I pulled into the city limits with mom just after noon on Friday, list in hand and hope in heart. I had found ten apartments in a ten mile radius, all under $500 a month and perfect on paper. We spent that day furiously crossing off every apartment on my list.
The first one had a Harley parked outside--mom looked, saw, and gave the "no" nod. The next one had stairs caving in on one side, which might be vaguely artistic but did not bode well for moving a 1200 lb. couch up said stair. Another one had an address that didn't even exist according to the GPS, and landed us in some sketchy alley behind an attorney's office with bars in the windows.
The old adage proved true, "you get what you pay for..."
At this point the light was fading as our energy had long since done. We sat in the car for about ten minutes and stared at eachother, waiting hopefully for inspiration. When none immediately came, mom and I decided to stop in a cafe and regroup (besides, coffee always goes a wonderfully long way in inducing inspiration). Thirty minutes of flipping through a local apartment guide and highlighting at will gave us three more options than we started with (and a much higher rent range.) But it was hope!
The next day was a new day, indeed, and the first apartment we toured made me wonder if I was still dreaming...
I half-expected a ray of light to break through the clouds and a choir of angels to burst forth in exultant song.No Harleys outside, and the stairs were all unartistically intact. There was a lazy river outside, and a tray of cookies in the lobby. Real cookies, that came from an oven.
The first apartment is still at the top of my list (although I didn't fare quite so well, I did make the wait list), and the new job is falling into place as easily as an over-sized jigsaw puzzle. My new nest awaits. :)
