Finally seeing the Cherry Blossoms

Two years ago, Dimitar and I tried to see the Cherry Blossoms in D.C. We took the train there and walked around D.C trying to find the best location to see them, but as the rain started, we eventually left. Since then, we hadn't tried to visit until we finally moved, and Spring came along. 

It was the perfect day too! The sun was out, it was warm outside, and there was a perfect breeze. The Cherry Blossom trees weren't exactly at their peak, but they were still beautiful. 

We made it to the Tidal Basin which was packed with people who came all around the world to see the beautiful trees. There was live music playing and I even managed to spot a Corgi as we were entering; always a good omen!

View of the Washington Monument

As we walked around the basin, we stopped to sit on a bench where we ate some pizza that I had handmade the night before; so delicious! We also drank Arizona Green Tea which has become our favorite recently. As the wind picked up, the air was filled with petals from the trees around us, and it looked as if it was snowing! It was mesmerizing. 

I often associate Cherry Blossom Trees with my dearest Mother, who passed away last year. Cherry blossoms symbolize a timely beauty that only lasts for so long, but always leaves the same ever lasting impression; a perfect description of my mother. Since the day itself had been so beautiful in every way, it left me feeling as if she was there with me.

It was quite emotional for me, really. I do well managing my emotions despite how much I miss my mom, but seeing such beauty always leaves me emotional. Anyone who has dealt with loss before knows the waves of pain that comes with it. I live my days as best as I can for my lovely mother, but there are always the ones that leave me feeling empty and lost. Today though as the cherry blossoms trees stood before me, I felt closer to her than ever before.

Enjoying the beautiful nature

A pagoda

A full bloomed tree

No matter how much time goes by, while it may never be the same, the love I have for my mother will stay strong and dear to my heart. 

Lovely Alexandria

Yes, it truly has been 3 months since I last had a chance to update. So much has been going on that I really haven't been able to sit down. For starters, after spending four days in a hotel while our flat was being painted, we were finally able to unpack and settle into our apartment. It had been such a stressful process, but it's great to finally have gotten through it.

On my days off, I spent time going through each box and making sure everything went to the right place. I even managed to put together my boyfriend's desk, which is from IKEA by the way, and I didn't even bother looking up the instructions. It worked out after 3 attempts! It took about a week for us to finally unpack everything and for each room to be clear of boxes!

The office

The semi-furnished living-room!

The bedroom

Now that the flat was starting to look "normal" - we were finally able to relax a bit, but not quite. In the past three months, I have been through several jobs that just did not go as I expected it to. For starters, the café I worked at became super stressful that I took on another job at a bakery. I worked long hours there which was great money, but I ended up injuring my hand and had to wear a brace for 2 months due to carpal tunnel syndrome. Since I love creating with my hand's, the job was a big no for me.

The next job after that I was hired as a receptionist which was decent for me, but the manager was highly critical of my work and constantly micromanaged me. I've never experienced being micromanaged before and I for one did not like it. One day, after the manager told me she wouldn't cover for me to go to an appointment for half an hour, I literally walked out; something I had also never done before either.

I felt pretty defeated at this point;  I was picky with jobs, but not that picky. Luckily though, I ended up being trained to be a Dental Assistant shortly afterwards. It's a lot of work and so much terminology to learn, but it keeps me on my feet and I love the technical aspect of it. I've always worked with animals in the past but in the town I live in, not many of clinics were hiring, so trying something new only made sense.

At work!

With a stable side job, I haven't reached that point yet where everything feels cozy. My recording schedule for YouTube has gotten better as things settle down and I can focus a bit better. The weather is also improving which helps me adjust with all the changes. It's overwhelming at times, but it's everything I've wanted so I won't complain. 

Until next time! xoxo - Sarah

The Piggies Temporary Setup :(

3/1/2021

I am writing this from my hotel room because starting today, the owner of my flat has finally agreed to paint our unit after a month of waiting. Since I live in an old building nestled in Old Town Alexandria, I have recently discovered what lead paint is and that my flat tested positive for lead itself. This wasn’t a shock to me considering the age of the building, but, what did shock me was the fact that in all of the rooms, there was peeling paint and cracks present which is exactly when lead paint itself becomes toxic.

So, today I woke up early to gather up the items we’d take to the hotel since the painters would arrive by 7am. Fortunately we arranged the rooms the night before, which wasn’t too much really since we’ve been living out of boxes for the past month anyways. By 7:30 the painters arrived and they briefed us on everything that was going to take place. It turns out though that the painters were not going to use an encapsulating paint – which is a paint used to close in lead and make it secure – and instead were just going to apply two coats.

This greatly upset me since I had told the property manager that if they didn’t do it the proper way, that we’d void our lease. While I had been great about keeping my composure during the whole month of trying to get them to fix the issue that should have been done before we even moved in, it really made me angry to think how some companies have little to no value for the people that give them business.

We left the house not in the best mood – it was also cloudy and rainy which didn’t help either. The hotel was about 12 minutes from our flat and when we arrived, Dimitar left to check in. He came back after some time and told me that for one, we had to wait to check in at noon and it was eight in the morning. Two, our guinea pigs were not accounted for. Three, we had to pay upfront when the property manager informed us that it would all be taken care of for us. Ugh.

