Today my uncle and aunt surprised me with a lovely visit and breakfast at the Reading Terminal Market, and when they asked me how long I’d been in Philly, I was shocked when I said six months. That’s half a year! Back in junior high, if you were dating someone for six months, you were practically married. And while I’m not necessarily married to this city yet, I’m definitely having one amazing relationship with it.

I moved here for graduate school back in January, terrified about leaving my beloved garden state. I found myself stuck with two strange roommates who burned everything they cooked and ate everything I bought (after burning it). I discovered I was being ripped off for rent and that the neighborhood I lived in wasn’t the best, so I packed up my things and moved out. The semester was taking a toll on me, it was snowy, cold, and I had to walk almost 12 blocks to the train and about a mile to school once I got to Glenside. I considered leaving.

I moved to Rittenhouse Square. It was insanely expensive, but there was a Rita’s near by. Suddenly I lost my New Jersey lingo and start calling Italian Ice “Water Ice”. I still firmly believe that it is Italian Ice, however I don’t want to argue with the Rita’s people anymore. I discovered the overpriced joys of Walnut St and explored Old City. I found historical homes galore, stumbled across sweet side streets with oil burning streetlights, and found my favorite place to write, a cafe called Last Drop.

I landed an awesome job in an office filled with wonderful people, who suddenly made this city feel less lonely. Rather then awkward conversation with my introverted roommate, I was surrounded by people who shared my interests. Music, movies, a passion for mosaics involving video games… things just got better. I had people to go out to get drinks with and at the same time, teach me how to work in a professional environment. I even learned with a 401k was.

I moved into Center City, and found myself living with two wonderful people. Jordan, who is an amazingly talented artist, and Tess, his fun-loving, cursing-while-playing-Mario-Kart-64 girlfriend. We spend all day surrounded by two kittens, a bunny, and a beta fish that gets neglected.

I met some talented writers in the city, some excellent artists, and a handful of bands. I got to hang out with two of my close New Jersey friends, Saray and Tim, who moved to Philadelphia while I was still back home. I spent time with my pal from Kean, Eric Hoover, who up and left this past month (you jerk!), but never-the-less, got to bond with a great friend who I missed out on during my undergrad.

In terms of my creative side, during my time here I went on tour with some awesome bands, Forever The Sickest Kids (Universal / Motown), Farewell (Epitaph), and my BFFs, Upper Class Trash (School Night Records). I starred in a sweet music video for a band called Silverstein. I also finished my novel, which is being edited right now. I’ve already started on a second one.

My dream girl and I took the leap and decided to make what we have work. And it’s working. Living in a city with an endless amount of things to do definitely makes it easier when she comes down for weekend visits too.

I also have an XBox 360 and a Nintendo Wii. This doesn’t seem like such a big deal for some, but for someone who grew up collecting aluminum cans around his neighborhood so he could save up and buy crappy budget title SNES games, being able to own such small luxuries is a HUGE deal.

With a year of graduate school finished, a tour, a music video, an amazing girlfriend, a sweet living situation, a fun job, a bunny, two kittens, a beta fish, video games, awesome friends from home and new ones from here, I’m loving this city that has become my home.

Here’s to six more months.