Do it for the memories and for Baltimore

Chapter 2

I awoke early the next morning eager to start my day.  With another 5 and a half hour drive ahead of me, I got changed into a comfy sweater and a pair of leggings I had packed away in my backpack, gathered my bags, checked out of the hotel, and began my drive.

I made minimal stops along the way, only for food, gas, and washroom breaks, as my excitement level was at an all time high.  When I was just about an hour away from Maryland, I came up with a great idea. I stopped at a small strip plaza and googled on my phone “popular bands from Maryland”, to get me even more excited about going there.  A list popped up and I chose a few bands and added them to my playlist.  The bands that most sparked my interest were Good Charlotte, as I already knew a few of their songs, Unorthodox, and All Time Low.  

About an hour and a half later, I had arrived in Baltimore.  My heart was racing as I entered the city, seeing many people walking and riding bikes instead of driving, and the beautiful buildings and scenery surrounding the city.  After driving around some of the main streets for a while, I decided to head towards my condo that I had bought just a few months ago.  The house was just outside of the city, but I thought that would be nice not being completely downtown in the chaos 24/7. 

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“Woah, this is great.” I whispered to myself as I put my car in park outside of my new condo.  It was beautiful, just like the pictures I saw online when i decided to go for this place.

I exited my car and only brought my purse along with me, and went to the front door.  I saw a few papers taped to the window of the door.

Ms. Garcia!       This is Pete, from the studio!  I was the one that talked to you on the phone various times when you were still living in Illinois and explained the job you were signing up for. We remembered where your new house was, so we figured we would surprise you once you arrived by including a few things inside. Check it out! I think you’ll like it. We’ll see you soon!

I smiled to myself after reading the letter and knew that I would probably like all of my new co-workers.  I put my key into the new lock, and my mouth dropped wide open.  Inside, there were new couches and chairs along with a coffee table in the lounge area, and a kitchen table with matching chairs in the kitchen.  Beside the front door, there was the brand new fridge, oven, toilets, and other appliances in boxes that I had ordered and allowed the delivery men to bring into the house. 

I started walking upstairs, immediately loving it already as there was a little break in the steps with a window and free space.  Since the house was on a slight hill and I was the corner house, I could see a lot of downtown, and it was an amazing view. I envisioned myself setting up this area with pillows and blankets to hang out and watch the city, and maybe read a book.  As I continued up the steps, the upper floor looked as great as the main floor.  It had a lounge area, 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, and an office room.  I remembered from the pictures online that the office was pretty big, so I decided to check that out first and when I entered the room I was blown away.  The recording studio that I was going to be working for had given me an Allen and Heath GL300 48-channel mixer and two Roland M-400 V-mixer digital consoles (A/N - top of the line and expensive recording gear).  On top of one of the consoles, another small note from Pete read: “Told you you’d be surprised!”  I actually began to tear up as I saw all this equipment they had already provided me with, already feeling like I was a part of their little working family.

I walked into the bedrooms and they were both empty.  It was kind of soothing, knowing that I will be filling them both with my own decorations and furniture.  I then walked to the open lounge part, and again, I was surprised with 2 new couches, a coffee table, and a tv stand with speakers.  I called the studio and talked to Pete briefly thanking him and the rest of the staff for all they've provided me with and letting him know that I would be starting up on Monday.  Once I was off the phone with Pete, I remembered that my dad told me to call him once I arrived.

“Hello?”

“Hi dad! I finally made it!” I said clearly enthusiastically.

“great! and the place is just like you saw online? are all of your appliances there? do you still have enough gas in the car? is the weather good?”

I laughed at my dad’s rapid fire questions noticing that he was clearly nervous about me being on my own so far away. “yes dad, everything’s fine. It’s a bit cloudy here right now, but no sign of rain. The studio crew already hooked me up with a few consoles and furniture so i’m really excited about that.”

“good, now i’m guessing you're probably hungry by now, so you gonna go get some food?”

“yeah, I saw a few fast food joints about a block away from the house so i’ll just grab something from there. i’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

“you bet, kiddo. have fun! bye.”

I smiled, I loved how even as an adult he still called me kiddo. “bye dad.”

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I decided to go to the mcdonald’s I passed on the way to my house which was about a block away and grab a small meal to eat there.  On the drive back home I thought that I would start unpacking and assembling some of the things in boxes, as well as unpack my car completely.

In about 4 hours, I had brought everything from my car inside and unpacked the necessities, prepared the two beds, fridge, oven, and the toilets, luckily my dad had taught me how to install the toilet properly a few years back after the flood in my old house.

I settled down on my bed on my laptop looking through emails and other things when I noticed it was nearly midnight.  I changed into my pj’s and went under the covers.  Millions of thoughts were racing through my head, mostly excitement of being in my own new house.  I looked over at the pile of bags beside my bed and saw the notebook that my mom had given me.  I grabbed it along with a pen and used the moonlight shining through the uncovered windows as a light source.

Friday January 17 2014

Dear diary,

Day one…I’m home!