Taking the Next Step and Moving in with My Boyfriend (Part One)

In the beginning of the month my boyfriend and I found an amazing apartment and we moved out of our mother's houses. I never realized how much work it took to move out. The process was exhausting. We didn't have too much furniture since this was our first place, but I had a load of things to pack. Packing a little each day after work didn't help much. So the day before moving day I recruited my cousin to help me pack and if it wasn't for her I think I would've only gotten to pack half of my things. We didn't go to sleep till 3AM that day and Saturday AKA moving day I felt like a zombie.

I woke up at 630AM that Saturday morning so I could do my laundry before the big move. Then after laundry it was off to get the moving truck. Thank goodness for my uncle because there was no way I was driving a 16' moving truck. Once the truck came then the moving started. One of my cousin's friend helped out and I guess he couldn't believe the amount of shoes that I had. He then asked me "Do you wear all of them?". That caused for a good laugh. I wear most of them and unfortunately I ended up throwing away about 10 pairs of shoes. It was sad to part with some of my shoes, but I had to get everything out of my mom's house. Not sure what she's going to do with the extra space, but I don't want to have to keep going back to get more stuff. (Although that's what I'm stuck doing now.)

Once we were done at my mom's house we then went to pick up my boyfriend's things. Unlike me he only had boxes and he left half of his clothes at his mother's house. He planned on using his mom's apartment for storage. She has the space for it so why not. Our apartment only has 2 closets, but so far we're making the best of it with the amount of storage space that we have. I've learned how to condense the space we have and creating new space. When you have a limited amount of storage space you have to think outside the box. 

Once everything was packed into the moving truck we then went to our apartment. (Finally!!!) Moving things into the apartment didn't take long at all. I think packing the truck took much more time. In about an hour all our stuff were moved into the apartment from the truck. Since the moving truck was under my name I had to go back and return it. That didn't take up too much time and then it was time to celebrate our move.

We had a late lunch that day and went to Maspeth's Ale House. (I'll have a detailed review on Inda's Tasty Review.) It felt great to finally be able to sit down and relax. Although the only thing I could really think about was going to sleep. I was tired and all I wanted to do was test out our new bed and take a quick power nap.

Once we were done with our late lunch and everyone went home I finally got to take my nap. I didn't get to do much unpacking either afterwards. The whole moving in process took forever especially when you don't have any days off from work. Till now I've unpacked a lot of things, but still the apartment isn't at 100% yet, but I guess that's part of the whole process.

On a side note I've decided that I'll have more things to write about on my big step. This was only part one. Stay tuned for more blogs on "Taking the Next Step". 

Daily Blog: Learning How To Drive in New York City

Even though you don't necessarily need a car in New York City my father made sure I learned how to drive when I was old enough. I'm so thankful he did because it's true what they say it's like riding a bike. Once you know how to drive you'll never forget.

My dad started teaching me how to drive when I got my permit at 17. The first year I got my permit I didn't drive too much. I actually sucked the first couple of times. Back then when Shea Stadium was around, I learned how to drive at their parking lot. It took me about 2-3 times practicing in the parking lot before I actually started driving in the street. I always drove with my dad because I made the mistake of asking my mom and she freaked out on me while I was driving. So I didn't make that same mistake twice.

My dad was a good teacher, he had the patience for it. I never understood how he did it because if I was him I don't think I could have done it. He made me drive everywhere and it was a good learning experience. Driving in Manhattan was the worst with all the yellow cabs, but my dad walked me through the whole thing. Regardless if people honked at me or not he said don't worry stay calm and just do what I tell you. He gave me good pointers and I learned things I'll never forget.

I drove for about 3 years with my permit and then at 20 years old I got my driver's license. Thankfully for me I took my test once and I passed, but that's because I had a great teacher.