Moan-a 'bout-a Lease-a
I remember when I was just 6 or 7 years old, I saw a sign in a business that said, "Lost our lease." I didn't understand what that meant, so I asked my mom. She said, "Their lease got too high." I pictured the lease on a really high shelf, and because noone could reach it, they had to give their store to someone was taller and could reach it.
I've gotten taller since then, that's for sure. It doesn't make it any easier for me to reach my lease, though!
Just a week ago, my outlook for September was really bleak. My funding was ending in July, my lease was ending at the end of August, and I had no idea how I was going to finish my entire thesis, get it approved by my committee, defend it, AND find new employment before I was jobless and homeless.
I talked to my advisor a bit earlier this week, and he's granted me an extension into the fall to finish up. That means I'm not jobless...yet. But, I still had the problem of my lease. It's solved, but not in the way I'd hoped...
Originally, I thought I would be done with all of my work by May. I ended up at my current complex because they were one of few places willing to give me an August-to-May lease. In January, it started to become clear to me that I wouldn't be done by May, so I signed a short-term lease through August (which they charged me an extra $100 per month for the privilege of). This time, I wanted to renew a short-term lease through the fall. No problem, right?
Instead, they told me they'd discontinued short-term leases. So, they put on a full-year lease with a lease buyout option. How this works is, when I leave, I have to pay them two months extra of rent to be let "off the hook" for my lease. It's good in a few ways: 1) I'll most certainly leave before my time's up, so I won't have to try to renew again, 2) I can leave any month I want, instead of being stuck until a certain time, and 3) my rent will drop $100 bucks to my original rate. But, if I stay here 4 more months (for example), it will be a "Save $400, Pay $1260" exchange, unless I find some other way out of this (i.e. find someone to sublet to when I'm done).
It's alright. I won't be in school much longer (although I've been saying that for a year now). I've been actually working hard on my thesis, so maybe this time I really will graduate. Stay tuned.