Saturday, November 14, 2009

My New Apartment (Part 1)

Hello there,

It certainly has been a while, hasn't it?

When I started writing this entry it was a week before Halloween. I was excited that I had finally found my next apartment. My bona fide bachelor pad. Then, the reality of having to pack, moving, and getting settled in the new place smacked me in the face. Hard!

Here's the story of my new apartment...

I had been actively looking for an apartment for almost 6 weeks. My roommate has found a place and moved out already. I was living alone in an apartment that was too big (and, frankly, too expensive) for just me. And even though I was alone, the apartment didn't feel like my own. It has been shared for several years and I couldn't shake the history that existed in that apartment. It would never be "MY" place no matter how long I lived there.

I spoke with my landlord in September and informed her I'd be forced to move (and thus breaking my lease). We agreed that, as long as they found someone to move in immediately, I wouldn't lose any part of my deposit.

I set a personal deadline of October 15th as my final day in the apartment. I figured I would find a place to move into by the 1st. This would give me two solid weeks to organized my things and move into the new apartment without having to rush. Well, Oct 1st passed and I started considering a quicker move. Perhaps I'd move on the weekend of the 15th instead. The stubborn old me wanted to stick to my self-imposed deadline. In the meantime, the landlord had people visiting my apartment every weekend. I didn't mind. If anything, I welcomed all the visitors. Every new person walking into my place was another potential resident who would assure me the full amount of my deposit.

Panic didn't set in until around the 15th. I hadn't been able to find a suitable apartment up to that point. Time was running out and I certainly didn't want to move in the winter. I've done a cold weather move before and it is BRUTAL. I definitely did NOT want to live through that again. Also, I didn't want my friends (those who would help me move) to deal with bad weather either.

That weekend, my landlord had set-up several appointments to view my apartment. I indicated to her that I wanted to move by Nov 1st. I had a concrete date now. A fixed deadline. I didn't want to back down on my word. I had to find a place... and soon!

(To be continued, faithful reader......)