Begging and choosing
Updated VV again over the weekend! Did a few different things, here's a lil' sampling:
In other news, another whirlwind of stress, but I'm pretty much out of the other side of it (or am I in the eye? :P)
So that "do we or don't we" in Benicia - we did apply and got rejected, we were outbid by $200, but the lady said we were in the top running and informed us before we had to pay the fee. Seems like writing a heartfelt letter with applications at least gets us a decent rejection notice :) Honestly that seems like a million years ago now. Since then we actually got *approved* for 2 places (3 technically)...but ended up rejecting it all :(
2 rentals in concord, one in Oakland...so first Concord was kind of amazing, an artist-y place, this rich dude's first floor in a rich people cul-de-sac. Isolated but so peaceful...beautiful rolling hills behind with a hand built staircase to a vista point...giant picture windows and a sweet stone bench all along one wall...non-coin-op laundry, and he really seemed to like me (was talking about our artist connection) - but it was our max rent and not only basically a studio, but one where we couldn't figure out where to put anything, what with the windows and the bench and the bed having to go in the kitchen, a hall of cabinents and no closets...if I were unencumbered by things and living a different life I'd totally have gone for it. It's an amazing artist space, but not for our lifestyle.
The Oakland one was surprisingly nice on the inside, the outside wasn't great, the agent specifically told us there were loud kids around, parking was extra which brought us up to our max again...it was big enough and not *specifically* ghetto, but it had an off feeling. We applied anyway because that one was no fee, and were surprised to find they'd picked us...and we agonized because that the closest to SF we'd been able to manage...but in the end there was no guarantee about the noise, main reason for moving in the first place.
The other Concord one killed me...because it was NICE. The most remodeled of the places we'd seen, a 2br townhouse with an actual pretty bathroom, all new appliances/surfaces/paint...2 mirrored closets in the master bedroom, one with a low platform in it perfect for a windowless dolly display...pool on the grounds, laundry, pretty nice landlord (they weren't thrilled about pets but they said they'd be okay with Hoochen), interior that felt worth paying our max...not 100% sure about noise but well, we didn't hear anything during the tour...and after we wrote them a letter they told us they liked us and started to take us through the final steps...whereupon we really studied the area and R pointed out that it was one of the most isolated places of all. Though it was in Concord it was right at the furthest edge, behind a giant airfield that put most everything around 40-60 minutes walking distance away...groceries, any gym, post office, BART station...everything (except a trailer park and a drive in movie theater XD). So without a car, I'd be in a (albeit pretty) home that I'd never ever leave till R got back...which would be super late every day from the commute...aloooooooooone...
So we said no and I'm still second guessing all of them. -_- If a bit less money, less commute, less isolation desert...but it'll never be perfect, so how to choose what compromise to invest everything in? -_- But one good thing came of it - I finally got R to admit that Benicia/Martinez was too far for him, which he indeed had been denying for fear of making me sad. That at least narrows things down a bit, though it also narrows down affordable choices.
No word from R's "Lemme see what I can do" friend.
On the other side of life, I discovered Kit Tea!! A cat cafe open since June in SF WHAAAAT
I went, of course - didn't give enough notice to get in the kitten room on a weekend, but had some tea and quiche and looked through the glass. Ugh, my heart! Hoochen needs a friend ;_; Aside from that and with the house stuff I've completely forgotten what I did that week :P Somewhere in there our building got painted, meaning 2 weeks of scaffolding blocking out all vestiges of natural light , being woken up daily by bawdy jokes in Chinese, and random guys creeping around my (usually inaccessible) balcony. That wasn't fun for doll painting/photos at all.
This past weekend I danced a bit at the Cat Club (they had a NIN tribute night! But shitty mixing for dancing, my DJ pet peeve -_-), checked out Zinefest in Golden Gate Park, discovered a yummy new Chinese bakery with German egg tarts on Irving (noms) and caught up with some old friends sitting on a stoop. Ahhh...
Labor day I got to try tabletop RPG (Shadowrun) with some possible new friends ^^ Very fun! Never did get to try that before, was interested but never happened to be hanging out with people who were doing it. Laughs were had and I'm hoping to do it again. Also took R's mom to her favorite oceanside seafood trap in Half Moon Bay for her birthday. The beaches were especially pretty as the sun was going down, but the drive was so long and hot that we could all barely get back for cake before passing out.
Also Yay Pikmin 4 is gonna come out XD