On Christmas morning I went to Mass at St Mary's, the same place I went for Christmas Mass in first year. I was joined by Godine, who would have to travel almost as far as I to see his family. We then had some lunch together, based on leftovers from what I had cooked the previous day - and I sent him home with the leftover leftovers because I wouldn't get a chance to eat them.
I spent the afternoon and evening packing. There was a lot to do, but it was easier than for a shorter trip because I didn't have to make decisions about how soon I'd need everything: it was take it with me, or part with it forever (almost - there were a couple of things I have stored in the basement in the hope of retrieving them on my next visit to Cambridge). I ended up dumping on my roommates many items in good working conditions but not worth lugging across the country. Hopefully some will find use!
I got to bed around 1:15 am, around what I was expecting. And my alarm was set for 3:45! I didn't sleep especially well, but was pretty soundly asleep when my alarm went off (frequently I wake up before my alarm when it is set for an important event). I dressed in the clothes I had laid out for myself (including my largest pair of shoes), carried my bag downstairs and requested an Uber.
At the airport, I found that my heavier bag weighed 55.5 pounds. Rather than pay the extra $75, I jettisoned my ice skates (for which I paid substantially less than $75) and transferred a couple of books to my carry-on luggage. I probably brought the right amount of stuff: I'm not looking at anything in my apartment thinking it was unnecessary. But had I planned a little better and owned a set of scales (I was thinking of buying some the previous evening, and went online to find out the opening hours of nearby department stores, before remembering that it was in fact still Christmas Day), I may have been able to put some denser things in my smaller bag and have two 48 pound bags instead of a 56 and a 40. But I can cope with paying a few dollars rental if I happen to go skating this year!
Unsurprisingly, I slept a bit on the short flight to Chicago. The trip from Midway Airport to Hyde Park is very straightforward: the 55 bus takes approximately a straight line. I then dragged my bags (not quite my bodyweight, but very close) four blocks (actually five: there are sneakily two 54ths) north to my new home.
My apartment is very comfortable: substantially more space than I need for one person. I took some photos, but my phone is out of batteries: check back to see them!
My apartment doesn't have internet access, so I set off for campus to find a wifi network to update my family, and just generally to explore. I went past Hyde Park Produce on my exploration, so I returned to buy lunch ingredients. It was the first time in many days I had had my usual lunch: for quite a while, I had been using up what I happened to still have on my shelf back in Cambridge.
I went and bought myself a mouse and microphone, prayed, played a game of Age of Empires 2 in case I had the opportunity to battle Tom and Patrick the next day (I did not), and headed out to find some dinner.
I discovered on my wanderings (and confirmed on Yelp the next day) that 53rd St is the place to find restaurants. I wandered up and down a little before settling on Wingers, a wings and burger restaurant. I bought a spicy burger and fries and was impressed, especially with the fries. After I had eaten dinner and watched a little of the Bitcoin Bowl, it was time to return home for a bath (I hadn't yet bought a shower curtain) and bed.
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