The New Roommate
Well, one of the stories that I kind of left hanging when I stopped writing here, was my search for a new roommate. May I introduce, Jeff Johnson, the newest tenant at 471 Noe Street (shown here with me in front of the Temple at Burning Man 2004)
As I've gone through life, I've developed the habit (decide for yourself whether you think it's a good one or a bad one) of taking my time. Whether it's making a decision, doing a project, or getting out of bed, I usually am not out there, leading the way, trying to finish before anyone else or get somewhere first. Some people will tell you that I'm a lazy fuck, merely a procrastinator, or that I just can't make up my mind. I guess this quality contributes to the fact that I often show up ten minutes late for pretty much everything. I can tell you with some certainty that the men I've had relationships with have all found this habit somewhat frustrating, if not infuriating.
So it was with my quest for a new roommate when Joe moved back east to take that job in Kansas. This for me was a BIG decision. Do I stay in the apartment? It's kind of expensive, so it really does tie me down to my job because I need the income stream to support it. When Joe left, I had 3 months to figure out what I was doing, because of some luck with his relocation package and a deal with the landlord. I wanted to take a month or so to just kick back before attacking the problem. I needed to calm down and just get past the commotion involved with Joe's leaving. Well, Joe was gone a week when Al came back to town. Did he want to move in? Did I want him to move in? Al's my best friend, who moved back east in December, but hadn't really decided if he was moving back to SF, or if he was going to live in NYC or somewhere in the Baltimore / DC area. He would have been my first choice for roommate, but after hanging out for most of April and May, he realized that he had to head back east to pursue job opportunities. When Al left, I knew I had to do something. I had talked with Nathan about moving in, because I knew that he wanted to move back to the city from Sacramento, but the timing was off, and the rent IS a little steep, so that didn't work out. I talked to a few other people who I know, that are "on the verge" of moving, or just not happy with their living situation, but for one reason or another, it wasn't a viable option for any of them. Usually it was just the size of the rent check needed.
Then I started looking at people posting ads on craigslist, and I signed up for Roommates.com. If you're ever in that situation, don't bother with Roommates.com - it's a waste of $20. I had reached the point where I was about to give up, I was going to have to move, and in one last ditch effort, I sat in front of the Sit and Spin that Saturday afternoon, composing my ad to put on Craigslist. As I sat there, Jeff Johnson (not the DJ) walked by with this tough guy scowl on his face, and I had to laugh. Jeffie is one of the sweetest guys I know, so the scowl just didn't look genuine. He's been to Burning Man with my camp for the last two years, and he's been friends with the Scotts and other people I know for years, so we've met, and even hung out together for an afternoon last year at Burning Man and had a lot of fun. So I'm sitting there laughing, he stopped and said hi, and asked what I was doing. After commenting on the incongruity of his scowl, I told him I was writing an ad because I needed a roommate. His face lit up. He was miserable in his place in the western addition, he didn't feel his car was safe over there, and he wanted to move out right away. So I took him by the house, showed him the big front room, and we shook hands on it right then and there. Two weeks later, over Fourth of July weekend, Jeffie moved in! and it's been great ever since. He's a nice guy with a good job, a full life and a decent sense of humor. He has HUGE furniture, so the big front room that used to be my bedroom worked out great for him.
More than one person mentioned to me that they were surprised that it all came together so fast, and so close to the deadline for me moving out - seriously, if Jeffie hadn't been able to move in at some point in July, I would have had to give up the apartment on July 15th. "Plan B" for me was to move to Concord and move in with my friends Tony and Larry, which is the gay equivalent of moving back in with your parents. I wasn't looking forward to packing stuff up, or commuting from Concord to the city for work. I guess I didn't get too anxious about it because I knew somewhere deep inside me that I wasn't going anywhere, I just had to convince my conscious mind of that, as well as convincing the world around me to produce a suitable tenant to live with... just in the nick of time. Maybe that's why I procrastinate or take so much time to make some decisions? because things do tend to come together for me close to the deadline, but never way in advance. hmmm......
