Me overlooking the Butte County Watershed on the brink of Paradise, CA, 1/18/11
~~~
My training in draconian measures was sandwiched between the ups and downs of a housing search. It wasn`t easy, but I establish a home. I`ll give the act at the end of February. Here`s the recap. I simply couldn`t fathom living with (1) a phlebotomist (i.e. she draws blood for a living); (2) a phlebotomist who covers her windows in plastic wrap for insulation; and (3) a phlebotomist who covers her windows in plastic wrap for insulation in Chico, California; where temperatures stay in the three-digits throughout the summertime and don`t run to fall below, say, 53-ish Fahrenheit in the winter. Thus, I told Phlebby "Thanks but no thanks." Jim offered my next best hope. He showed me his family`s second - or perhaps third or fourth- home, a nice, new family that I would eventually share with three others. At that time, he informed, I was the only prospective renter. We chatted for a full hour, during which Jimprovided tips on the neighborhood, social scene and eateries. I was sold and asked for a housing application. That`s when things deteriorated. "Well, I want to visit my wife. She takes charge of all the details in the lease." Boy, does she ever. I would see that Jim is one of those husbands who`d do better to never talk; his wife would finally counter everything he said. She runs a fast ship. I'd venture to visit ita dictatorship. Per our agreement, I naively dropped by their firm that even to pluck up a transcript of the lease.I suddenly found myself in a class meeting, mafia style. I was afforded a place at the very high kitchen table. Climbing onto an equally highstool, I was encircled by mother, father and daughter. "We need to do all of your questions," mother (heretofore referred to as Sergeant) began, "but there are scores of people concerned in the house. I`m showing it to a home this Friday. Our daughter might go backwards in too. I`ll do my decision by Saturday. You`re running at The Writing Loft? Mm hmm, so you`ll be doing the newsletter? Well, we get the choice of request for a co-signer if, say, the tenant is first a new job. Here`s a transcript of both leases. We`re going to betray the family when the market picks back up, but you`ll want to subscribe on for six months. I can`t conceive of anything else. It was a bumpy day at work. I`m hungry. Nice meeting you." Sergeant pushed two leases at me, one for the main bedroom - which I`d clarified I couldn`t afford. Each document was five-pages long and pregnant with enough legal minutiae to retain our nation`s healthcare plan at a stalemate. Here`s a snippet: "Renter must take garbage cans to the control by 0700am on Thursdays or will be open to execution." Oy, talk about draconian! Oh, maybe it read "eviction". I don`t know. I scarce love that I left feeling frightened and offended, but mostly scared. Once I caught my breath, I reconnected with Steven. We`d scheduled a meeting to see his house, but I canceled in favour of a female roommate. The women weren`t boding well for me, and Steven graciously agreed to reschedule. Upon reaching the following day, his sister and baby niece greeted me too. It was a favorable exchange in a nice, comfy home that would provide sufficient privacy and board for my furniture. It`s far from Michael too. The rent`s just complete one-third of what I`ve been paying in the San Francisco Bay Area. I salivate at the idea of composition a three-digit versus four-digit rent check. Last week, Steven accepted me as a tenant. I started getting nervous over the weekend, though, having not yet received the lease. Did he take my blog and find that I`ve had some -uh- issues with men? Thankfully, yesterday`s text message was assuring. "Hi Robyn. I was thought of acquiring a cat, and was wondering if you make any objections. Please let me know. Steven" This spurred a whirlwind of memories. I`ll never leave the second my "Nomezy" - Naomi, a beautiful Snowshoe feline owned by my (ex)husband- glared up at me. Her innocent gray eyes asked, "Where are you leaving? Why?" I had no account as to why I`d been kicked out of our home. With all the force I could muster, I consoled her through my tears. "Sorry honey. Thanks for teaching me to enjoy a cat. I`ll lose you." And I do. Clenching my cell-phone, I snapped back into the face and replied to Steven. "I`ve had a cat before, and I`m fine with that. Thanks for asking."
No comments:
Post a Comment