Reality and the City

Reality and the City Dear Carrie Bradshaw, You are a  [swear word] liar. This is the  first line of Jen Lancasters book, Bright Lights, Big Ass.    Ms. Lancaster  has a point. Ever since my aunt  was in law school downtown Chicago (I was a  whole 10 years old complete with a perm, poofy bangs and a size 9 shoe) I knew I wanted to grow up and live in the city.    I  have felt the same allure for Chicago  ever since: the energy, the hustle and bustle, the business people everywhere, the big companies, the fashion, the buildings, the lake So here I am, almost 26, a resident of Chicago.   I am living out my own dream, yet at the same time, all that glitters is NOT gold.   I know a lot of you college seniors and recent grads are thinking about making the move to the big city, whether it is New York, Chicago, LA, San Fran, or anywhere else in the world.   Definitely do it.   The people you meet, the opportunities you get and the culture you experience are priceless.   BUT, you MUST be cut out for it.     So today Ill take a break from dry resume and job search talk and inject a bit of entertainment into your day.   True Stories About MY Life in the City My first apartment was an interesting one.   Everything seemed OK at first (other than the fact that my bed barely fit in my room) until a pungent scent of mold started infiltrating our 800 square foot 2 bedroom apartment. Im talking a freshman year boys dorm + mold smell.   My own mother wouldnt even come in when she visited. After the smell, came the bugs.   After  several  rounds of exterminators, the  bugs were  still there.    I didnt  realize African safaris existed in  Chicagos Gold Coast neighborhood, but I was wrong.   Oh, and there are also typhoons here.   Such as the one that came from my neighbor above who left his kitchen sink on before going out of town for a week.   One night I walked into my room to find a huge rush of water coming out of  the ceiling.     It ruined my bed and put me out of a room for 2 weeks until the ceiling was repaired.   I guess thats what you get for paying $700 each in rent in Chicago. I could write a whole post about the shanningans that went on in that apartment thanks to my roommate.   I  had a ton of fun with her and she was a good friend,  but things came to an end when I was called after I moved out and  was repeatedly accused of stealing a bottle of $6 Yellowtail wine.      After several attempts at trying to replace my own bottle of $6 wine, I  havent seen her since.   Except a few weeks ago when her mugshot was  on the morning news- apparently my concerns about her lifestlye werent so crazy after all. I was super excited to head to work that  first Monday morning  in the city.   I walked to my car feeling  awesome and then stopped in my tracks only to  see all of my car windows  were bashed out.   A short time later someone threw a beer bottle at my windsheild and broke it.   Unfortunately, another time,  someone decide to bless my car with human feces.    There are many more examples of car vadalism, but you get the idea.  At this point I knew I had to get  a parking spot which I definitely couldnt afford.   So I started working as a brand ambassador for liquor companies after my day job.   I got paid to go to bars, socialize with people and have them taste our drinks.   Nothing was racy about it, except the one promotion event which required me to shine shoes.   Hmm.    Overall,  this side job  was a good experience and paid well, but was a bit odd compared to my nylons and suit type of day job.   So I got my parking spot, but parking spots arent such a good idea for those who dont pay attention.   One morning on my way to work, I pulled out of my parking garage only to hit a man in a wheelchair.   He fell out of his chair.    I thought I killed him.     I happened to be really decked out that day for an event I was attending after work, which for some reason only made me feel and look that much dumber.   How stereotypical that a done up blonde girl in a  cute  skirt suit, huge Chanel sunglasses and a flash red luxury car would hit a man in a wheelchair. Ugh.   I obviously wasnt strong enough to pull him back up into his chair in my heels, so luckly  two men came by and got him back into it- all the while scowling and cursing under their breath at me.   I appologized and  gave the victim my hot pink Ms. Career Girl card.   I  figured a law suit was on its way to my  inbox. Instead, the guy called my phone that night to let me know he was ok and asked if Id like to go out sometime. REALLY?!   Now I question if that man was really disabled in the first place.  If this was some kind of sick pick up line, he really took it too far. As you can tell, having a car in the city has been a source of stress over the past few years.   It took me  2.5 years and a new job in the Loop to take public tran to work.   Talk about glamour. Theres nothing I love more than 2 full busses that pass me by when Im running late only to be squished into bus #3 like a sardine early in the morning. But now I need my car thanks to my dog Giada, whose favorite game as a baby was jumping out of the car window while the car was moving.   And as you can guess, raising a puppy in a high rise presents its own challenges.   Try potty training a dog from the 25th floor!   There comes a point when your doorman just looks at your face, shakes his head  and knows your puppy peed in the lobby or  elevator again.     Doing normal things like grocery shopping in the city is not as fun as it looks either.   In the movies people have one brown grocery bag with a french loaf  and bouqet of flowers sticking out.   In my world, grocery shopping includes  carrying  4 heavy and over stuffed  bags of groceries only for the bags to rip and break all over the street while I am on a business call on my headset.   I now have a cart- you know, the ugly  ones grandmas  use- and I am proud of if it! After all of this, I wouldnt trade living in the city for anything.   Ive grown accustomed to $10 drinks and  10.5% sales tax.   I know that wherever I go I will meet interesting people.   Im convinced that my career and outlook wouldnt be the same had I stayed in the suburbs.   I also know that there is always an adventure and another hilarious story just around the corner!