Hanging around
It's now been a little more than a week since I moved to Seattle. I've unpacked, gotten situated and grown lethargic as I wait for the start of classes next week.
So far things have gone pretty well. The weather has been better than I might have expected, given that it hasn't rained much at all this week and has been a good bit sunnier that I would've thought. Granted, we're really still only at or approaching the very outset of rainy season, and my tune may change dramatically come January or February, but in the meantime I'm content. I can handle temperatures that hover around 60°. It's almost perfect for me in that it's definitely not too hot and I only get sweaty when I actually work up a sweat doing something (contrast to Chicago, where you can break a sweat sitting in the shade on many a summer's day), there's no discernable humidity and it really doesn't get too chilly. Some days I might want long pants or a light jacket, but I have no qualms about donning those.
The city also seems to have a fair amount happening. Though not quite enough as "The Motorcycle Diaries" doesn't appear to be playing here yet. There are certainly some nice views of the city and the greenness of the area from my neighborhood, including some really spectacular vistas from just up the street looking out on Lake Union framed by the city skyline and Mount Rainier way in the distance. The hills would be a lot more charming if I didn't have to tackle them by foot or bike, but I imagine I'll just find myself getting in better shape for it.
And the house where I'm living is working out pretty well. The location could be a little better, or at least the surrounding terrain between the house and the university, grocery stores and other frequent destinations could at least be flatter. But at least there's a bus stop right on the corner where I can hop a bus straight to campus in 5 minutes or fewer. And the buses here are remarkably punctual. It's not miss and miss like in Chicago. Although the buses seem to run only half hour, so even with a couple of different routes that serve me, it's not quite so frequent as the CTA theoretically was. The nearest supermarket seems pricier than I'm accustomed to, and it's a bit further than I'd prefer, especially given that it's generally uphill from here.
There are definitely some quirks about the house. It's from circa 1909, and that shows at times. The shower head only comes up to about my shoulders, which makes washing my hair challenging. While there are definitely more cupboards and countertops than my old apartment, that really says nothing at all and there could easily be more of both. (But I'm used to so little that it'd be more luxury than necessity to have the extra space.) On the other hand, I have an enormous walk-in closet that runs the length of my room. I literally could fit my full-size air mattress on the floor if the need should ever arise. For the time being, I have all my shirts hanging from the 8-foot clothes bar, as well as a good bit of miscellaneous kitchen items and other goods not in use piled atop the overhead shelf. That's in addition to my cedar chest (filled with more kitchen gear), buried in the back beneath all of the empty boxes from my move. And I have a small four-shelf quasi-bookcase that's in service as towel storage, as well as two decent-sized bookcases, the built-in drawer unit and a dresser that will likely sit empty until I bring some of my formal and warm-weather clothes from home. The closet works wonders for keeping the rest of the room relatively uncluttered (or at least undercluttered).
My housemates are pretty nice as well. But I'm beginning to question how well I fit in with everyone else. I get along fine chatting with them individually or collectively, but I question whether we really have similar interests or personalities. The other three seem to be big on gatherings and parties and that sort of mingling environment, which has never been my thing. I'm more the quiet, reserved type, most at home in very small groups of people I know fairly well. And while I can appreciate and enjoy mingling with new folks and shooting the bull, it's not the sort of thing I want to do all the time. Perhaps my perception has been skewed by a lot of this sort of thing occurring this past week just by coincidence, or because people are new to the city and trying to meet other people.
We had this dinner party last night. Well, it was more like one of my housemates held it for a bunch of new people she's met, and another housemate had one of his friends over, and then my landlord and I also sat in. It was nice, though I felt a bit guilty because I didn't think I contributed much to the preparation (aside from stirring the white sauce and sauteing the zucchini for the lasagna), and I didn't help very much with the clean-up because my housemate sent me back in with everyone else instead of letting me wash dishes after the table was cleared. So I stayed there chatting for several hours until finally, around 12:30, I heard my phone ringing upstairs. It wasn't like I had a bad time, but left to my own devices I likely would've left earlier and gone off to do something else.
I don't know, I just feel like I must seem like a recluse to everyone else. Really, it's just that I don't have a lot to do this week while I wait around for classes to start, so I've defaulted to being lazy while I can. I haven't really met anyone yet, nor have I been seeking to meet anyone, save for the other grad students I met at the department orientation and barbecue yesterday. And really, those are the folks I anticipate hanging out with the most over the next few years. I know it'll happen eventually, especially once weekly happy hours begin, and by that point I'll be busy with work and classes, so I won't be quite so reclusive, or at least I'll have a damn good reason for it.
I just feel a little awkward around the house because I feel like there are certain expectations on me to be social and friendly with everyone else. And it's not like I want to be standoffish or curt, but it's not my thing to hang out with everyone all the time. At least not yet. Not until there's a certain level of friendship in place that makes me genuinely want to just hang out all the time.I just want to be me, to do my thing, to not feel compelled to do things that aren't really my cup of tea, and to have people recognize that. I'm just hoping I don't end up seeming like a misfit or self-exiled outcast for it. But I'm hoping once the newness of everything wears off for everyone that things will sort of settle into some kind of normalcy and I won't have to feel guilty or reclusive for doing what I need and want.
