find my door and come face to face with an old-school set-up that I can't quite operate (notice the wallpaper -- yummy!!!):

After a couple of minutes of being unable to work the lock on the door that kind of scares me in the hallway that definitely smells, while tired and cranky and in some serious need of some serious perfection just about NOW WILL DO NICELY, THANK YOU -- I got the door open and saw the view from one of the five windows in my corner apartment living room:

It was seriously like the clouds parted and angels began singing. That lovely building in Gesu, the Marquette University cathedral. Seriously, my view rocks.

I didn't take photos of the apartment when it was still empty, but suffice to say that it was clean, bright, smelled just fine thankyouverymuch, and the air conditioner works. It was freshly painted, new carpet, good tile, new cabinetry and the six (yep, I said six) closets that had been promised were much bigger than I had expected. The movers showed up, I slept a bunch, started unpacking, and two days later I present -- my cute little home!





Indy greets me daily. As it should always be, really.

















My favorite bookcases fit so well here, it's like it was fate or something.



















Cute kitchen! I can't wait to make more stuff to put on the walls!















The living room is comfy and full of windows with great views of my campus (you can see the lake a little bit from one window, but I'm on the southwest corner of the building -- my main view is of Marquette)!


Next to the living room is the office -- yes, those are my Star Wars posters on the walls. You gotta problem with that? The freak flag is flyin' high, kids.


Behind the living room is the sewing corner. Great things are going to be happening there over the next few days, I promise. Check back for progress reports!


Next to the sewing corner is the dining room -- yes, one of the first projects is a tablecloth for that sad, sad card table.

Okay, yes, those were just four corners of the same room. But I can pretend if I want, dammit!


The bathroom is bright and cheery and OMG! I found a duckie toothbrush holder that matches my duckie shower curtain rings and I am SO HAPPY! I have a cool poster for the wall in here, but the frame broke in the move and I'll have to find a way to repair. It's still pretty cool in here, though. Not that it couldn't get cooler... Bwahahaha... (check back!)

The bedroom is completely functional and fine and I sleep really well in there and the closets are huge and all my furniture fits fine but I don't have anything left to put on the walls in there so the pictures are just kind of boring. The upside is that this leaves me plenty of reasons to craft and to shop!!



So, this is where I live now and I'm really happy so far. I'm not sure if it's the fact that I love my apartment or the fact that I slept about 14 hours, but the hallway and the elevator don't bother me at all. In fact, they're kind of charming.

7 comments:

Tricia Ware said...

Okay, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and send you a comment instead of an e-mail.(Sometimes I get impulsive like that.)Your apartment looks great and I'm thrilled that you're settled! Dang I wish I could come over. We'd hang out, read Star Hits magazine, etc. You seem happy in the abode. That's wonderful.

Melissa said...

Hot Damn Girl!!!! You got the view to kill for! And you must have worked your ass off to get everything unpacked and put away and decorated so quickly. Holy Cow! It looks awesome. Can't wait to visit.
Luv ya!

Melissa said...

Oh! I almost forgot! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the ducky!!!! What wonderful fate that find was!

Sus said...

Trish - give me about a week's notice before you visit; I'll have Gator find and mail up my stash of Star Hits. I'm not kidding. I still have them. Because we are going to need them someday.

Missa - It's not like I've had anything else to do. ;) Honestly, the duckie was found at Linens 'n Things (where I got the rings), but I don't remember them in the Columbia store. I did find him in a weird little corner all by himself, though, like he was just waiting for me to find him.

Melissa said...

BTW, CORNER APARTMENT!!! This possibility hadn't even been considered, had it? Woo-hoo! Have we checked out the pool yet? There's something to do with your time, swim like a little green ducky.

Sus said...

Missa - Yeah, I know. The more I analyze the layout (space between doors in the hall, etc.), the more I think that the one bedroom apts. are all on the corners and the units in between are the studios. I tried to check out the pool last night, but it was locked (it was 10:30, though). I may just tool up there in a minute.

Don -- Awww! Thank you! If weird stream of conciousness translates into good blogging, then I'm one lucky girl. Thanks for the encouragement!

Anonymous said...

okay, so I was so busted by your email, so I made my way here out of guilt. :-) Your view rocks! I think I would have vomited from anxiety the moment I stepped into the elevator...I admire your constitution. Later, Gater.