My New Place At My Old Place

I have seen many apartments these last couple of months. I have discovered that the stereotypes about West Valley are really kinda true. I have learned that leasing agents can be a lot like used car salesmen. There have been ghetto apartments I could easily afford, but would fear for my property (and life). There have been some in-between ones I could have lived with, but were pretty far from work, or didn't have hookups for my washer and dryer. There was one truly beautiful complex in a perfect location, with correct hookups, that had advertised reasonable rent. Unfortunately, after they tack on another $200 in monthly fees (that's $200, every month, no exaggeration.), it's not exactly 'reasonable' anymore.

Yesterday on a whim, or out of desperation, I thought I'd try calling the apartments Amanda and I lived in a couple years ago. Good location, nice complex, probably too expensive, but doesn't hurt to try, right? Turned out to be a good decision. They did have one unit that met my requirements, that happened to be on special and therefore in my price range. First thing this morning I went in and filled out the application, and waited all day to be approved. I was mostly sure I would be, but still I didn't want to get too excited until I heard for absolutely sure. Finally got the voicemail at work, and did my happy dance right there in front of everyone. I'm so sick of apartment searching, if I had to start again I probably would have cried. A lot.

I'm still in shock, I'm not often this lucky. One bedroom apartments with full sized hookups are hard to find. I also get a patio, fireplace, and an accent wall painted for free! It's 2nd (top) storey, close to the pool area and fitness center. That fitness center will save me $25/month in gym membership. My commute has been cut in half. It's a good neighborhood, so I can go for runs or ride my bike without being too nervous. Basically, I'm really stinkin' excited!

Too bad before I get to live there, I have to pack, clean my current place, transport all my stuff over there, and unpack it all again. Ugh.

Quick update and some pics

It was requested quite some time ago that I post pictures of Josh. Sorry it took so long. These are from his friend Reyes's birthday party on Saturday night.

Disclaimer - I was not warned that we were going anywhere, so showed up to Josh's sans makeup and dressed in comfy t-shirt and jeans. We almost didn't go, but kept getting guilt trip texts so we finally gave in and showed up around midnight. So he looks all dapper while I sport the grungy look.

Almost an 'aww' picture, but he blinked.

It was a Mardi Gras theme, and don't worry, they gave those beads out for free at the door. We didn't 'earn' them ;-)

Even though I reeeaaaallly didn't want to go, I did have a good time once we got there. They're a goofy bunch, as all guys tend to be when with their buds, but good guys and always go out of their way to make my goody-goody self feel welcome.

We didn't do anything very Valentine-y, since I'm not a fan and Josh is, well, a guy and therefore was glad to not have crazy expectations to live up to. But he did have roses for me and got a heart-shaped pizza for dinner. He'd probably be mad at me for telling this story, but the reason we were late for the party was Josh insisted we watch Bridges of Madison County, which came on TV that night. He even got sniffly during the sappy parts, which he admitted freely at the party later and of course got some good ribbing over. At least one of us is a romantic.

In other news, I'm still at Massage Envy. We've been pretty busy lately, I hope that lasts a while. It's nice to get paychecks that don't make me feel like crying. Still keeping an eye out for a spa job, but I am more or less content for now.

I'll be moving again in about a month. Downtown is an expensive locale, and I can't afford it any more. My roommate has found herself another apartment and we've put in our notice to vacate. I don't know yet where I'm moving to, still working on that part. There will be plenty of calling around and looking at apartments this week. Quite a few places have lower than usual prices right now, which is good since I'm going to try not having roommates this go-round. Finding a place that's close to work, not too ghetto AND that has washer/dryer hookups is where it gets challenging. I'll be happy when I've saved enough to buy a house or condo and will be able to stay put for a few years. Moving sucks and I'm tired of it.