Like many of you out there, I had planned to do a lot of different things this year but living out of a suitcase was not one of them. Trust me it’s not as much fun as it sounds. Your mind is in a constant flux of counting the number of clean clothes you are left with by the end of each day. You, at a certain point, might also learn the value of reuse as long as it lasts.
My life was rolling out smoothly like melted butter on a slice of toast. Until I tried to freeze the butter for a challenging experience. After all, what’s life without a challenge? I had a crazy thought around the time a friend of mine was forced to move out and find a new place to live along with her flatmates.
How about letting go off the peaceful and comfortable life in a 1BHK apartment to experience a life living with friends?
A new experience indeed. And this year was all about new experiences for me. So I jumped at the first thought. Well actually I did think over it for a while and then decided I’d live with the same friend who’s being moved out and has now found a place in one of our mutual friends’ building. The idea sounded amazing in my head and I had spun a series of dreams that could come true after I make this big shift. I had been living alone for over a year but the thought of making my F.R.I.E.N.D.S dream come true was enough to convince me ( I am a big time fan). Little did I know I was in for a ride of a lifetime.
The first step was to actually see the apartment in person before saying, YES. Both my friends were sure I would say otherwise. Apparently it did not suit my style. So I tried and tried and tried. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see the apartment in person. We used our brains and visited the apartment right below the one we were looking forward to rent. I mean it wouldn’t be much different now, would it? Well, this proved to be my first wrong estimation which I only happen to realise after it was too late.
Things were settled, emails were sent, hands were shaken. The deal was made. I gave a month’s notice to my landlord and started packing my stuff. Soon enough a bomb was dropped. I had to vacate my current apartment while the other was still occupied. I had nowhere to go with all my stuff packed, not so neatly. The problem was resolved by shifting temporarily into my friend’s house whose neighbour I was about to become. And voila, I was now living in an all boys house, though temporarily but still. Here’s where I began living out of a suitcase. It was just for a few days then, or so I thought, which later turned into an entire month. It wasn’t difficult for me to adjust with my new situation. My new flatmates(the five boys) were amazing people. I felt at home with them.
The second shock came around the time I saw my to-be apartment for the first time. My timing to see the apartment was completely off. The previous tenants had left the place in a complete mess. I knew it was too soon to judge but if only I had done so. After a week full of surprises, I thought I was ready to live in my new apartment. But things were taking another direction. My friend and I were not happy with the place and we began our search for a new apartment. Meanwhile I was heading to Pondicherry for a treatment planned months ago making a stop at home, Chennai. This is where my suitcase full of unclean clothes, some reused to the last bit, found solace while its contents made their way to the washing machine. And then I was ready to live the next 10 days out of my lovely suitcase, again.
I had made up my mind to find a new place back in Bangalore and not continue with the current deal to the end. But finding a place, at such short notice, close to office was a task in itself. After my treatment in Pondicherry I made a stop at home again. While my clothes were reunited with the washing machine I was left homeless yet again. The only place I could go back to, in Bangalore, was the All Boys Apartment. They had not signed up for this and I remain forever grateful to all of them to have had me there longer than anyone had anticipated. And the third round of living out of a suitcase began. This time, unfortunately, I had no idea how long that suitcase journey would last.
Lucky for me I found a place and shifted into the new apartment I now call home, within a week. Thus ending my journey of living out of a suitcase. In this entire month the foremost stress had been ‘What am I gonna wear tomorrow?’ which otherwise is not a concern, often. The fiasco of living with my friends and fulfilling my dream of F.R.I.E.N.D.S made me an expert in living out of a suitcase, an experience of a lifetime, a journey to be remembered for both good and bad moments with lessons learned for a better future. Three cheers for my sturdy suitcase!!!
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