My New Place

My New Place

I recently moved out of the apartment I was living in; and had lived in back in 2008.  When I first moved into the old apartment in 2008, I thought it was great, lots of windows, in a busy part of town, very exciting.
When I moved back there in 2012, I realized it was not so great.  The busy part of town that I felt was exciting before was now just annoying with all the traffic and noise.  The windows that I loved before were now just allowing too much sunlight to heat up the house in the summer and leaving those windows open at night for sleeping let in so much noise I could not sleep.

So, I finally decided to move.  This time I decided on a place farther from everything.  It is still easy to get to wherever I need to go, but is far enough from the hustle and bustle that it is really relaxing.  Also, it seems like a brand new house compared to the super old and rundown place I was in before.

I am so happy with my new place that I thought I'd share a few photos to show you the view that I enjoy so much.  I love the wide-open feel of my new place.

A Walk Around Campus

A Walk Around Campus

Today I decided to take a short walk around campus and take a few photos.  It is very quiet around campus right now because the school year is over, students have either graduated and moved on or have returned home for the summer.

There are certain parts of campus where the squirrels have become accustomed to being fed by students so they walk right up to you and look at you as if to say..."where's my food?"  I could even call them over to me simply by making some simple chirping noises.  It's really cute, but I felt bad that they all came when I called but I had nothing to feed them.

It was a very peaceful stroll on this Memorial Day holiday.

A Day Trip to Springfield, IL

A Day Trip to Springfield

A day trip to Springfield, the capital city of Illinois. I spent the day taking a trip to Springfield to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library, as well as his tomb.

I went on a Sunday so I can't speak about the city's nature during the hustle and bustle of weekday business, but on this day, it seemed almost like a ghost town. But, I didn't really go to visit the city, I went specifically to visit the museum, library, and tomb.

I didn't get the chance to visit the library because I spent much more time than I anticipated in the museum and I wanted to go see the tomb and get back to Urbana-Champaign before it got dark.

The museum was quite interesting and if you take the time, you can learn a great deal about Abraham Lincoln's life, his presidency, and U.S. history during that time, especially as it relates to the civil war.

Abraham lincoln is considered by many to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, U.S. presidents so a visit to his museum is definitely worth a day spent. I took a few photos and thought perhaps you might enjoy seeing them.

Ah...The Windy City of Chicago - August 3rd and 4th, 2012

Chicago - August 3rd and 4th, 2012

I can never get enough of downtown Chicago, especially as Autumn approaches. All the people, the magnificent shops, the atmosphere is almost euphoric. Though sometimes it seems I can't really enjoy it as much as I'd like because I'm too busy taking pictures. Hopefully you'll enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Trip to Premium Outlets in Aurora, IL - July 17, 2012

2012_07_17 Trip to Premium Outlets in Aurora

Leisurely trip to the outlet mall in Aurora.  This was a very good day.  It was hot outside, but all the shops had very cold air conditioning.  I spent almost the entire day roaming from shop to shop enjoying all the exquisite fashions.  I also spent a little money on myself.  It was very enjoyable and memorable and I love everything I bought.

The Nation's Capitol, Washington D.C. - June 7, 2010

This is a very pretty place. Almost all the buildings are solid marble. It's a confusing city though and the public transportation is nowhere near as good as Taipei's.

Virginia - June 6, 2010

Here are some photos of Virginia. I passed through Virginia on my way to Washington D.C. I also stayed in Virginia and took the subway into Washington. You may see some highway signs pointing to Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia.

A Visit To Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - June 5, 2010

I don't know why I didn't get any photos of the actual ocean. It's very pretty and the beaches are large and clean. It was a hot day, but the sea breezes were very nice.

A Short Trip To Indy

I decided to take a short day trip to Indianapolis, Indiana. They were having some sort of parade downtown so I didn't get down there to take pictures.

First Snow of 2010 - January 7, 2010

Sorry! I only have one photo. There is now a video of my drive to Walmart in light snow. Sorry for the wind noise.

New Year's Eve in Columbus, Ohio - December 31, 2009

I don't have as many photos of this nice city as I wish. I was only there for New Year's Eve and left early January 1st. Most of what I have is video, but I'm unable to post video at this time. It was a nice place and I was very excited to arrive there. Columbus is a city of between 1 and 1.5 million people, including the suburbs. It is also the home of the Ohio State University.

First Snow of the 2009-2010 Winter Season - December 20, 2009

A couple of pictures of the first snowfall of 2009-2010 Season. It came almost a month later than last year when the first snows of the season arrived in late November. Also, I lived in a different apartment last year and had a much better view of the new-fallen snow from my windows.

My Second Autumn In Urbana - October 12, 2009

Parents Visit Chicago - May 17, 2009 Just After Graduation

   

New Year's Eve in Chicago - December 31, 2008

Man it was cold!

Christmas In Urbana-Champaign - 2008

A few photos of Christmas decorations in Urbana. Surprisingly, not many people had decorations. Perhaps because it's a college town and most everyone returned home for the holidays.

Day Trip To St. Louis, Missouri - December 13, 2008

This was a really cold day, but I enjoyed my trip very much. Going up inside the Arch was a bit scary.

My First Snow In Urbana

  
I awoke to a view that seemed as though it were straight from a picture postcard. It was beautiful. It was very difficult getting out of bed on a day like this. It was even more difficult riding a bicycle to school in the blistering cold air, but it was an exciting day. The circumstances may seem trivial, but the memory is grand...my first real snowfall...riding my bicycle to class in a foreign country. It was a good day and it is a good memory.

My First Autumn In Illinois

   

A Trip To Allerton Park In Monticello, Illinois

These are some photos of a nice little park not far from Urbana-Champaign. I took a day trip there in August of 2008. It was a hot, but very nice day and I had a great time!

Arriving In Urbana - July 2008

Most if not all of these photos are of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. These were taken just after I arrived in Late July of 2008.  I was very excited to arrive and explore my new surroundings.