Stuff

...and lots of it. I moved into my apartment on Monday night. The apartment is slightly smaller than my last one in NJ, but arranged differently, such that I have less storage space than before. I realized this because I ended up having just about everything from my previous apartment shipped over here and delivered on Tuesday morning. I didn't have much time to stay and organize everything after the movers unpacked it, so the bedroom looked like a disaster for the remainder of the week. There were literally piles of clothes, camping gear, and kitchen stuff all over the floor in my bedroom. Today, though, I finally organized it. After sorting stuff, getting rid of a trash bag worth of extra clothes, and packing one of the two trekking backpacks with extra stuff for a one-way trip back to the States, this looks much more like home. I feel remarkably domestic this weekend, after having baked cookies yesterday, gone to a dinner party, unpacked, hung photos on the walls, and cleaned the apartment. This is weird!

Now that I'm getting more settled in here, I'm starting to consider options for travel. One of my goals while living in London is to travel throughout the UK and Europe. If you want to visit me, either in London or elsewhere, let me know! I'm somewhat limited on vacation time, but certainly can make a full weekend of going to other cities, leaving either Thursday or Friday night, returning late Sunday or early Monday. Also, I'll be getting an air mattress shortly for anyone who wants to visit and have a place to stay here. I honestly haven't done much of the "touristy" stuff in London yet, but have rather tried to get into a normal life and settle in, figuring that I can go to the museums, the Eye, the Tower Bridge, and the like when others come to visit.

My goal at this point is to spend at least one weekend per month somewhere other than London. Next weekend, I'm back in Pennsylvania for a friend's wedding, and October 12, I'm back in Chicago to run the marathon there. I'm not sure that either of those necessarily counts as my at-least-monthly travel, though, as neither of those involves traveling Europe. I'm thinking I want to start by booking something for one or two of the weekends in September. The only one where I have plans so far is September 13, when I'll be staying in town for a concert in Hyde Park.

Now, to start planning... Let me know if and when you want to visit!