Â
I like to think that the teddy bear is one of Mulder’s usability participants.
Archive for August, 2007
I’ve finally ended my apartment hunting! Unfortunately, I’m still staying in Mountain View. After yet another unsuccessful weekend of apartment hunting, I decided that I didn’t have the energy, time, or resources to continue looking for a place in San Francisco. I love the city and think it would be awesome to live there but at this time, it doesn’t look like I can make it work. But the good news is that I now have a nice new apartment that isn’t too far away from work or the life I’ve established here in Mountain View. It is also considerably cheaper. My decision to stay in Mountain View may not be the most fun but I think it is probably the most financially responsible at this time.
What sold me on the new place was the corner deck – it is huge! I’ve got enough space to put in one of those huge Bobby Flay gas grills – not that I’m going to get one of those anytime soon. The new place is older and smaller than my current place but it should be roomy enough for Mulder and me. The benefit of moving so often over the past few years is that I’ve learned to downsize my life/junk. And with each move, I seem to find more things that I don’t want and that I either recycle or give to the Goodwill. I’m hoping this will be my last move for a few years.
I get the keys to the new place next Tuesday but I’ll still have my current apartment until September 1st. For the next few weeks, I’ll be able to say, “My home, well, one of my homes.” I feel like I should be doing something to utilize both of my homes – any ideas?
My optimism for finding an apartment in San Francisco (that I like, is in my price range, and in a good neighborhood) has reached an all time low this evening. I saw three great apartments yesterday – in Noe Valley, the Mission, and Hayes Valley. I fell in love with the place in Noe Valley and really wanted it to be mine. It was totally one of those places where I walked in and thought, “This is it. I love this place. I want it.” Along with being very roomy, having a washer & dryer in the unit, and being extremely clean and full of neat architectural details, the landlord was extremely nice. It was also really close to all of the coffee shops and restaurants on 24th. I was hoping all day today that I’d get it.
I got a call this afternoon from the woman who was showing the apartment in the Mission. That apartment was also pretty nice but in a sketchier part of the Mission (I always figure that it is never a good sign when you see guys walking around drinking beer out of paper bags). She said that my application was excellent and that I had good credit (I already knew that) but that she had to give it to the first person who applied for it. I wasn’t that disappointed about that apartment given the neighborhood situation but still I don’t really like getting rejected for anything. Then later on this evening, I checked my voicemail and the Noe Valley landlord had left me a message. I didn’t get the apartment. Again, she said my application was good but she had to give it to the first person who applied. They’re supposed to be making a decision about the Hayes Valley apartment by tomorrow. Judging by my current record, I’m guessing I probably won’t get it. Lots of people applied to that one and I know I wasn’t the first to apply there either.
I’m really getting frustrated with the whole process – searching through Craigslist and grumbling to myself about their shitty UX (and their circa 1995 web UI), wasting time and gas driving to the city and looking at overpriced shitty places that nobody wants, competing with what feels like the entire city of San Francisco for the few really awesome places. I’ve been expending a lot of time and energy into it and it doesn’t feel like it is going anywhere. This really could be somebody’s full time job. I’m also starting to reconsider the SF to Mountain View commute – the extra expense of commuting and time lost commuting. I’m getting pretty close to giving up and just settling for a cheaper place in Mountain View, Palo Alto, or Sunnyvale.
As I was driving home this afternoon, I caught this BBC World Service piece about two families who’ve lost their kids in the violence between Palestinians and Israelis. Both families donated the organs of their children, and the organs wound up in both Palestinians and Israelis (so Palestinian organs wound up saving the lives of Israelis and vice versa). Their stories are heart wrenching and their losses are senseless. But their generosity is amazing.