As I've gone through life, I've developed the habit (decide for yourself whether you think it's a good one or a bad one) of taking my time. Whether it's making a decision, doing a project, or getting out of bed, I usually am not out there, leading the way, trying to finish before anyone else or get somewhere first. Some people will tell you that I'm a lazy fuck, merely a procrastinator, or that I just can't make up my mind. I guess this quality contributes to the fact that I often show up ten minutes late for pretty much everything. I can tell you with some certainty that the men I've had relationships with have all found this habit somewhat frustrating, if not infuriating.
So it was with my quest for a new roommate when Joe moved back east to take that job in Kansas. This for me was a BIG decision. Do I stay in the apartment? It's kind of expensive, so it really does tie me down to my job because I need the income stream to support it. When Joe left, I had 3 months to figure out what I was doing, because of some luck with his relocation package and a deal with the landlord. I wanted to take a month or so to just kick back before attacking the problem. I needed to calm down and just get past the commotion involved with Joe's leaving. Well, Joe was gone a week when Al came back to town. Did he want to move in? Did I want him to move in? Al's my best friend, who moved back east in December, but hadn't really decided if he was moving back to SF, or if he was going to live in NYC or somewhere in the Baltimore / DC area. He would have been my first choice for roommate, but after hanging out for most of April and May, he realized that he had to head back east to pursue job opportunities. When Al left, I knew I had to do something. I had talked with Nathan about moving in, because I knew that he wanted to move back to the city from Sacramento, but the timing was off, and the rent IS a little steep, so that didn't work out. I talked to a few other people who I know, that are "on the verge" of moving, or just not happy with their living situation, but for one reason or another, it wasn't a viable option for any of them. Usually it was just the size of the rent check needed.
Then I started looking at people posting ads on craigslist, and I signed up for Roommates.com. If you're ever in that situation, don't bother with Roommates.com - it's a waste of $20. I had reached the point where I was about to give up, I was going to have to move, and in one last ditch effort, I sat in front of the Sit and Spin that Saturday afternoon, composing my ad to put on Craigslist. As I sat there, Jeff Johnson (not the DJ) walked by with this tough guy scowl on his face, and I had to laugh. Jeffie is one of the sweetest guys I know, so the scowl just didn't look genuine. He's been to Burning Man with my camp for the last two years, and he's been friends with the Scotts and other people I know for years, so we've met, and even hung out together for an afternoon last year at Burning Man and had a lot of fun. So I'm sitting there laughing, he stopped and said hi, and asked what I was doing. After commenting on the incongruity of his scowl, I told him I was writing an ad because I needed a roommate. His face lit up. He was miserable in his place in the western addition, he didn't feel his car was safe over there, and he wanted to move out right away. So I took him by the house, showed him the big front room, and we shook hands on it right then and there. Two weeks later, over Fourth of July weekend, Jeffie moved in! and it's been great ever since. He's a nice guy with a good job, a full life and a decent sense of humor. He has HUGE furniture, so the big front room that used to be my bedroom worked out great for him.
More than one person mentioned to me that they were surprised that it all came together so fast, and so close to the deadline for me moving out - seriously, if Jeffie hadn't been able to move in at some point in July, I would have had to give up the apartment on July 15th. "Plan B" for me was to move to Concord and move in with my friends Tony and Larry, which is the gay equivalent of moving back in with your parents. I wasn't looking forward to packing stuff up, or commuting from Concord to the city for work. I guess I didn't get too anxious about it because I knew somewhere deep inside me that I wasn't going anywhere, I just had to convince my conscious mind of that, as well as convincing the world around me to produce a suitable tenant to live with... just in the nick of time. Maybe that's why I procrastinate or take so much time to make some decisions? because things do tend to come together for me close to the deadline, but never way in advance. hmmm......