If that’s movin’ up, then I’m… movin’ out

Gonna be a short one today in all honesty, and the title may give you some clue why (and no, it’s not ‘cause Billy’s only 5’ 5”). As of this past weekend, I’m officially a Londoner! Unfortunately, I’ve had to specify to my more worldly friends that I mean the southern Ontario town, but it’s been pretty nice here so far. Within a few days of moving, I’ve taken the bus around town, visited some of the vintage stores in the area, explored the park outside my apartment (although not yet the river), and gotten takeout at more places than I dare to name.

Turning your whole life upside down, packing it into boxes, unpacking, and setting it all up again has been a lot more stressful than I anticipated, and I already knew it was going to be stressful. Since I was 18, I’ve moved almost every single year, until the last place I lived in—there, I got a blissful 3-year reprieve, and was just starting to feel like I’d made myself a home when I got the call that classes were going to be starting in-person in September. To be honest, if the responses to this post I made on facebook are any indication, I’ve actually been pretty lucky as far as unstable, apartment-hopping queers go:

Despite the stress, I’m pretty happy with the place I landed in. I managed to find an apartment in just two weeks, and got the place locked in—sight unseen!—before the end of July. I rented Frog Boxes for moving, which are a great option for an environmentally-friendly and convenient packing solution. Finally, with a ton of help from my family, we heaved all of the stuff into 3(!!!) vehicles, and dumped it all into this place:

My previous room had been an oasis through some of the roughest times in my life. I’d fallen in love with my current partner there, retreated to it after long days in customer service with cis people, and weathered the beginning of the pandemic in it. I’ve done almost all of the work that will form my first paper from this desk, captured most eloquently by my partner late one night as I was working on both electronics and programming stuff:

Here’s the final view before we left. I’m gonna miss you, little pink womb:

Finally, I’ve got to end with the best thing I’ve seen in London so far. My partner and I are absolutely obsessed, and when indoor dining is a thing again you know we’ll be giving you a full review of this place:

Okay, I’ve still got to prepare for a presentation tomorrow, get my apartment set up, and get ready for my first courses starting next Monday, so that’s all for now!

till next time,

-xoxo gosssip grad