At this point, I’m extremely upset so Dimitar agreed to call the property manager himself. She told us she’d fix the issue as soon as possible. This was when I finally expressed my frustration and just as I finished, a pair of cardinals flew in front of me; the bird I often associate with my lovely mother. After venting, I turned some music on to calm down because I knew letting the situation get the best of me wouldn’t help at all.

The situation was fixed after twenty minutes and we were finally able to check in and get into our hotel room which was equipped with a small kitchen and a queen size bed. It was small, but we would only be there for at least 3-4 days. While Dimitar got ready for work, I put together the guinea pigs cage which was tiny compared to what they were used to, but as soon as I gave them their hay, they quickly forgot about everything.

Playing Red Dead Redemption 2

It was a rather boring day since there wasn’t much to do. If it comes down to it, I’ll take the train to Old Town, since the hotel is slightly out of the city, just to get out and do something. I watched TV – which is something I haven’t done in over a decade or more – I wrote a bit, caught up on some sleep and pigged out on some pizza. Not very eventful but it’s temporary. 
 

I never thought I’d be spending my time in a hotel after moving. Being someone who normally goes with the flow of things and focuses on things that I can actively change, I guess my expectations of how I wanted the whole situation to unfold really took me back when things turned out...different. Part of this new independence though is dealing with uncertainty with confidence and going with the flow and I’m definitely not stopping during the rough patches.

Until next time! xoxo - Sarah

Getting more furniture.

02/19/2021

After a few days of silence from the owners of our unit, I finally received an email from the property manager that our unit would be painted, we just don’t know when.

Now that the unit will be painted, it’s a huge relief for both Dimitar and I since we’ve been living out of boxes for two weeks now. The guinea pigs however, have already settled in... It would be nice to finally unpack and have our flat looking like a home rather than a storage unit! We’ll get there soon and in the mean time I can do some more window shopping for furniture I’d like to get to make the flat more practical.

I had an interview at the bakery down the street from where we live and while the pay is OK, there are also tips included. I’ve never worked on tips before so I’m not really sure what to expect, but, I have seen how busy the area gets when the weather is nice and I’m sure the tips are also nice as well. The hours are better than the juice bar I currently work at, so if it comes to it, I may switch my hours to work more at the bakery instead.

Since having my own space to be more independent, I have felt a huge relief within. Apart from everything happening with the painters and the job, overall, everything is happening just as I wanted it to as hard as that may be to believe. Sure, some things are slower to take off than usual, but I know from experience that worrying about such things will only make you miserable so it’s better to stay optimistic and progressive.

The trees are still a bit bare!

Today we had some more snow during the night and while it was only a few inches, yesterday we also had some snow mixed with rain and now it’s really pretty outside. I never had the chance to see the town covered in snow before so it’s nice to see the neighborhood in a different light. I was thinking about walking to the grocery store but that may have to wait if the sidewalks are too slippery. 

I really want to try to setup my art equipment to see how well the lighting is to record. I miss recording so since I am off today, I will try to see how everything goes and what kind of art I can create. I’ll most likely have to dig through my boxes to find my art supplies but it’ll be worth it if the lighting turns out to be great. The flat has tall windows in every room which lets in a nice amount of light. Where I had lived before, the natural lighting was little to none, so I had to use studio lights to compensate for it, but now I wont have to so much. 

Amazing sunset view.

It’s noon now and I have the munchies so I’ll prepare myself some ramen with veggies before I setup my recording equipment. I think today will be a chill day for me where I’ll most likely end up playing Red Dead Redemption 2 – since I haven’t had the chance to play in a long time. Or, I’ll just re-watch one of my favorite Korean dramas, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo (so funny, if you haven’t watched it, you need to now!).

Until next time! xoxo - Sarah

The big move!

2/17/2021

    It has been crazy for me these past few weeks! First, I am happy to say that I have officially moved after living with my boyfriend’s family for seven years. It’s given me a lot to think about and it’s taught me a lot, but in all honesty, having a place of our own now has been the biggest milestone for us to accomplish. It seems silly, I know, but it’s true.

    On our moving day at 6 am in the morning, which was the 8^th, it was super stressful considering how many trips we made back and forth between our old place and our new place. The leasing office was acting funky with us since they didn’t want to give us the keys to our apartment until our prorated rent was paid upfront; I had everything else to give them, except this. This highly inconvenienced us since we weren’t informed that we needed this to collect the keys. It also meant that we had to go back to Springfield for more documents which was about fifteen minutes away. We all did this while Dimitar drove a 20” moving truck around which was rented out by the miles.

    Once we collected all the papers we needed, we drove back to the leasing office and promptly received our keys. From there, there was another hurdle we had to overcome. There were no parking spaces available in front of our apartment and since we had a 20” truck with us, we needed to figure out where we were going to park fast. In most cases, you had to reserve parking with the city hall, but since the move happened so fast, we didn’t have time to make that request.

