Basically, Jenny and I became good friends our freshman year of college at CBU. She lives in Chicago now because she is getting a free ride to DePaul to get her Masters...woo hoo!! P.S. She got into Notre Dame but decided she didn't want to go which I think is hilarious...I mean who writes a rejection letter to Notre Dame. Anyway, she is a smart cookie with a good heart and a nice apt in Chicago....which is why I decided to visit from Memphis a few months ago. So Keebs (one of our mutual friends who lives in Memphis) and I decided to surprise Jenny this past February with a visit (mind you, she invited us to visit in October)...it ended up being a really fun weekend, so much that I decided I should move here. While we were out Jenny says "So why don't you just move here?" I thought Yeah right...there is NO WAY I could afford to live here...but life just goes to show...where there is a will there is a way! Here we are a few months later and I quit my full time salaried desk job and moved right in!! Just as I have moved my stuff in, Jenny packed up for a month long adventure in IRELAND! So since we are embarking on these major life changing experiences, we are bound to have some good stories...hopefully you will find them entertaining.
I'm not gonna lie, its weird sitting on the couch at a friend's apt in a new city and realizing I am unemployed for the first time since the age of 14; however, it is nice:) I saved up enough to pay my bills for the next month so I decided I deserve a few days to sit on the couch, watch movies, read books, wake up when I want, and go on fabulous runs by the beach, which is only a few blocks away. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I am really LIVING...not just going through the motions of my typical 8 to 5 Memphis life.
Good news is, I have an interview tomorrow with the agency director of Chicago Top Models, so hopefully something will come of that. If nothing else, maybe she will be impressed and or intrigued by my love of colorful clothing, which is surprisingly NOT common in this city.
ok...so first really funny story of the day was when we went to Bank of America today to exchange dollars for euros for Jenny's travels tomorrow. While I was waiting on Jenny's transactions...I saw an advertisement from B of A saying if you opened a checking account with $250, you get $100! So I decided to open a checking account....the teller was so nice. She began by asking to see my drivers license, I showed her my TN license and she said she wouldn't be able to open the account if I didn't live in Illinois. I explained I do live in IL now, so she asked for a piece of mail showing my address, which of course I don't have because I just got here 2 days ago. Then she asked who my employer was to set up direct deposit, I then had to say aloud that I do not have a job yet... I could tell by the look on her face that she thought I was insane. Luckily, the rest of the set up went smoothly and she wished me luck...it was just funny because she had to get approval from the manager to make sure I could be a valid customer. I am so proud of myself for taking a big risk in hopes to enrich my life, but also realize that this is not "normal behaviour" and people who do not take risks have a hard time understanding.
It's Jenny now...Michelle gave you the low down of when we became friends so I get to tell you a little bit about Michelle. Michelle comes from a small town outside of Memphis. She moved around quite a bit since her dad was in the Marines but spent majority of her time in TN. Michelle got so excited over getting a cell phone freshman year of college. She figured she needed one because she lived in the "big city" now. I think what she was most proud of was the fact that she worked to get the cell phone and continued to support herself throughout all of her life. Michelle is one of the most hard-working individuals I've ever met. She worked hard to pay for college, be in a sorority, and live on her own. I don't know how she did it but it must have been all the to do lists she makes and the satisfaction she gets when she can cross an item off. Michelle is the kind of girl who sets her mind to something and come hell or high water she'll achieve it. So, the "big city" Michelle lived in soon became a small town and knowing what's best for Michelle, I told her to move to Chicago. She thought I was nuts at first but she gave it some thought. In March, around our favourite holiday, I got a message from her: "Call me back, I have a crazy idea." I called her back, left her a message saying, "whatever your crazy idea is, yes to whatever it is because it's what's best for you."
So, here we are on the brink of beginning new adventures in life and accomplishing some dreams...who knows what will come of it but we're sure to have some good laughs, funny stories, life lessons, and gain a little more wisdom to life...one benefit to us feeling the freedom to make random decisions like this is the support from our parents. Wanda called the other day to check on how my week was since I depart tomorrow and how Michelle is adjusting to the hustle and bustle of the city. My response: I'm almost all packed and Michelle hasn't traveled to far from the couch. Wanda laughed and asked if she would need to make a visit half way through the month to check on Michelle and the job search. I laughed and told her rent and utilities are paid, we're good to go.
Walking home from ice cream with Tracy tonight, I brought up how fun it would be to go have a drink together at my favourite Irish pub in the city. Michelle got excited right away and claimed she didn't know a bartender yet, we should go. Well, my practicality set in while we crossed the street and I told her, "no we shouldn't because every time I go, I never leave before 2am and you have an interview tomorrow and I a plane to catch. Plus I have to finish a presentation. Michelle's response: who cares. This is what's best for us. My response: Michelle, you're unemployed. I'm not working for a whole month. I just spend $741 to get 500 euros...we're not exactly high rollers right now. Michelle: I made $75 today from opening a checking account. We're okay! I suggested getting a bottle of wine but Michelle pointed out that that is not a smart decision because we'd just drink the wine then convince ourselves to go out because it's what's best for us. Instead, we soberly began our blog. Our drink is on hold until I return July 26th. I promised Michelle I'd take a cab home from the airport, drop of my luggage and we'll go out for a drink.
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