Everything's Up to Date: The Street Where I Live

The musical theme returns (for those of you who didn't grow up with Turner Classic Movies, today's title comes from the musical My Fair Lady, which is based on Pygmalion, starred Julie Andrews on stage, Audrey Hepburn on screen and Rex Harrison on both).

When things didn't work out with my intended roommate, I was at quite a loss for a place to live. My internship at Bethany Lutheran Church was complete, and consequently, so was my period of free lodging in Overland Park. I had no job, no place of residence, and no real plan for how I would solve either dilemma. Enter Adam White and the 14th Street Castle. Adam is a member at Jacob's Well (the church I've been attending since June, and the only thing that has remained stable in the time that I've been in KC), and owner of a house in Kansas City, Kansas. When he heard that I had no place to live, he offered the unfinished basement of his 95-year-old home. It isn't ideal, but is a space to store my things, and for the time being I find it inhabitable (the crickets and centipedes seem to agree).

My first week or so in the Castle (the name that has been given to the house where I live) was bearable. I was still looking for a job, and until I found one it made no sense to pay more to rent elsewhere. As the weeks passed I started to become attached to the house and its residents (the human ones that is).

Two weeks in, I made my first attempt at a "deep clean," which notably marks the point at which my dwelling place becomes more than a stopping point. I had a few break downs when the plaster began crumbling off the walls, dirt fell from the ceiling, and I first noticed the 3 cm of dust that coat all of the pipes running along the ceiling. I did my best to Soft Scrub and Lysol the bathroom and bar area. I made do with the "closet" that resembles a garden shed. I sprayed for bugs, removed cobwebs and shop-vac-ed to the best of my abilities.

This is my feather duster. I went to three different dollar stores before I found what I was looking for. This duster has seen more cobwebs than I can count on my hands and feet. It's a trouper, and as such hangs proudly in my closet.

This first bottle of bug spray was used up within the first month.

I have killed at least four crickets, and for perhaps the first time

have truly delighted in my victory and kill.

In the back of my closet I found a box of toilet brushes. Where they came from and why there are there I have no idea.

Three weeks after the move (the day of my 24th birthday) was the arrival of my first house guest (my little sister). That day I took some photos of my living space, noting that it had become more than a place to store my stuff.

The bed came from my one of my college friend's houses. There is an extraordinary amount of furniture that floats around her house. The sheets are from my parents. They hide the rather large and unsightly boiler, at least from some angles.

My favorite piece of furniture is the gas stove that is no longer allowed to function as a gas stove (due to the fact that my living space has terrible ventilation and already breaks fire code as it is). Instead the stove has become a makeshift vanity for me.

My mom taught me to use the oven for storage space.
I've learned this can be dangerous when it still works.

Even after procuring a job on the other side of town (30 miles from the Castle and about 5 from my previous place of residence), I prefer to keep living near the heart of the city. How long it will last I don't know. For the time being I call it home.

This is my kitchen area. Not bad, especially from a distance.

To the back is the bar and bathroom, back right is the closet. The steps lead up to my private stairs and door. The piece of couch belongs to Adam. I don't actually own any furniture.