Catch Me if You Can
I started the summer strong — or at least, I thought I did. On June 17th, I hosted the dinner party of my dreams with my chef-of-a-friend, Vinod. It was a hit. The food? Immaculate. The vibes? Even better. Life was good.
But within two weeks, everything flipped. I got incredibly sick — the kind of sick where even scrolling TikTok felt exhausting. Turns out, there was mold growing all over the vents in my apartment (gross, I know), and despite begging maintenance to fix it, nothing happened.
By June 29th, I waved the white flag and drove home. I thought some family time over Fourth of July weekend would cure me — and to be fair, it helped a little. By July 7th, I was back in Gainesville to catch my flight to Chicago for a wedding (with a North Carolina layover, because of course). Still sniffly, still congested, but determined. And honestly? Totally worth it. I got to see the Bean, take the tourist photo I swore I wouldn’t take, and eat gelato from a shop whose name I’ve already forgotten but will dream about forever.
Back in Gainesville by July 13th, I started packing up my apartment, only to discover that the mold problem was even worse. Shoes, furniture, you name it — ruined. Maintenance? Still MIA. So, I packed up what I could, left half my stuff with my friends Manu and Keerthsna (bless them forever), and by July 21st, I was officially out of there.
On July 23rd, I drove Manu home to Orlando, where her family graciously hosted this little Gainesville drifter for a night, before I finally — finally — made my way home the next day.
The next two weeks were bliss. I got my nails done (multiple times), redecorated my room, and finally installed closet doors after years of procrastination. I even ticked off a bucket-list moment: seeing BTS in concert in Tampa. Childhood dream? Accomplished. (And yes, I’m still salty about missing The Weeknd concert, so please stop posting about it, thank you.)
From there, it was one fun blur. Girls’ nights, my “cousins” (technically uncles, but we don’t talk about that) visiting, boozy mini-golf, and Playa Bowls runs that were definitely excessive but absolutely necessary. I even found out my favorite Italian restaurant shut down (RIP), only to discover a new favorite — Prosecco 22 — which everyone needs to try if you’re ever in South Florida.
By August 12th, the summer fun was winding down. My cousins left, I got my wisdom teeth out (thankfully, my face didn’t swell up too badly — unlike my sister, who lovingly described her own experience as looking like a “Roblox character”), and three days later, I was back in Gainesville, gearing up for my final semester of undergrad.
Oh, and somewhere in the chaos, I discovered my blog storage was full, which meant I couldn’t get my verification emails and couldn’t log in. Ridiculous, I know, but crisis averted: I fixed it.
So yeah, it’s been a full summer. And no — I haven’t forgotten about the summer mini-series I promised you. It’s happening. End of this week. Pinky promise.
