Baby steps

Becoming a "real adult" is a slow process.  I don't know why I thought it would be quick once I got here...maybe because adapting to a new country seemed much more difficult than learning to live outside the dorms or function outside of college.

Staying on top of my chores is really hard.  I used to have a friend who would frequent my apartment so I felt a need to keep it presentable, but we've grown apart and now I don't feel like I need to keep up appearances for anyone. I've gotten super lax about doing the dishes and putting away my laundry, and I was never exceedingly on top of those things to begin with.  Dishes seem like such an ordeal, and laundry is just so much more convenient on the drying rack than on my clothes rack.  I sweep my floor reasonably frequently and scrub my bathroom often enough to keep it from looking gross, but that's all I really keep on top of as far as housework goes.

I am trying, though. I forced myself to wash all the dishes in the sink tonight, not just the ones I need or the half on the left or right side of the sink.  I took my trash out last night as well, which is impressive because even though we have three trash days in a week I always manage to forget to take mine out until the next day. However, living by myself does mean that my trash doesn't pile up super quickly, so it's not really a disaster until my food trash bag gets too full for my freezer.  I even have a load of laundry going right now, and it's really important to stay on top of laundry here because I don't have a dryer.  The only way tonight could feel more adult-y would be if my dinner hadn't turned out ridiculously bland despite the two full spoons of curry seasoning I threw in, but I guess I can't have everything.

The only thing I feel like I'm doing reasonably successfully is my budget. It's a bit tight, but I'm putting away a decent portion of my money every month toward savings and another decent chunk toward student loans.  Dad may not have been able to make me into someone who can't stand a messy living space (sorry), but he has managed to teach me decent spending habits pretty successfully.  I have had a couple conversations with him since getting here that basically started with me going "DADDY HOW DO I BUDGET ON A NON-STUDENT PAYCHECK HAAAALP PLZ" but I think I've settled things reasonably well. Finally.

So, like the title says, I'm just focusing on baby steps.  Tonight, the dishes and some of the laundry. Another night this week, I'll tackle the pile of clean laundry and notebooks that have accumulated on the side of my bed I don't sleep on. In my free time, I'll work on crocheting my window decoration to make the place look less like a generic apartment and more like home.  Maybe eventually I'll be able to get things to a state where I can take pictures to send home/post here.