Nevermind That Optimism
As I posted a few days ago, I've been feeling oddly optimistic the past couple weeks. But sure enough, all I have to do is publicly announce it and suddenly things start going the other way...
For about a year and a half now, I've been living like a huge loser. I'm not gonna go into "whys" and "hows", but suffice to say, it's been pretty pathetic. And as time's gone on, it's gotten more pathetic. But a couple weeks ago I decided even I was pretty sick of it. So I started looking at things I could do to change it. It turns out it's going to take a lot of work. But one very important thing that needs to be done that I recognized is that I really need to find a new place to live. Now it's not THE most important thing (more like the second) but it is something I'm pretty close to being in a position to do (provided AF Reserve finance gets their heads out their asses and learns to do their job properly).
Originally I was looking for a place to live alone. There's a certain freedom to living alone that just can't be beat (mainly the ability to just walk around in your underwear (or less) should you so choose). However, a coworker is also looking for a new place and we've discovered that by combining our resources, we can get a much nicer place than we ever could by ourselves. In fact, we've found a couple houses we could rent in which we would barely even have to see each other, so it would almost be like living alone (though I'm still not going to walk around in my underwear just in case). Also, the potential roommate already has a dog. And while I still hope to get one of my own in the future, them already having one keeps me from feeling like I have to rush out and get one as soon as possible.
Now we don't have a huge list of requirements: Must allow dogs (and not just the ones you can punt), at least two bedrooms (though I'd like a third we could use for storage and/or workout room) and two bathrooms (I've noticed a shared bathroom is often a source of a lot of the conflict with a lot of roommates and if we each have our own, that's easily avoided), $2200 or below for rent (not counting utilities), and not in a crappy part of town. I don't think these four "must-haves" are really too much. In fact, using a couple websites, we've found quite a few places that meet all this.
So Monday possible roommate makes a couple phone calls. They can't get a hold of anything, but they did leave messages. No phone calls back. Tuesday I called a number listed on a website and got a hold of someone. Finally it looks like some progress is being made. The first thing I do is mention a couple properties we saw online we liked. The guy says they're both already taken. I was bummed to say the least, but then the guy asks what exactly is it I'm looking for. I give him those requirements and he lists off a few other properties he has and tells me to check those out online, then email him with some times I'd be available so I could go view the ones I liked.
I go over these places with could-be roommate (like how I'm avoiding using names this note without using the same term twice, at least so far?) and we pick the ones we like. I send the email early this morning with my phone number for him to contact me. No phone call or even reply email. Now if you're thinking it's only been a day and I shouldn't be so anxious, then you've either yet to deal with the headache of trying to find a place in a relatively short amount of time or you're just much more patient than I am. But for me, a day gone is another day in which I may have lost the chance at a place I had my eye on. And with Summer being as busy as it is here for housing, that chance can be pretty big, especially for renting.
At first, I was trying not to overreact. For all I know, maybe the guy was super busy today, or maybe he was even sick or had an emergency. But as the day is winding down I check one of the websites again and notice the guy has put up a few new ads, which lets me know he definitely made it to work. Then to add insult to injury, one of the listings is a re-listing for one of the properties I talked to him about yesterday and which he told me was no longer available. W.T.F?
I know I could call this guy and pester him and I'd probably get something. And damn I'd love to have the one that was re-listed (it has four bedrooms. Four! That's two for me and two for the other person who might be living with me). There was also one with an outdoor hot tub that I'd give a pinky toe for (not mine of course, but someone's). But damnit, I'm the customer here! I shouldn't have to pester anyone; they should be pestering me.
Maybe realtors here are just doing so well they don't have to worry if they miss a potential customer or two. Or maybe being in Alaska, there just isn't a lot of competition for them so they can treat customers as though they're not important (seems to be a trend up here (I'm looking at you GCI)). Or maybe for whatever reason they think two people, both in the military, can't be trusted to rent a place together (in which case, don't lead me on like you're going to rent a place to me. Man up and say you don't feel comfortable entering into such a deal). I really don't care the reason. All I care about is it's beginning to really piss me off and ruin the good mood I've generally had going lately.
Now hopefully this is all over soon enough and in a couple weeks I'm thinking about writing a blog that talks about how much I love and hate moving (not that I'm likely to actually write it, but I will think about it). But if the past three days are any indication, there may be a lot of mental anguish ahead for me.
