I want to live on Easy Street

Nefoedd/Heaven
Originally uploaded by hwnna.

Late on Sunday morning I walked into the Apartment People offices on Broadway. Partly because Dr G had insisted that they were a wonderful bunch who I would find very helpful, but also because I am getting to the stage of being over the whole apartment hunting "thing".

But you know when someone is so nice to you, it makes you want to cry? Well Sheila is my newest hero. To cut a long story short, she didn't find me an apartment, but she made the search seem worth it. I presented her with my (long) list of must-haves, and she gently suggested to me that I probably couldn't afford all those things in the area I was looking in. It's what I knew to be true, but hearing it from her (as a professional in the know) still made me sad.

It's not fair that the City of Chicago hiked up the property taxes and landlords have had to pass on those costs to tenants. It's also not fair that everyone in the free world seems to want to rent a one-bedroom place with hardwood floors in Lincoln Park at exactly the same time as I do.

But those things are completely outside of my control.

All I can do is to keep looking. I have an appointment tomorrow and one more on Wednesday night. And all the while I'm hoping that every phone call I take will be from Sheila, telling me that she's found exactly the right place, just for me.

So if are still reading this, please close your eyes for me - just for a second - and send some good cosmic house-hunting karma my way. I promise that when I am safe and happy in my new place, I'll do the same for you and squint my eyes for whatever you're wishing for at the time.