The Craigslist Queens

As I write this I am sitting in my most awesomely decorated new apartment. Coming from a place that was already furnished with essentially nothing of my own to contribute, this past month has pretty much been consumed with worrying (and when I was actually done wasting energy worrying) acquiring furniture. So whether you are a post grad, a young adult, a more mature adult, or still in school but needing to upgrade from an old fold-up card table and air mattress to something more substantial, then listen up because have I got some life advice for you!

Here are some tried and true methods for furnishing a new place (or adding to your repertoire):

1. Buy off your landlord/lady/liege. We were lucky in that the reason our landlady was renting out her place was because she was getting married, so we had the great opportunity to buy things like a table, chairs, dressers, bookcases, a coffee table, and a t.v. off of her for a steal. Bonus: we didn't even have to move them.

2. Look to Facebook, where if you are in any sort of class group page, many people will be selling/giving away things for dirt cheap. I unfortunately couldn't carpe any of these deals as I really had no place to put them and was out of town during the peak post-grad furniture dump bonanza.

3. Thrift stores. People are all about upcycling these days, and if you are creative enough you can repaint some of those really ugly pieces of furniture into something bright and awesome. I unfortunately have neither the patience nor the supplies (because unfortunately by the time you gather all the paint and primer you can sometimes end up spending way more than it's worth) for this sort of endeavor. But one day I really hope to transform something.

4. Use what resources you have. This may be furniture that you already have, or the generosity of your parents. I am fortunate enough to have a mom who is super pumped about me decorating my first adult place that she bought me 2 super classy chairs from Target. Thanks Mom!!

5. Freecycle.com. This is an awesome jem of a website; you join the yahoo group that corresponds to the area that you live in. Daily, people post things that they are looking for or giving away and everything is totally free! That's how I ended up getting the awesome brand-new birdcage that will house the new member of my family (more on that later). I figure I saved myself at least $50, and it's a great site/concept for those who are especially concerned about the amount of waste/junk that we humans can accrue. Just always bring a friend with you to pick up your new trash-to-treasure and always be sure to send a thank you post!

and finally #6. Craigslist. I must admit, I was once one of those people who turned her nose up at the idea of getting something like a piece of furniture used. Granted, I would never buy something like a bed/mattress off of Craigslist; however, my roommate and I really lucked out in finding/buying a really nice (and cheap) ikea couch off of Craigslist. I do emphasize the lucking out part because with anything that's fabric and that people have been laying/sleeping on you really have to be careful. Bedbugs are no joke people! But this thing is great. And there really are some jems on the site, along with some god-awful stuff that's incredibly overpriced. We also ended up getting 2 side tables for $5 each, and I also got my desk and chair for a total of $50. You just have to look and be really careful. Never go alone, and if you find yourself given directions to a shady part of town that has a large group of men outside of the house were you are supposed to be looking at a couch, then turn the f-around (yes this did happen to us and yes, we got the hell out of dodge). While there are such things as Craigslist Queens (i.e. savvy female shoppers such as myself) there was also such thing as the Craigslist Killer, of which there is a Lifetime movie about.

There are some things that I think you should be careful about buying used (like mattresses); when it comes to cleanliness and a good nights sleep you sometimes have to suck it up. But you can really cut costs if you are willing to see the potential in things. Your table may not match your chairs, but hey, that boho mismatched look is totally in anyway.

Classy chairs and free bird cage

Do yourself a favor and frame your posters

Our craigslist couch. 

So I'm now half-way through grad school...

via Tumblr

Boy time flies! I finished my last final today (boo epi! I'm so a words person, risk and rate ratios just mean nothing to me), and it's just scary to think that this time next year, I will be getting ready to graduate (and either looking for, or hopefully already having, a job). In some ways I will miss school, but a paycheck will be nice.

To tie a nice little ribbon around things, my friend/future roomie B and I signed a lease and put the deposit down on our condo for next year! Very very excited; it's the culmination of the end of a long search. Our place has so many trees, a spot for a little porch and some potted plants. And of course plans for a dog named Ripper (after getting her stuff stolen at the beginning of the semester, B decided that we would need to get a tough dog to protect us, hence the name Ripper was born) and a bird for me!

It's been an interesting 2 semesters and looking back here's what I've learned so far:

1. Grad school is one of the first times that you may have friends studying the same thing as you. Which is weird because sometimes all you do is talk about public health, but it's also nice too.

2. Grad school is awesome because I'm actually learning things that will help me in the real world. I'm so glad I decided to go

3. Undergrad did not prepare me for the job market (I'm sorry, as much as I love and value the liberal arts--the world would be missing something if people didn't study it--I didn't learn that many specialized skills, hence lesson #2.

4. Grad school is also awesome because they give you free booze. At least you know your tuition is going towards something useful.

5. Getting an internship takes persistence; over 65 applications' worth of persistence. But it pays off in the end when you find something you really love.

6. You will work your butt off in grad school, but teachers aren't out to fail you and your GPA will probably be better than it was in undergrad.

7. Public health=group projects, which aren't so bad when you are actually working with people who care (I'm generalizing here, but usually you don't go to grad school unless the field is important to you--and you also don't go to grad school if you're dumb).

8. Small pox, as well as ebola and all kinds of other nasty things, is alive and well right across the way at the CDC (thanks Colin Talley for that daily reminder).

9. The next big epidemic, think mass death on a Spanish Influenza of 1918 sort of scale, is inevitable.

10. Public health is pretty awesome, and I think I've fallen even more in love with it than when I started (although don't get me started on my Curriculum design class...)

Bring on sweet summer time in Hotlanta and the Bahamas!