For about a year and a half now, I've been living like a huge loser. I'm not gonna go into "whys" and "hows", but suffice to say, it's been pretty pathetic. And as time's gone on, it's gotten more pathetic. But a couple weeks ago I decided even I was pretty sick of it. So I started looking at things I could do to change it. It turns out it's going to take a lot of work. But one very important thing that needs to be done that I recognized is that I really need to find a new place to live. Now it's not THE most important thing (more like the second) but it is something I'm pretty close to being in a position to do (provided AF Reserve finance gets their heads out their asses and learns to do their job properly).
Originally I was looking for a place to live alone. There's a certain freedom to living alone that just can't be beat (mainly the ability to just walk around in your underwear (or less) should you so choose). However, a coworker is also looking for a new place and we've discovered that by combining our resources, we can get a much nicer place than we ever could by ourselves. In fact, we've found a couple houses we could rent in which we would barely even have to see each other, so it would almost be like living alone (though I'm still not going to walk around in my underwear just in case). Also, the potential roommate already has a dog. And while I still hope to get one of my own in the future, them already having one keeps me from feeling like I have to rush out and get one as soon as possible.
Now we don't have a huge list of requirements: Must allow dogs (and not just the ones you can punt), at least two bedrooms (though I'd like a third we could use for storage and/or workout room) and two bathrooms (I've noticed a shared bathroom is often a source of a lot of the conflict with a lot of roommates and if we each have our own, that's easily avoided), $2200 or below for rent (not counting utilities), and not in a crappy part of town. I don't think these four "must-haves" are really too much. In fact, using a couple websites, we've found quite a few places that meet all this.
So Monday possible roommate makes a couple phone calls. They can't get a hold of anything, but they did leave messages. No phone calls back. Tuesday I called a number listed on a website and got a hold of someone. Finally it looks like some progress is being made. The first thing I do is mention a couple properties we saw online we liked. The guy says they're both already taken. I was bummed to say the least, but then the guy asks what exactly is it I'm looking for. I give him those requirements and he lists off a few other properties he has and tells me to check those out online, then email him with some times I'd be available so I could go view the ones I liked.
I go over these places with could-be roommate (like how I'm avoiding using names this note without using the same term twice, at least so far?) and we pick the ones we like. I send the email early this morning with my phone number for him to contact me. No phone call or even reply email. Now if you're thinking it's only been a day and I shouldn't be so anxious, then you've either yet to deal with the headache of trying to find a place in a relatively short amount of time or you're just much more patient than I am. But for me, a day gone is another day in which I may have lost the chance at a place I had my eye on. And with Summer being as busy as it is here for housing, that chance can be pretty big, especially for renting.
At first, I was trying not to overreact. For all I know, maybe the guy was super busy today, or maybe he was even sick or had an emergency. But as the day is winding down I check one of the websites again and notice the guy has put up a few new ads, which lets me know he definitely made it to work. Then to add insult to injury, one of the listings is a re-listing for one of the properties I talked to him about yesterday and which he told me was no longer available. W.T.F?
I know I could call this guy and pester him and I'd probably get something. And damn I'd love to have the one that was re-listed (it has four bedrooms. Four! That's two for me and two for the other person who might be living with me). There was also one with an outdoor hot tub that I'd give a pinky toe for (not mine of course, but someone's). But damnit, I'm the customer here! I shouldn't have to pester anyone; they should be pestering me.
Maybe realtors here are just doing so well they don't have to worry if they miss a potential customer or two. Or maybe being in Alaska, there just isn't a lot of competition for them so they can treat customers as though they're not important (seems to be a trend up here (I'm looking at you GCI)). Or maybe for whatever reason they think two people, both in the military, can't be trusted to rent a place together (in which case, don't lead me on like you're going to rent a place to me. Man up and say you don't feel comfortable entering into such a deal). I really don't care the reason. All I care about is it's beginning to really piss me off and ruin the good mood I've generally had going lately.
Now hopefully this is all over soon enough and in a couple weeks I'm thinking about writing a blog that talks about how much I love and hate moving (not that I'm likely to actually write it, but I will think about it). But if the past three days are any indication, there may be a lot of mental anguish ahead for me.
posted by Paul | 6:21 PM
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