Life – parents = expensive

Lesson number one of apartment living: stuff ain’t cheap. I spent this past weekend buying all sorts of things from the necessities (food) to the luxuries (a second TV to put in my bedroom). As a result, my apartment is taking shape and starting to fill in. At he same time my wallet is losing shape and money is filing out. Funny how that works.

I made purchases at Giant Eagle, Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, Sofa Mart and Bed Bath & Beyond. That last one—B-cubed—was quite the adventure. Understand, my shopping generally consists of CDs, DVDs and the occasional spots jersey. I was totally entrenching on new territory, but I managed to escape with several solid purchases, including a shower curtain, loofah (so I like my soap sudsy, sue me!), pop-up hamper and ice cube trays. And thanks to a gift card and coupon the whole bill cost me roughly the same as a Darren McFadden jersey. I guess silver and black #20 will have to wait.

You also may have read Sofa Mart in there. Yep, I finally made the furniture decision. In the end, I went with the mix—the ultra-comfy black leather recliner (hereafter known as My Chair) and the on-sale brown leather couch and loveseat. The price was too good to pass up. Plus. I got approval from a Mercyhurst College interior design graduate that the colors worked together. So what if she was also the salesperson. I’m taking her word.

So the furniture is purchased. Now I just need to get it to my apartment. That should be accomplished by next Monday. I sure hope so. I’m getting tired of rolling my one and only chair back and forth from the main room to the bedroom (where my computer desk is) every day.

Grocery shopping was an experience, too. I went to my old stomping grounds, Giant Eagle, where I worked from May 2002–October 2006. It’s hard to believe it’s only been about two years since I was bagging groceries and chasing carts in that parking lot. The store hasn’t changed too much, but the people certainly have. I only saw one person I knew, and we had a nice catching-up chat.

I did my best to buy things I needed and avoid impulse buys. I was not entirely successful. I blame this on a couple of things. First of all, I can’t or, more accurately, haven’t really tried to cook. Secondly, I don’t have a lot of the necessary things to make cooking possible just yet, including pots and pans. I also don’t have a microwave yet. Sometimes I swear the list of stuff I need seems to grow exponentially.

But I’ve got my magnetic dry erase board on the fridge to keep on top of the list. That, plus magnetic poetry as a creative outlet to fend off any frustration that might set in.

I’ll get the hang of this single living thing yet. After 24+ years of home living, it’s just going to take some transition time. The new DVR doesn’t hurt either. Print this post