Leaving a stinging, hairless scab in its wake
You know when you're walking down the street, minding your own business, and then suddenly you buy an [eponymous broadband handheld that is not so much a berry as a drupelet]? Well, it happened to me. My old flip-phone was perfectly fine, except it was so old that people used to gape in amusement and say "Awwwww" whenever I used it. Plus, it needed recharging every 45 minutes. So the other day I was walking past a wireless storefront (and thinking what a blight they are on our community) when it sucked me in and made me buy this thing that lets you check e-mails and web-surf and alter airline flight patterns from the palm of your hand. I can also blog with it, which means I can social-network from the bathroom in far greater detail.
Take a moment to calm yourself.
Summer mode officially takes hold today, when Robert finishes his last day of kindergarten. I've looked upon this day with mixed emotions, because as proud as I am of him, and happy that he can begin his life of leisure, summer also meant moving out. The plan throughout was to move as early in the summer as possible, in hopes that seeing me come back to the apartment and care for them every weekday would help build their faith that I'll still be a big part of their lives. Plus, now that the wounds of this experience were scabbing over, sooner or later I'd have to rip off the Band-Aid.
That left only the simple job of navigating the New York real estate market, and the opportunistic scumbags therein, to find a place. I'm a big believer in real estate karma, and since it took me one day to find the apartment I'm in now I was convinced I was due for a long, hard slog through shabby closets, stifling cologne, and a four-figure broker fee steep enough to cause sharp pains in the bowels for weeks to come.
Then, out of the beautiful blue, a friend phoned to say his neighbors had just moved out. A 600-foot one-bedroom (truly! not just a studio with sheet stapled to the ceiling!), EIK, courtyard views, in the quiet back of the building. And since it wasn't listed yet, there would be no fee.
TwoBert and I were there in 20 minutes. I met the super. I met the neighbors. I ate lunch in the new coffee bar the next block over. I applied that afternoon, and the next morning, bam. I was approved. My lease starts Tuesday.
I had been wincing at that Band-Aid for months. And now, with the aid of some mystical serendipity, it's off.
badass! i just spent almost two months looking for a place to live in northeast tennessee, i can't even IMAGINE how stressful it could have been in nyc. my lease starts tuesday too. here's to that!
Posted by: sarah | June 26, 2008 at 10:33
My parents took between 5 and 25 years to painstakingly peel the the band aid off hair by excruciating hair depending on where you mark the split. On behalf of children of divorce everywhere I thank you for doing it gently but swiftly and with the kids' best interests truly at heart.
Posted by: Kizz | June 26, 2008 at 11:43
I'm so glad the house hunt went well for you. The last thing you need right now is anything to make this more stressful or difficult than it already is. Sending good wishes your way...
Posted by: Tina | June 26, 2008 at 12:02
That's terrific. Now you can print up new address/ divorce cards on the same bill! All good things...
Posted by: Alli | June 26, 2008 at 12:20
Wow, that's terrific! I'm so glad you didn't have to deal with apartment hunting on top of everything else.
Posted by: Sheryl | June 26, 2008 at 13:17
I'm glad that you found a place that quick
wishing you the best.
Posted by: Joann | June 26, 2008 at 14:13
Lucky you! Does the elevator work?
Posted by: Louise | June 26, 2008 at 14:18
Excellent. AND, "...new coffee bar the next block over." It really couldn't be better! Congratulations to you.
Posted by: Angela | June 26, 2008 at 16:38
Horray! Glad the real estate gods smiled upon you. Now, what in the heck is "EIK?"
Posted by: geminijen | June 26, 2008 at 16:45
Congrats! Your real estate karma is still working to your benefit.
Posted by: Anna Marie | June 26, 2008 at 20:47
awesome, duuude. Good karma!
Posted by: Isabel Kallman | June 26, 2008 at 23:18
awesome, duuude. Good karma!
Posted by: Isabel Kallman | June 26, 2008 at 23:18
awesome, duuude. Good karma!
Posted by: Isabel Kallman | June 26, 2008 at 23:18
EIK = Eat In Kitchen?
Posted by: anon | June 26, 2008 at 23:22
Congratulations on the new place! When my we were looking for our first NYC place, I went to the neighborhood we wanted and pounded the pavement. I went into the diner on the corner from the apartment we'd eventually rent, and asked the guy behind the counter if he knew of any available local apartments. He sent me down the street with the name of the super and told me to tell him that "Mike sent me." We were very happy there for several years.
I wish you all the best in this next chapter of your life.
Posted by: Susie | June 26, 2008 at 23:30
Yes, EIK is an "eat-in kitchen." Because in NYC, it is a novelty to have a kitchen you can actually eat in.
Posted by: LOD | June 27, 2008 at 07:57
Re: social-networking from the bathroom
-- if you must!
Re: apartment
-- congrats!
Posted by: Lee | June 27, 2008 at 09:22
GOOD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE! YOU ARE A WONDERFUL FATHER!
Posted by: DOT | June 27, 2008 at 10:31
That fucking rocks! Good on you, L.-O. D.!
Posted by: TheWordBird | June 27, 2008 at 10:48
Awesome that you found a place. It's nice to have good friends looking out for you, eh? So this weekend will be dedicated to packing?
Posted by: Grace | June 27, 2008 at 12:08
i want to social network from the bathroom damnit!
Posted by: ali | June 27, 2008 at 14:21
Hey, congratulations-- that's a bit of good luck you surely needed right about now.
Posted by: LiteralDan | June 27, 2008 at 14:27
The gods are WITH you! I think they're with my sister also, who's expecting #2 and living with her family in a CRAMPED situation, even for NYC. Of course, she'll be so far uptown I might as well buy a ticket to Canada to visit her.
Posted by: Anne Glamore | June 27, 2008 at 19:06
Good for you! Glad you have a good place for the boys to hang out at. Many happy times.
Posted by: Lulu | June 27, 2008 at 21:55
Good things always seem to come when you least expect them. Congrats on the new place.
Posted by: Jeremy (Discovering Dad) | June 28, 2008 at 13:49
Congrats! Nothing like fate handing you keys to a new pad. Eight years ago when my wife and I separated and I moved out, I was fortunate enough to get a great place. My kids and I were thrilled to make it our own for the half-time they're with me.
Posted by: David | June 28, 2008 at 15:26
Good! That part sounded difficult. It's really nice that it all happened easily and you can look forward to someplace good to live.
Posted by: Helen | June 29, 2008 at 04:28
Congratulations on your new place and the ease in finding it, in NYC no less. Sorry about your divorce and all the attendant pain that causes. Got to your blog from The Blogfathers.
Posted by: Kat | June 29, 2008 at 16:29
congratulations! i hate moving, so the looking just makes me sick. way to go on having that half of the process done!
Posted by: zeghsy | June 30, 2008 at 12:15
holy crap, well done! Are you sure there aren't roaches the size of doberman's living in the wall?
Congrats...where?
Posted by: croutonboy | June 30, 2008 at 21:38