Monday, August 1, 2011

The First Few Days

Wow, today is Monday and I don’t have anything to do.  I have no work to go to, no classes to attend (yet), no appointments to keep.  This is a pretty novel idea to me, I’ll admit.  It feels great.

Due to the lack of internet in my apartment until now, I decided to combine yesterday’s adventures with today’s.

Yesterday morning I woke up to the city.  I even stepped out onto my 10th floor balcony to take it all in.  I decided that a sweat session was needed so I checked out my new workout room in the Welcome Center of my new apartment complex.  It has four treadmills, four ellipticals, two stairmasters, and three bikes (two reclined and one upright).  It also has a nicely stocked weight room.

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I did 30 minutes on the elliptical while rocking out to Katy Perry and watching (though not listening to) Rachel Ray on TV.  She was cooking up some sort of frittata which only made me wonder what on earth I was going to do for breakfast because EVERYTHING was still packed...  After finishing my cardio, I hit the weights for a brief moment:

  • Lat Pull: 3x40lbs
  • Bench Press: 3x30lbs (harder than I remember)
  • Leg Extension: 3x50lbs
  • Leg Curl: 3x40lbs

When I was all good and tired I went back to the apartment only to find/remember that the bathroom wasn’t set up yet and I desperately needed a shower.  Step one: find bathroom box.  Step two: assemble shower curtain and hang.  Step three: grab shampoo, conditioner, soap, face wash, and ANY towel you can possibly find.  Step four: enjoy one of the nicest showers you have had in a long time.  The shower head is fantastic and wayyyy better than my last one.  I was very pleased.

By the time I finished my shower I was pretty ravenous but definitely not ready to tackle the giant mountain of “pantry” boxes to find something to eat so I gently woke Jack and had him get into the newly assembled shower so that we could go and grab food.  We ended up at a Subway figuring we would save a city-unique experience for a time when we have actually had a moment to do research and make it worth while.  I ordered a 6” Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki without any additional sauce and no cheese.  I had them load it with veggies then I loaded it into my stomach.  Jack and I split a bag of Monterey Jack & Sun-dried Tomato SunChips on the side.

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With full bellies we headed back to the apartment to tackle the unloading process.  While it appeared daunting to begin with, I was doing the kitchen, and because I love food and all the fun that goes with it, I rather enjoyed the hours I spent arranging everything.  Jack was very helpful, doing anything from attaching the legs to the kitchen table, to assembling the futon, and even unpacking some clothes.

By the time five o’clock rolled around I realized I was a hungry, hungry hippo woman.  I had the last of the blueberries from the fridge and we left for the grocery store to pick up some things I had noticed we were missing.  As a result of this trip I learned two things: 1) It honest to goodness takes 15-20 minutes to get to Walmart and I have to drive on a four lane highway to do it and 2) Never decide to prepare a meal that will take at least an hour to cook when you’re already hungry before you start the shopping process.

When we got back to the apartment and unloaded Jack started to make Tagarat (one of his family’s special dishes) and we finally sat down to eat at 9p.  Needless to say I was starving by this point and thankfully, this bowl really hit the spot.

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Tagarat is basically meat and onion sautéed in a chili peppered oil and then simmered for 20 minutes in a vinegar and soy sauce mixture.  We added in dry sautéed green peppers and mushrooms for some bulk.  The whole thing is then served over rice to sop up some of the broth.  All in all, aside from the timing, it was a great meal.

Following the deliciousness we realized that Jack’s free parking was about to run out because tomorrow was a weekday.  To alleviate this problem (since he’s going to be here for the whole week) we moved his car to his mom’s house which ended up being an hour round trip.  To make things better once we got back to the apartment, Jack decided to split his Godiva Cheesecake with me.

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I had brought him back a slice from my dinner out with Joshua the previous night to be fair and to thank him for his hard work on my move.  I told him he didn’t have to share it, but he did.  What a guy!  We ate it on the floor…in true move-in style.

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Today, Monday and the first of August (oh my goodness, when did that happen!?!?), was the day of my internet and cable installation.  Thank the Lord.  I woke up at 9:15, had a peanut butter stuffed date, and proceeded to unpack all my desk stuff.  I tried to rearrange the whole set-up so it would be more appealing to use during the school year.  I think I succeeded though we shall see when it comes time for class.

When the cable guy left, I headed to the gym for some time on the treadmill and the elliptical.  I split my time 50/50 on the machines, doing 15 minutes each.  I would have hit the weights but I was hungry so I headed back to the apartment to find Jack whipping up some vanilla protein pancakes.

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I topped mine with Chocolate PB2, fig & ginger jam (oh my word, get some), and a drizzle of maple syrup.  They filled me up nicely.

The rest of the day consisted of a bunch of phone calls to both bursar and financial aid offices and a few car repair shops.  I unpacked most of the rest of my clothes too along with a massive rearrangement of the living room/”office” area.  Finally, and potentially most importantly, I accepted a significant student loan amount from Discover so I can indeed live and go to school for the next year.

Because Jack no longer has his car down in Indy I drove us both up to the chiropractic office so he could get adjusted after which we went to his mom’s house for some quick laundry.  To pass the time we indulged our sweet teeth:

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I had a cup of white chocolate mousse, peanut butter, strawberry, and cake batter frozen yogurt flavors.  Toppings included graham crackers and a cookie on the bottom (which became wonderfully saturated as the yogurt slightly melted) plus mints, Reese’s Pieces, all manner of syrups and sprinkles.  I was in heaven for sure.

Before coming back to the apartment we loaded up my car with some extra stuff from the move and then figured out about 60 minutes later that I had locked my keys in the car for pretty much the first time ever.

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Really?  Still in the ignition?  Come on, Jillian!  Get your act together.  Thankfully Jack had AAA and they came to spring my keys free.  The whole thing took less than a half hour which is only a 1/3rd of the time I would have taken to drive his car all the way to the apartment and back to get the spare key.  Alright, crisis mitigated.

Due to my large helping of dairy delight I wasn’t all that hungry for dinner.  Around 9 I figured I should have something because it had been a while so I sautéed some coleslaw mix in some Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (great soy sauce substitute), added in some chicken sausage, and mixed it all with WildTree Thai Sesame Sun Butter Sauce.  It didn’t look pretty but it was a nice, light, late dinner.

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For dessert, another piece of homemade fudge.  There are still so many left.  It’s great.

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With that I’ll say goodnight.  I am going to finish up Rizzoli & Isles then perhaps read in bed or just sleep.  Tomorrow my sophomore and junior year roommate is stopping by to check out my new digs.  Can’t wait to see her again!

By the way, this is what happens when you have no internet for close to three days:

8_1 Reader

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