Or, strange things that have happened in a good way lately
Someone called me for apartment advice, and it turns out that he had just looked at the perfect apartment (for me, not him). I loved it and signed a lease. I had the apt, but no furniture. I needed a bed.
The next night, my roommate and her girlfriend were on their way home from a bar when they found a really nice couch sitting on the stoop of the apartment building nextdoor. Since they were drunk, fumbling the couch up the stairs turned out to be a major scene until a girl on rollerblades and her boyfriend stopped to help. We only have room in our apt for one couch, so I offered to take the old couch, which folds out and is quite comfortable. I had a bed, and I thought to myself that the next thing I needed was a coffee table. Of course, it's easy to make lists of what you need when you have no money, and I resolved to think about the matter while I went out for a bite to eat.
When I got back to the apartment, someone had leaned a wrought iron, wood and rattan topped coffee table up against our building. I suppose they witnessed the earlier evening couch debacle and surmised that we were looking for furniture. Blissful.
Everything was great for a few days. I had the basic things I needed, and the rest was just icing. I got the keys to the new apt. and went over to check it out. While I was there, I was lamenting the fact that I would have to move the aforementioned furniture by myself, and that what I really needed was some bookshelves.
A couple of hours later, my friend Kevin called and said he was going to be in the city the next day and would be happy to help me do anything I needed in exchange for dinner
After the first trip to the apt we took a different street back. There, on the stoop, was a set of those expensive wire shelves that one often sees in commercial kitchens. Exactly what I wanted all along, but could never dream of affording on my own. The only thing missing was the connectors that hold the shelves in place.
This morning I called the company to see where I could purchase the parts I need (despite the fact that I have no budget for this whatsoever) and the customer service representative said he would send them to me free of charge, right away.