Today's blog isn't following any writing prompt or writing challenge, its just me. I am sitting in bed in my jammies, listening to Cassadee Pope on Pandora and watching Juno stare at birds from the window. I'm on my 2nd of 5 or so loads of laundry that I have been meaning to catch up on for a week. I am browsing apartment ads on Craigslist, feeling very happy, despite all of the reasons I have to be annoyed and frustrated with the universe right now.
As everyone knows, the property I was managing sold on the 30th of last month. Until the very last minute, the plan for me was to float while we waited for a property to come open that was a good fit for me. About 5 days before the sale closed, I was offered a promotion to 2 small properties in Aloha, which seemed like a good enough idea. It was close to Stacey and Blake, in a new area, and I was told that it needed a strong manager to come in and stabilize it. Perfect. I wanted a project, not a property that maintained its own occupancy or didn't need any work. I want to be challenged. I want my career to grow, I don't want to sit back and rest on my hiney. So knowing only what I was told, I went for it. I am already really frustrated by things there, not because the property is hard, not because it is too ghetto for me to live at, but because it doesn't need much work and maintains occupancy just fine. For those of you who don't work in the biz, it is a cake property which will teach me very little and I will be bored and ready to move on in about 90 days. So I'm annoyed because I feel I was not given the truth. But my company requires 6 months when you take on a new property, so I am seemingly stuck for a bit. I will try to make the most of it, make differences where I can, etc. But overall, I will be bored for the next 6 months and will have to hunt out training opportunities, as they won't likely present themselves to me.
My plan originally was to live on site at whatever property I went to from Van Mall. No can do. This place is not a safe place for me and Juno. It is in a bad pocket of Aloha, near TV Highway, with very nosy busy-body residents, some mold and water issues, and old carpet, appliances, etc. It just isn't right for me. The bad news is, I now have to come up with a different plan. I am temporarily staying at Kitty's dad's house, as he is away on a business trip. But there is another cat here so Juno has been stuck in the bedroom, not able to come out and play or roam. So she's a little stir crazy, and I want my own place. I miss living alone, I miss being able to just do whatever I want with no regard for anyone else. So I started weighing my options and have made the decision that I no longer need to live on site like I did with Van Mall. With my sale bonus from Van Mall, I am able to pay off all of my debt next Friday. I don't have any major crazy debt by any means, but getting everything paid off - Juno's vet bill, my parents, my emergency credit card and my student loan - I will free up a few hundred dollars a month, which means I no longer need a rent discount. Obviously a rent discount is a nice bonus, but truthfully I am at the point where I would rather find a nice place that I like and can stay at for a long time than keep moving every 6 months based on a discount. After several long heart to heart talks with Rachel and Kattie, I have decided that all I am looking for is a place I love for me and Juno. It doesn't have to be in Beaverton, doesn't have to be a Riverstone property, just has to be a place that I can afford comfortably and can live happily. So I'm on the hunt.
Saturday, Rachel came all the way out to my new property to check it out, walk my units with me, and make lists of all the things I can do to make small changes while I am there. After work, I picked up Stacey and we headed out to Sauvie's Island for Adelle's birthday party. We stood in line with Adelle and her friends for 2 hours to do the haunted corn maize, but it was super fun and pretty scary. Afterwards we all went to Kennedy School for a drink and happy hour food before heading home about 1am.
I got up Sunday pretty early and picked up my new dining room table from a lady in Lake Oswego ($20 on Craigslist, perfect price for me!) and then drove up to Rachel's place. We had spaghetti for lunch and just hung out on the couch for the afternoon before she had to go to her son's baseball game. Then Kattie met me for a sushi date and heart to heart girl talk, and we stopped at Ross before she went home. It was the kind of lazy Sunday with my girlfriends that reminded me that I do want to live in Vancouver, because it feels like home and all my friends are here. Will the commute to Aloha blow? Yes. But will I be happy to be home, in a nice place, near my best friends? Yes.
After I left Vancouver, I drove down to Jeremy's and hung out with him and Jesse while they played darts, then Jeremy and I watched a scary-ish movie. Not as scary as I was hoping for, but definitely some jumpy parts. We stayed up too late, as I always seem to do when I hang out over there, and when I got up this morning, I was glad I didn't have to go to work. I'm glad to be sitting here with Juno, listening to music, looking for a new home, not working.
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