Some of the less-than-awesome aspects of living in my new home are coming to light. It's pretty expensive. I landed a sweet restaurant job at a nearby luxury hotel, but I've got pretty much all my summer income earmarked already. Thankfully, a lot of these things are one-time expenses. Even more thankfully, I'm able to swing all this on a poor man's income, so when I start to make grown man money, I should be more than set.

The other less than sexy thing: my neighborhood is the definition of love-hate. I love the genuine improvements and care given towards it from within the community, like the beautification, fundraising for kids recreation, and the amount of renovation I see on my block alone. I hate that I haven't slept in two days because I keep getting woken up by people & kids yelling outside my window through all hours. I hate how my fight-or-flight reflex is primed when I park my car after dusk, or when I see ten kids on bicycles wheely-ing down the street.

Hopefully this will all attenuate as I get used to living here and calling it home.