Chicago, Illinois

Well hello. I doubt anyone is reading this anymore so this is really just for myself to read a little later. Well I've been in Chicago for almost 2 weeks now. It's been quite an adjustment. I had that direct flight from Dublin, which I didn't sleep on, and then just jumped into everything. I've been incredibly fortunate that Ben and his roommate Dave, now my roommate, decided it would be easier and more beneficial to all of us if I just moved in with them. So I've taken residence in their former guest/music room and I now have a place to live, and a good one at that. I think the 3 of us will all be good roommates. So far it's been working out great. Ben is the cynic, Dave is the idealist and I'm the realist. Dave and I can gang up on Ben and make fun of him when he's being a little uptight, Ben and I can gang up on Dave when he's being a little too out there and unrealistic and the two of them can gang up on me when I'm starting to be a little too goofy or ridiculous. We were talking about this some at dinner the other night and Dave made a good point. See part of the reason i moved out here was because I thought it would be fun to live in a new awesome city while in my 20's. Just working and going with friends and stuff. Dave pointed out that not only are the 3 of us doing that right now but we're all in a good and similar situation to be doing that. We're at similar points in our lives that brought us together at this time. Plus we're all pretty open-minded and like to go out out exploring and doing different social things. It's a good situation for all 3 of us to be in.

There have already been a lot of events going on since I got here. It was a good time to arrive socially that is. When I got here on Monday October 20th we just went out and got a couple of drinks. That Friday Dave and his band Modern Conversation had a show that they invited some people too. We went to that and then went out again and had a good time. The night after that Ben and I went to o costume party with out friend J.P. Ben was a 70's character, I was Dr. Doug and J.P. was beer man. All very good costumes. There were a lot of people involved in the improv scene in Chicago there and I got to meet some cool new people. Then on Monday the 27th it was J.P.'s birthday so we went to a dollar beer night and just kicked it there for a bit. Once again, I met some more people. That Thursday was Ben's celebration for his birthday and we went out and got some drinks and dinner and hooka and such. Then Friday was Halloween. We ended up going to this party in Chinatown which is on the south side of Chicago with these people Ben and Dave new well. I had a really good time there. The people were friendly and some of the people there I knew from meeting previously so that was pretty cool. It was one of the 1st parties where I wasn't just meeting fresh brand new people. I still didn't know them that well though, but cool people nonetheless. There was a lot of booze and I probably had a bit too much. I was tired and I accidentally fell asleep on the El train on the way back. Ben thought I was right behind him until he realized I was still on the train. I woke up at the last stop and had to get my way back down to where we were though. It all worked out though ad we met back up. I ended getting into this bar for free and skipping the $10 cover charge. That was lame so I left and just went back to bed.

Then yesterday I went to this local bar just to watch the Oregon vs. Cal game. Oregon lost, which sucked, but sitting next to me was this nice woman named Christy who started talking with me. We talked for a good while in between watching the multiple games that were on. She was a local and a regular so she introduced me to some of the bartenders and it was cool to just go out and meet someone new on my own. Last night though we went to another, and hopefully final, costume party. Ben and I went and we met up with this guy in Dave's other band, a Beatles cover band, named Daniel or George Harrison. We talked with him some and met some girls who were in town from Michigan for the weekend. We ended up getting there numbers before we all had to leave. They work in the dorms at this small liberal arts school in Michigan, Adrian college, and were heading back today. Although we texted some back and forth and are facebook friends already so I'm very confident that we'll probably end up meeting up with them again at some point. Chicago is like the hub for this region of the States so they'll probably be back at some point soon.

After all this though there's still more. Dave has another concert tonight back in Chinatown and Ben and I will be going to that. Tuesday is election day and it looks like Barack is going to win. He's making his base in Chicago and he's already rented out a big ass park for people to come and "celebrate" at where he'll be giving a speech. They're expecting a million people to attend and you can bet I'll be one of them. After that it's my birthday on Saturday so we'll go out and do something fun then.

So while all this is going good it's still quite an adjustment. I'm doing a lot of fun things and I have a good living situation with guys I know well. I am out meeting people on a regular basis so I'm not just sitting at home doing nothing. It's still tough though. Meeting new people when you're brand new to an area is always a challenge. It's something that just takes time to feel like you've got some good friends you could hang out with. I'm also missing Oregon and California a lot. I know people out there, I like it out there and I'm comfortable out there. Plus as cool as I think Chicago is I've always kind of pictured going back to the west coast in the end. Only time will tell but that's just what I always thought. Hell I miss traveling too. I didn't think I would at first but I met a lot of great people there and would know people in just about any area I went too. I'm already going back to the bay for Thanksgiving and I'm trying to put something together in December to go to Oregon. I think going back would help me want to be back in Chicago as well. That's how it was before when I moved to Oregon. I needed to leave for a little bit to want to get back to there. It will be good to see people I haven't seen in a while and I'll probably end up thinking about how it will be good to get back to some of the things I like here in Chicago. Also I think getting a job would help that out. I could have done a little more as far as job searching goes but I was still kind of adjusting to just being back and not being on the west coast. I've already had a couple of interviews and they'll take a little while to hear back from. So if I get those then it'll all be good but I really shouldn't be depending on those. I've got two more applications that look promising that I'll be sending off with cover letters tomorrow. But getting a source of income would help me adjust even more so.


Basically, and I've said this before, this is a major transition period on my life. From just graduating college and trying to find a job in "the real world", to picking up and leaving an area that you love and enjoy, to moving to a brand new city in a brand new area where you barely know anyone and having it all coincide directly after you finished traveling and backpacking around Europe by yourself it is a lot to deal with. I knew it would be a lot to handle and in some ways I was really hoping it would be, because when I come out on the other side it will all have been a fantastic experience that I know I will have enjoyed. It's just a lot for me to deal with right now. But I'm a pretty strong willed confident person and I know it's going pretty damn well so far. It's just hard to silence that self doubt and second guessing. I've gotten better at doing that now then 4 years ago but it'll always be there. I just gotta keep truckin through. Things could be worse thought and I am enjoying myself. So if anyone reads this, this is how I'm doing and this is how I'm adjusting. Peace out.

-Doug