Res

Today was exciting and very tiring. I woke up late and rushed around half asleep, but managed to be on time leaving. The morning was a blur honestly. One minute I was at breakfast and the next I was being talked to about being moved upstairs. That's right, I got accepted into residential today babyyyyyy hell yessss

The process took all day. I had to sign a bunch of paperwork and do a tour and floor orientation, run all the way down to Providence and back twice to get my stuff from the shelter to here.... busy busy busy. Tjwana had the staff send down lunch for me while I had a bit of a background check interview thing in her office.

There are different tracks to be on when you sign the contract to be a resident at the shelter. I'm on the mental health track which requires me to keep up with my appointments and medication. I'm also required to do a daily chore (which are rotated weekly) and a task which would be like kitchen duty or something. I also MUST attend chapel and all of the gap classes. Gap classes are kind of like a Bible study but on a certain topic. So residential really forces the whole religion thing. Which is weird because how is it legal for a religious organization to charge rent...? Not that I'm complaining. 20% of my income plus the rent for storage is still cheaper than renting a room anywhere else. I just have to deal with partial custody of my stuffed animals and swap some out now and then if I can... I'm not allowed to keep much in my room. Just whatever fits into 1/4th of the drawers, bathroom, and closet space.

Of course... I'm already breaking the rules by vaping up here, having a window open, and keeping food and meds in my room anyway. Meds will be going in my locker in the common area tomorrow just to keep that squared away for weekly room searches because I don't know when they are. It's not really a huge issue because I don't have any roommates right now. There are 4 beds- 2 bunkbeds and 2 queen sized. I picked the queen sized in the middle of the room but swapped mattresses because I liked the placement but the other one was softer. I also stole the 2 other real pillows in the room. There are another 2 that are the plastic hospital kind. ...and yet I'm procrastinating getting into bed and sitting in the uncomfortable blue chair next to the nightstand. I did this at the hotel too, like I'm too in awe of how soft real beds are or I feel like I don't deserve it.

I'm already fighting off the depression coming back because of the isolation. Im not allowed to be in the dining hall with everyone I already met here anymore... I did mention that if Sarah gets moved up I wouldn't mind rooming with her. I didn't even go down to dinner... I got too busy putting stuff away and organizing things and forgot, so I ran to Mom's for more food. I have the snacks in my bag too, so it's not like I'll starve. I did get caught in the rain on the way back though...

Maybe a few days of legitimate rest will do me some good though if I can manage. I'll try meditating for a while after I post this.

I do need to do more unpacking, arranging, and laundry at some point. Right now it's hard to believe I'm even up here still. That I have a cardkey to the doors and elevator. That I have a key to my own room with furniture and a bathroom. I'm still technically homeless, but it's something better than sleeping in a group shelter. The schedule is still pretty strict though. Lockout time is now 9pm-6am. Meals are slightly later... Need to figure out when. Gotta put everything in my phone so I don't miss anything scheduled. Lots more to do. I should sleep soon.