It’s been a busy month since I’ve been back from Japan. I really miss it there, and I’m already thinking of my next trip, but I’m also glad to be back in Canada. I’ve been staying with my friend, Vedran, once again, until I have my own apartment. Unfortunately getting set up again was much more difficult than I anticipated, which reminds me of when I was getting set up a year ago. I have figured out nearly everything now, but the last month has been a bit stressful with restarting my life here.

Finding an apartment was much harder than I remember. I believe 2 factors really contributed to how difficult it was: the increasing prices of real estate, which has driven up demand for rentals, and more importantly, September being when students are starting college/university. I contacted dozens and dozens of places, and in many cases, the apartment was taken before I could call them, or my appointment was canceled, since the unit was rented before my viewing. After a couple weeks of calling places and checking ads regularly, I found a nice apartment in in a good area, for more than I wanted to spend, but I wasn’t left with a lot of options. I’m excited to move in in less than a week from now.

I was excited to get my new car, a 2019 Corolla SE. Originally, I wanted to put this off until I had moved, since it would save me having to update my insurance information, but as it turned out, I needed renters insurance before my move-in date anyways, plus the move-in was taking longer than I had hoped for, so I decided to pull the trigger and get a car. I was initially thinking of getting a used Corolla, but looking at the prices, a used one from a few years ago was still quite expensive, and for the amount of savings I would be dealing with vs a new car, I once again went with a new one, though a lease this time. So far I really like it.

Another exciting development is the new job I’ve gotten. I am currently still working freelance at CDM, however, I’ve accepted an offer at MCCG starting in a few weeks. I had a few interviews, and though all of the opportunities seemed really tempting, I decided to play it a bit safe, since I’m still in a bit of a transition period in my life, and I’d rather keep things a bit quiet, at least until I’ve settled in again. I’m excited to be working with some new people, as well as people I’ve met before through Vedran. Speaking of Vedran, he also is starting at MCCG just before me. It will be great to continue working with him as well.

I’ve been busy, but not too busy to have a little fun as well. Vedran and I took a road trip down to Chicago in to meet up with a few of our friends from online, Scott and Jay. It was quite a long drive, but it was totally worth being able to meet those guys in person for the first time. While we spent a bunch of time hanging out, and having a bit of a LAN party (see the featured image), we also had some time to go check out Chicago for a little bit. Jay and Scott took us to Navy Pier, where I had the most amazing hamburger I’ve ever eaten. Those people in Chicago know how to do their food right.

With a new Job, Apartment, and Car, its been quite an exciting month. It’s been great staying with Vedran and Tiffani again, and I’m really thankful for their hospitality. Having basically stayed with friends for 2 months though, I’m looking forward to having my own place again. I’m anticipating an expensive few months, as I need to furnish the new place, but I should have some more pictures next month, when things are hopefully mostly set up.