    Our second plan was to park in the alley next to our apartment but a lady had parked her car in the middle of it which blocked off the exit so we couldn’t drive through. Dimitar thought about driving around her car but it was way too narrow. A nice gentleman later came out to assist us with maneuvering the truck but we eventually made the decision to drive in from the front of the alley instead which was a success. At this point we felt relieved to finally be able to unload the truck and furnish our new flat.

    Both of our bodies at this point were aching so much, especially my lower back. We were also hungry since both of us hadn’t eaten much to avoid getting cramps from the constant moving around. To say that this is where we were able to rest a bit, would be a lie because after we were done unloading the truck ( it took about an hour or so) we had to drive back to Springfield to get the remainder of our items. The sun was close to setting at this point too and both of us were worried we’d be left to unpack the truck in the dark. 

How our apartment looked for 1 month!

    We loaded the rest of the items into the truck and with the piggies in a box on the seat next to me, we said our goodbyes to Dimitar’s family and quickly drove back to our flat. I had bursts of excitement to the idea of us going back to our place on top of feelings of exhaustion. The sun had already gone down at this point which meant it was about 6’pm. We sill had to hurry up though since we were scheduled to drop off the truck at 7pm so we moved as fast as we could so we could go back to Springfield one last time...Crazy.

    We made it to the truck rental place ten minutes before our scheduled drop off time; literally a shocker for us considering how slow we were moving. We then stopped at the grocery store nearby to pick up some essentials which was the hardest thing to do since both of us were super hungry – the last thing you should do is go shopping on an empty stomach! On top of that, a Jehovah witnessed stopped us in the middle of our search for Epsom salt and I felt so bad for Dimitar as he tried to stay awake. We checked out and left the store swiftly afterwards until Dimitar realized he didn’t have his wallet on him which added more anxiety to our plates.

    Since I was not in the mood to cook anything, there was a pizzeria down the street from our flat so I rushed in and ordered a vegetarian pizza. After ten minutes of waiting, we drove back home ready to have dinner where we also found Dimitar’s wallet in his other coat’s pocket. We didn’t have a wine bottle opener on us though or even a drain stopper for the tub so again, Dimtar left to get those items. Meanwhile, since we had to take the guinea pigs cage apart to fit through the door, I decided I would work on their cage so the piggies could rest comfortably. Dimitar had put half of it together for me before leaving which was really nice of him.

    Once Dimitar returned, we were finally able to eat and rest our bodies. After 72 hours of nothing but packing, it felt great to be still for a change and not have to worry about anything – or so we thought! The next day, Dimitar had work, which left me home to take care of some things like picking up the equipment for the internet, being home for the lead inspection (yes, lead, which is a whole new issue in itself now…) and to also shop for some needed essentials like a shower curtain.

    Before moving to Old Town Alexandria, Dimitar and I didn’t know anything about lead until we received a pamphlet about it after signing our lease. Apparently, old buildings built prior to 1978 often used lead paint which can be toxic if the paint starts chipping and peeling. The thing is, in our apartment, there were many areas where there were not only cracks, but peeling paint which made Dimitar and I both panic. After the inspection – which took about an hour and a half – lead was obviously found; especially in our office.

    I had already suspected this considering the age of the building, but to see the amount of paint peeling and chipping made me worry. So I emailed the property manager about the issue since the paint itself should have been taken care of prior to us moving in. The one thing I was concerned about were property owners taking advantage of first time renters – and in this case, both Dimitar and I were. So I put on my best big girl attitude and demanded from the property manager that the paint be dealt the right way as soon as possible or else we would void our lease and move out.

    By the end of the week, they came to inspect the property with their own inspector – even after we submitted the full report from our hired inspector – and now we’re waiting to hear from the owner on whether they will fix the paint the right way or not. That was last Thursday and it’s now Wednesday. It’s been frustrating to say the least how everything has just happened at once and both Dimitar and I have considered leaving if by the end of this week there was no update. Since we’re unsure of what is going to happen, we kept everything in boxes except for the dining table and the bed.

    So that’s the point that I’m at now – looking for a new apartment. I have started working at my new job and while it’s equally as stressful as the whole lead ordeal, I’ve made the decision to stick with it until something better comes along. Speaking of which, I actually have an interview today around noon at a bakery so hopefully it is promising. Since I do enjoy working at my other job at a Juice bar, I thought about working there only on the weekends, while working at the bakery during the week. I haven’t thought it through exactly, but I know in time everything will make sense. I do know that I miss making art videos and I’m so excited for when I am able to get back into that routine.

    I told myself that once Dimitar and I got our own place, I would start my blog but I never thought I would start it this way. In just a week or more, I have learned the importance of tackling issues the moment they arise and the importance of being straightforward, even if it does make you uncomfortable. When it seems like the problems appear one after the other, tackling them one at a time can give so much peace in the end rather than waiting. I’m still not sure what will happen to this apartment or my job right now, but in the end I can only go with the flow and trust that everything will happen for the better. So far, that has been working out really well for me.

Until next time! xoxo - Sarah