Roots Before Coat Racks
Tuesday, January 7, 2014 / 10:00 AM
This is a big deal for me. I've been terrified of buying furniture since moving to the east coast. When I was in college, it didn't seem like that big of a deal. We bought cheap items at IKEA or off of Craigslist, and my boss at one of my jobs gave me a couch for free she was looking to replace. When my roommates and I had to move, we were lucky to have friends who helped us (also, we bribed them with beer).
When I left Irvine, I sold everything with little hassle and began the next chapter of my life as a nomad. I bounced from furnished room to furnished room--in Maryland, then DC, then back to Maryland. In five months, I lived in four places, and I didn't have to worry about a single piece of furniture at all.
But New York, I knew, would be different: I didn't want to move every month and I didn't want to worry about hauling furniture across town. I was lucky to find a furnished place in the first few days of arriving in Manhattan, but I still didn't want to "settle in." I didn't think I would be in the city longer than six months, and even if I was, who knew if I'd be in the same apartment?
By the time I got all of my belongings in one place, it was three months later. Three months after that, when it became clear I would be staying in New York, I finally unpacked everything from my suitcase.
Then life got kind of messy, as did all of my shoes. I was already tripping over a pile of boots and heels and sandals every time I walked into my room and, every time, I would think to myself, "I should get a shoe rack." Then I'd shrug and move on, and do the same thing the next day. Lather, rinse, repeat.
When I left Irvine, I sold everything with little hassle and began the next chapter of my life as a nomad. I bounced from furnished room to furnished room--in Maryland, then DC, then back to Maryland. In five months, I lived in four places, and I didn't have to worry about a single piece of furniture at all.
But New York, I knew, would be different: I didn't want to move every month and I didn't want to worry about hauling furniture across town. I was lucky to find a furnished place in the first few days of arriving in Manhattan, but I still didn't want to "settle in." I didn't think I would be in the city longer than six months, and even if I was, who knew if I'd be in the same apartment?
By the time I got all of my belongings in one place, it was three months later. Three months after that, when it became clear I would be staying in New York, I finally unpacked everything from my suitcase.
Then life got kind of messy, as did all of my shoes. I was already tripping over a pile of boots and heels and sandals every time I walked into my room and, every time, I would think to myself, "I should get a shoe rack." Then I'd shrug and move on, and do the same thing the next day. Lather, rinse, repeat.