So far things have gone pretty well. The weather has been better than I might have expected, given that it hasn't rained much at all this week and has been a good bit sunnier that I would've thought. Granted, we're really still only at or approaching the very outset of rainy season, and my tune may change dramatically come January or February, but in the meantime I'm content. I can handle temperatures that hover around 60°. It's almost perfect for me in that it's definitely not too hot and I only get sweaty when I actually work up a sweat doing something (contrast to Chicago, where you can break a sweat sitting in the shade on many a summer's day), there's no discernable humidity and it really doesn't get too chilly. Some days I might want long pants or a light jacket, but I have no qualms about donning those.
The city also seems to have a fair amount happening. Though not quite enough as "The Motorcycle Diaries" doesn't appear to be playing here yet. There are certainly some nice views of the city and the greenness of the area from my neighborhood, including some really spectacular vistas from just up the street looking out on Lake Union framed by the city skyline and Mount Rainier way in the distance. The hills would be a lot more charming if I didn't have to tackle them by foot or bike, but I imagine I'll just find myself getting in better shape for it.
And the house where I'm living is working out pretty well. The location could be a little better, or at least the surrounding terrain between the house and the university, grocery stores and other frequent destinations could at least be flatter. But at least there's a bus stop right on the corner where I can hop a bus straight to campus in 5 minutes or fewer. And the buses here are remarkably punctual. It's not miss and miss like in Chicago. Although the buses seem to run only half hour, so even with a couple of different routes that serve me, it's not quite so frequent as the CTA theoretically was. The nearest supermarket seems pricier than I'm accustomed to, and it's a bit further than I'd prefer, especially given that it's generally uphill from here.
There are definitely some quirks about the house. It's from circa 1909, and that shows at times. The shower head only comes up to about my shoulders, which makes washing my hair challenging. While there are definitely more cupboards and countertops than my old apartment, that really says nothing at all and there could easily be more of both. (But I'm used to so little that it'd be more luxury than necessity to have the extra space.) On the other hand, I have an enormous walk-in closet that runs the length of my room. I literally could fit my full-size air mattress on the floor if the need should ever arise. For the time being, I have all my shirts hanging from the 8-foot clothes bar, as well as a good bit of miscellaneous kitchen items and other goods not in use piled atop the overhead shelf. That's in addition to my cedar chest (filled with more kitchen gear), buried in the back beneath all of the empty boxes from my move. And I have a small four-shelf quasi-bookcase that's in service as towel storage, as well as two decent-sized bookcases, the built-in drawer unit and a dresser that will likely sit empty until I bring some of my formal and warm-weather clothes from home. The closet works wonders for keeping the rest of the room relatively uncluttered (or at least undercluttered).
My housemates are pretty nice as well. But I'm beginning to question how well I fit in with everyone else. I get along fine chatting with them individually or collectively, but I question whether we really have similar interests or personalities. The other three seem to be big on gatherings and parties and that sort of mingling environment, which has never been my thing. I'm more the quiet, reserved type, most at home in very small groups of people I know fairly well. And while I can appreciate and enjoy mingling with new folks and shooting the bull, it's not the sort of thing I want to do all the time. Perhaps my perception has been skewed by a lot of this sort of thing occurring this past week just by coincidence, or because people are new to the city and trying to meet other people.
We had this dinner party last night. Well, it was more like one of my housemates held it for a bunch of new people she's met, and another housemate had one of his friends over, and then my landlord and I also sat in. It was nice, though I felt a bit guilty because I didn't think I contributed much to the preparation (aside from stirring the white sauce and sauteing the zucchini for the lasagna), and I didn't help very much with the clean-up because my housemate sent me back in with everyone else instead of letting me wash dishes after the table was cleared. So I stayed there chatting for several hours until finally, around 12:30, I heard my phone ringing upstairs. It wasn't like I had a bad time, but left to my own devices I likely would've left earlier and gone off to do something else.
I don't know, I just feel like I must seem like a recluse to everyone else. Really, it's just that I don't have a lot to do this week while I wait around for classes to start, so I've defaulted to being lazy while I can. I haven't really met anyone yet, nor have I been seeking to meet anyone, save for the other grad students I met at the department orientation and barbecue yesterday. And really, those are the folks I anticipate hanging out with the most over the next few years. I know it'll happen eventually, especially once weekly happy hours begin, and by that point I'll be busy with work and classes, so I won't be quite so reclusive, or at least I'll have a damn good reason for it.
I just feel a little awkward around the house because I feel like there are certain expectations on me to be social and friendly with everyone else. And it's not like I want to be standoffish or curt, but it's not my thing to hang out with everyone all the time. At least not yet. Not until there's a certain level of friendship in place that makes me genuinely want to just hang out all the time.I just want to be me, to do my thing, to not feel compelled to do things that aren't really my cup of tea, and to have people recognize that. I'm just hoping I don't end up seeming like a misfit or self-exiled outcast for it. But I'm hoping once the newness of everything wears off for everyone that things will sort of settle into some kind of normalcy and I won't have to feel guilty or reclusive for doing what I need and want.
posted by Alexander Dubcek | 17:18
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