Cliffhangers in These Foolish Things

I’m sorry - I feel like I’m leaving everyone hanging with these bits and pieces of info on my current situation here and there, but I have to tell you that this is absolutely freaking STRESSFUL dealing with a still flooded-out disaster of an apartment here and not knowing what’s going to happen with my lease (I’m trying to break it in order to move to my [new city] but also somehow leverage the flood damage, etc. as a way to actually get out of my lease with less financial damage on my part).

In addition, it’s still a holiday and the apartment management are all out in some form or fashion. The leasing manager here has to consult with the regional manager who is out of the country until the beginning of the new year. The leasing manager is also sick with some kind of nasty funk and PREGNANT and she was hospitalized a few days ago and is now back in the office trying to be a hero and fix all of the flood issues (no, I was not the only one who got hit - apparently our sister building was slammed as well), but is only complicating things even more since she can’t really DO anything but talk and talk and talk like she is a big shot (without any power to make decisions).

This morning I left with the dog at 5:15am to make the three hour drive to [my new city!] to look at some apartments. My first appointment was at 9am, and I showed up a little early (and maybe even a little too excited to look at new homes) and the chick in the leasing office was a super dick to me - likely because she hadn’t had her coffee yet? Or maybe she hasn’t been laid in ages? So that set the tone of Appointment #1. Lucky for her, another leasing agent showed up just as pleasant as can be, so I just started talking with her and she took over my tour. Unfortunately, though the location was stunning, sitting atop a giant cliff overlooking a big beautiful lake, the apartments were simply gross. Shockingly outdated for such a glorious location!

And thus was the situation for most of the places I looked today. I’d Zillo’d them all via the rent app and they all looked amazing online. Alas, the prices were too good to be true for this market - I should have known they’d be all shine on the outside and kinda rotting on the inside.

There were two places I’d scheduled that I just drove right on past. No need to stop. But these were more location issues than anything. I have a NEED these days to be close to nature and one place was actually atop a major retail shopping and dining destination spot - maybe cool for the me of yesteryear, and the other was situated smack in between two suburban strip shopping centers. Nope and no way.

And then I decided to do a drive-by of my new office. Just to see what was going on during the week between Christmas and New Year. Guess what? I was thrilled to see NO CARS in the parking lot as I slowly lurched by! Nothing going on! Well, maybe a couple of people working from home? Who knows? But hopefully everyone just leaves during that week.

And then I went to see the last spot on my list for today. I actually had high hopes for this place because the location is very close to the office and it sits directly ON a beautiful nature park. I told myself not to get my hopes up too high, and granted, there are a few things I’d like better, but this place was by FAR the best place I’ve seen so far. And the unit I’d be moving to is heavily wooded and overlooks a very pretty creek.

The apartment size is right (2 bedroom, 2 bath, giant balcony!), and the price is doable. I don’t love that it has an outside entrance, but I’m thinking I may have to get over the phobia that people are just going to walk up to the door and break into my place. And the parking situation is kinda weird, so I have to figure that out.

But as a reward for looking at so many places today and making so many considerations, I told myself that I’d take Martini over to the big part of the park next to the apartment, where there’s a trailhead, and walk her for a while before heading home.

Turns out, this park is THE SHIT!! It was just before dusk, and there were hikers and bikers and runners and kids and dogs and it was like the absolute place to be!! I ended up talking to this guy who’d stopped riding his bike to look at something on his phone and he started telling me how great the park is, and a woman stopped to join in on the conversation about how this park is one of the best places in the whole city (she’d moved from Vermont and had been looking for a great place to walk in nature and found this area) and that if I have the chance to move essentially right ON the park that it would be a dream! I told them that I had chills just listening to them both go on and on about how amazing it is and the woman said she had chills for me! Haahahahaha!

The only thing that was kinda weird was that I mentioned big dogs off leash and they both said that yes, this is an off leash park, so I have the slightest reservations about Martini, but the woman said that she simply scoops her little dog up if another dog approaches. Hm. We’ll see. But I still love the idea of living on this park so close to the office.

And then we made the drive home and here I sit in my flooded out apartment, fans and dehumidifiers still blazing.

I was stressing about how I was going to have to take Martini to daycare tomorrow in order to have my very last day at the retail store. I was thinking how exhausted and stressed I am about the state of this apartment and how all these freaking workers are parading in and out and moving things around and how I can’t do anything about it, but then I remembered…

I DON’T HAVE TO DO IT.

I don’t have to freaking stress myself into a frenzy about the retail job tomorrow and getting Martini back and forth from her downtown daycare. I don’t care if it’s my last day. I need a mental health day.

So I called in sick.

And I instantly felt relief.

Now maybe I can sleep and let myself dream about making all the right moves.

I owe you more deets about the new gig. You know they’ll come. And oh my gosh, it’s already after midnight!

Now, sleep.
GS