movin' on up

Yippe me! I've just returned from a "dog interview" with my new landlord..and Ruby, despite her wiggly protestations to the short leash and insistance on eating the man's lovely grass, passed the test. I'm grateful that her barkless-ness; a feature that worried me the first six months I had her when I thought perhaps she was defective or ill in someway, this silent dog, has benefits. Landlords love this particular characteristic of the Rubes. And it's a good thing too, because if she were judged on sitting still, not jumping on a stranger and not digging in the sidewalk to get near the new person, well, she'd fail miserably. So, I'm moving out of Chevron Heights. I'm so excited, I could spit. And I owe it all to "Dream Apartment". You know the game---clicking around real estate sites, haunting Craigslist in the evenings. "If I had $3900 a month to spend, I could enjoy the view from this penthouse as young shirt-less boys feed me frosting from a spoon", that kind of thing. It's one way to spend a Wednesday night. One lucky click and I landed on the perfect little gem---up the hill from my current place, on a dead-end street away from the noise and traffic of busy Burnside Street in my favorite little nieghborhood that reminds me of San Francisco, up above the city near Washington Park. The four-plex was built in 1950, complete with molding-free curved walls and refinished hardwood floors throughout. The rental market here is cut throat, as more and more old buildings in the nieghborhood and nearby Pearl District go condo and renters are pushed out of the market. I didn't dare get my hopes up, I've lost a dream apartment or two before. But the potential was invigorating, and it was a sleepless night. I went to see it the very next morning and it was more than I could have hoped for. Ugly and communistic from the outside, it's a sweety on the inside. A view of the city from the living room window, shining floors, even a fireplace. And two bedrooms, though small, one would make a perfect study/studio...a place, at last, to set up the easel. And the kitchen, the kitchen! Every wall is paneled in knotty pine, the light fixture is so hideous it's fabulous. And a huge window, OVER THE KITCHEN SINK, with more of the view! And a dishwasher, what a luxury! It's light, bright and roomy (as roomy as 850 sq ft can be)...and the list goes on...all white tiled bathroom with natural light, a covered parking space just steps from the back door, a balcony for enjoying the view.... There was an applicant before me, but there was still a chance--his reference information was incomplete. In breathless excitement, I ran off to work, head full of decorating ideas, dinner parties to be had, evenings sipping wine overlooking the city...I shared my enthusiasm and hand-wringing hopes with my boss. All day, I warned myself against getting too caught up, it could very likely go to the previous applicant and I'd be crushed. At the end of the day, unsolicited, was sitting on my desk the nicest reference letter I've ever seen. My boss has an alterior motive of course, a year's lease means I'm here another year....but it was moving just the same to read his faith in me. I made a copy, suitable for framing. It's not often that we are given heady praise in writing. And on letterhead no less. I completed the application, added proof of income, the letter of reference and even a copy of Ruby's Obedience School Certificate--there's no way I was losing this Dream Apartment to incomplete documentation, not me! A silent prayer as I slide it in the landlord's mailbox: "Please God-who-likes-to-F**k-with-me, please let me get this place. If I have to spend another perpetual-midnight winter in this dreary place, I'll either hang myself or balloon back up to a size 22." I need to live up this hill, if only to keep my butt size in check. So, another restless night....and today, the good news. A glowing reference from my current landlord, thank you thank you Bree...and I'm in. Ruby passed the test, I wrote a check, it's a done deal. I get the keys on Monday, move in starting July 15th. It's a whole new life for us up on the hill. Yippee!