Saturday, January 26, 2019

Moving Out

After waking up in one strange cameras with secret cameras and going to bed in yet another house, I felt that much more pressure to find my own place. My least favorite is an open house. Gosh do I not like those! Where gazillions of Angelinos show up in hoped of snatching that apartment, grab an application form or show up with an already completed one that they got online, with application fee and hand it over to rental agent. Whatever the process, I don't like know how many people I am up against nor who. I went to view a studio apartment in Hollywood where
 probably 100 people showed up around the same time as I. The place was so tiny and in the back of someone's house. There was limited parking  for all of us in the neighborhood. I was lucky to find a spot up the road with a meter. I had already submitted my application form and fee and a cover letter to the agent. I didn't have a great feeling about the place but I wanted it. I had to ward off any negative feelings, and speak life to myself about it. I could hardly find a moment to introduce myself and tell her she already had my application fee. I left there feeling not like that was the one. I didn't even feel like she was a person of integrity, quite honestly. She just came across as someone who found the perfect way to make easy money: Get all the applicants to pay you a non refundable fee. Don't give the apartment to anyone until you have made your quota from that particular apartment. Am I wrong to feel like this is a scrupulous way of running things? Why should hundreds of people pay when only one person will get the place? Yes, you will run background checks and blah, I get it, but why doesn't everyone else get a refund or why don't you tell them to transfer the funds when the few ahead of them didn't make the cut? Does this make sense? I've never really been into giving away money for free to realtors for applications. I felt very funny about this.

Alas! This wasn't the last time it happened. There was anther place in a neighborhood I wasn't psyched to live in where the apartment was affordable, had parking and all kinds of stuff. I really wanted it. I was second or third in line, I was told. I was also told that I would get a refund if someone ahead of me got the place. I never saw that money. The lady who told me all this was the apartment manager, the money was paid towards some realtor lady who never returned my calls or texts after, I guess, they filled the apartment. The manager just kept telling me the place was still available, until I had to make peace with the fact that I wasn't going to get my money back.

Another spot I loved was in Pasadena. It was a cute complex of a small number of town houses. They had two vacant units. I applied for the one bedroom, they told me I didn't qualify. I tried out for the studio and did a lot of visualization, hoping it would be mine. It was petite, I doubt I would have had room for all my stuff but I needed a place and was tired of looking. They stayed in touch, would ask for more paperwork or this and that. I was really hopeful until I stopped hearing from the lady. I would email and she wouldn't even bother to reply and tell me the place was taken. They still the ad up, so there was no knowing. I remember testing this by emailing her from a different email address. She replied immediately. I cut my losses.

I was paying per night at my Air BnB spot. The people were nice and just generally good people. I was grateful for that.

There was another place in Pasadena where I dealt with the agent for a couple of weeks. I went to view the place, read the street parking sign before parking, left my car there. Went to the unit, found it locked, saw a couple leaving their unit, they were enough to tell me that complex was a dump and the agent lady wasn't doing anything to maintain, blah. This lasted no more than 5 minutes. I headed back to my car as the ticketing guy was leaving me a parking ticket! Whew!

There were teenage kids in nearby apartments, standing  by the window laughing at me as I was getting a ticket. I grabbed the ticket, went online, paid for it and chopped it up. I wasn't going to have that weird energy sitting in my purse waiting to be dealt with . I already had enough on my plate.

I ended up getting a change to view the place one day, it was a dump. The couple was right. I texted the agent and asked if she had seen it. She told me she had paid someone to clean it but would do so again and call me again. I never really pursued that place because I already had strange vibes from it.

This was all happening at a time when I reached a nice goal, being under 200 lbs! Onerland, get it? As in one hundred land (90.5kg). 

When I realized how close my new place was from a buffet spot, I made my way there.

From new place to Buffet! Press Play

I hadn't been to this buffet place since 'daddy'. It wasn't the same location, so, hopefully no chances of bumping into him!

Buffet Meats
Meat on meat! I paid extra for take out in order for this to be my meal prep for the next few days. When my host family saw this, they loved the idea and said they would adopt it. You're welcome, folks! By the way, my host dad is a massage therapist  (so am I), host mom is a teacher (so was I), their son was an actor (so am I)! See all these things we have in common?

During all this transitioning away from my husband Calvin's house, I was still in touch with him. He and I talked every single day. There were tears, sadness and just overall, OMG What's going to happen next-ness!

One day, we agreed to meet up. This was going to be the first time in the two weeks I had moved out for. 

Gas Prices at the time. 
More to come..... more of my story, not more gas, wink wink!

@BabalwaBrook on all social media. Please find me there and follow me, and say hi!

Happy weekend, Loves!

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