Putting Down Roots

Well it may have felt like hell on earth, but the search is over - we got an apartment! It's a 1 bedroom on the Upper East Side, but we're thinking the bedroom will be large enough for 2 twin beds, and with a large living room. It's on the first floor, but at the back of the building so it looks out over a garden area about a story up (so it feels more like the second floor). And it is on the best street! So classic New York - tree-lined, and surrounded by brownstones. Ours isn't as cute from outside, but at least the street itself is cute. Very close to the subway, which will be nice when the cold and rain really hit. No laundry in the building, but there is a laundry service right outside the door: it's perfect! You drop off your dirty laundry and pick it back up all clean and folded. Not a bad deal.

We signed the lease yesterday (after an interview with the management company!) and get to pick up the keys in the morning! So exciting, and such a relief to have that challenge behind us. We had some very low points where we wanted to give up, having felt like we had seen every 1 bedroom on the Upper East Side, but we persevered and made it! Now it's onto furniture accumulation, but that will seem like a breeze after the torture of apartment hunting.

And the other great news is that I got a job! I got my official offer from Cornell Medical School to work in a cancer research lab with pediatric oncologists. I have a meeting with HR on Monday, but I should be all set! Such a relief, and I think I will learn a lot. My specific role in the lab is working with various brain cancers, and the research sounds very new and very interesting. My dad compares it to going to grad school, with how much I will learn from this. And whether I end up pursuing medicine or research or not, this will be an incredible experience. So wish me luck and I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Pictures of the apartment to come - stay posted!