And before that...

That apartment is mine. Why you ask? I will tell you: because for some bizarre reason, my life is entirely charmed. (touch wood.) Sometimes the shit just comes through for me, you know? More so than normally lately. Here's what's even better: I found out a few more things about my apartment when I went to put down the deposit. And I liked them all.

1) The lady who lived in it before me was there since the '70s. She was a packrat... like OCD style. The place was packed with newspapers and magazines; the fire department made her leave. This brings me joy. So the place, according to the building manager, is very nearly unrecognizable from its former state right now.

2) Because its current state is out and out gorgeous.

3) When I initially looked at it, I was pretty much like "floors, windows, MINE, ME WANT" and i applied without really taking a good look around. Should be bad news right? I should go back to make my deposit and be like "wait, is that really the toilet? What do i do, is it like a crouch type action?" "Oh see, actually I just kind of assumed that in the year 2000 all apartments would have electrical outlets." Dear friend, the place was like... NICER than i remembered. The bedroom was definitely smaller than i remembered, which is pretty standard when you check out an apartment BUT... there was all this closet space that i hadn't even known was there! HUGE closets! And lots of them! There was even this little closet cove area that has built in drawers and a little telephone table/desk type thing... I think i vaguely remember seeing these when I first looked but I was just either too shellshocked by the french windows, or I was already firmly in "there is no way in hell i am going to get this apartment because i want it way too bad" mode and I just wasn't even bothering to take mental notes anymore. Interestingly, I think the fact that i asked for an application less than 10 seconds after walking in is one of the reasons I got the place. The manager appreciates people who appreciate her building I think.

4) And she appreciates old appliances, so my stove is going to be this kick ass crazy old stove from the '50s. It's stunning. I am the luckiest girl in the world (touch wood touch wood touch wood). I will take pictures, swear to god. Plus now i have access to scanners again, so i will finally scan in photos of my mentally handicapped and harelipped cat from 80,000 entries ago.

Anyway, having an actual destination come October 1st has done pleasant things to my mood and my enthusiasm and my energy levels. To an almost eerie degree.. i hadn't realized it was bothering me that much. But I guess i really was feeling pretty up in the air, pretty much a tourist. My job doesn't help with that either cause it's an entirely new situation for me and it's taking some getting used to. So I was a tourist in a weird city, a tourist at my job, and now maybe that's fading a little. It's important for it to fade at the job cause it's pretty crucial, pretty fucking crucial for me to kick cavernous dents in fat gelatinous asses at every turn. AOL it ain't, nah mean? Which is why i love it. Things i love = things that aren't AOL. It was great for what it was, but what it was was not great for Chen.

Man.

Maybe it's this wack-sized Coke i've been drinking all afternoon, maybe it's just a bona fide mood swing, maybe it's the real deal, who knows, but right now I feel pretty flippin good.