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the_corbin
five - Subscribe
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i have moved into my third apartment away from home, my third year living on my own. the only difference this time is that i truly am on my own. the apartment is all mine. in a few days, my things will have arrived (albeit late) and will be in their right places. my mess will be my mess, and every single item will be recognizable to me. if i like it here, i think this could be home. today my parents left me here. i feel exactly the same way i felt two years ago when my parents left toronto after helping me move. kind of disoriented. not having my posessions makes me feel a bit more numb, though - as if this cant really be happening. i made a salad and went out side for a walk. it was really hot, and i only had a few american dollars in my pocket, as the bank is closed today and i have not yet been issued an atm card. picked up a bus schedule, looked at a catalogue of baskets in a bike store, browsed the local antiques mall. i had a cold popsicle back at my apartment. my goodness, im in indiana. |
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the_corbin
six Aug 10th, 2007 3:02:23 am - Subscribe
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this week saw my first social encounters with my future colleagues. it also saw the arrival of my possessions from toronto, and the grueling unpacking of it all: i cant express how happy i was to receive it. but opening up box after box made me realise it was all just the same junk i carted up in toronto. still, now that ive put mostly everything it its new place, much of my old stuff seems new. i rode my bicycle through a part of campus today and still feel rather disoriented. i still think itll be just fine once i gather my bearings. i certainly felt fine rolling through the arboretum. toronto is flat - but bloomington is pretty bumpy. only a few more days until orientation weeks begin. tomorrow i will read - after all, thats basically what im here for. |
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the_corbin
seven Aug 12th, 2007 3:06:57 am - Subscribe
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i biked down to the saturday farmer's market off the square. i took a back road to avoid the downtown traffic and did not get lost. parked, walked around, slung my fresh veggies over my shoulder, and biked back. got lost on the way back... but found my way home soon enough. i decided to test out my independence and take a bus down to the college mall to pick up a router and some school supplies. this may have been the most distasteful experience of the week. bus took damn near forever to stop on my corner - summer schedule - and the hot asphalt on the highway madness that is the mall area was such an extreme contrast to my little neighbourhood that all i could think of was "how can i get out of here quick enough?" i hate the fact that its so difficult to be independent here; to go out and get what i need when i need it. i cant go to the grocery store without a car, and as i established today, i certainly wont like doing what i did today without a car. thank goodness i have the co-op next door. hopefully things will feel closer and easier once i become more familiar with my new home. |
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the_corbin
EIGHT Aug 13th, 2007 12:25:55 am - Subscribe
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got up the confidence to test out my independence today, again. after lugging two huge bags five blocks over to the laundromat and back, i hopped on my bike and set out for the Kroger grocery store on college, also know as the Ghetto Kroger (distinguishing itself from the new Bourgeois Kroger on the other side of town). only about ten-fifteen min by bike on some cracked sidewalks in a strangely seventies-like area of town. sped by the famous Chocolate Moose and vowed to stop by again sometime this week to test out their famous soft serve. parked my bike outside Ghetto Kroger and sauntered in to pick up new popsicles, some stuff for a soup i'm planning on making this week, some strawberries... and packed it tight into my Metro grocery bag from home. it was so heavy and slung so tight around my chest i was afraid i might a) fall over from imbalance on my bike or b) asphyxiate in the middle of fourth street with no one around except the crazy bearded man and his walker outside the Kroger. but i didnt, and i rolled onto Dunn with a clear image of a new basket i must procure to make my *independent* grocery shopping a bit easier. real lesson of the day: you can't buy liquor on a sunday in indiana - state law. |
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the_corbin
NINE Aug 16th, 2007 1:47:35 am - Subscribe
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i met another canadian today at international student orientation. she is a doctoral student in music and rides a bike too. we rode all the way to the mall to check out cell phone plans, and i rode all the way home on my own afterward. bloomington is not that difficult to figure out geographically. when you get over the fact that most of the town looks like a rural suburb of ste-agathe, its actually quite pretty. riding through the mall area is terrifying but certainly more pleasant than walking. id say the dirty looks from drivers in the mall area are a great bonus. crossing the railroad tracks and riding close to the edge of the dirt road leading us to the mall area, i was beathless and covered in sweat and dust. for a good ten minute stretch, i found myself acutely aware that i am no longer in toronto. |