Like A Drug

Along with everything else that's going on these days, I'm also looking for a house to live in. The good part of it is that I'm looking for a house for two, not one, which is what it's always been before. That ranks right up there around the top of the list of all-time great things. The hard part about it is that for this one I'm even pickier than usual, and I'm pretty picky anyway. It's the Goldilocks Syndrome, needs to be not-too-big, not-too-small, needs to be just-right. And having good light in the morning is a major plus.

So I dropped 60 bucks last week for a membership with the hottest online apartment guide in Los Angeles. So far they've been pretty good, but they haven't landed me the big one yet. A few near misses. One perfect bungalow that I came on a little too late. That experience has served to make me a bit compulsive about the whole thing, checking online several times a day to look for new listings. I went out on my bike at 11:45pm a couple nights ago to skulk around one neighborhood in search of a mysterious cottage which had popped up on the listing a few hours earlier.

One of the things I've discovered is that reading the rental ads is a fine art -- watch out for the word "unique" -- not everything is like it sounds. Equal rent does not necessarily imply equality in other ways. "Spacious" is a more ambiguous concept that I had realized. "Airy" is entirely a matter of personal interpretation.

The whole thing is also complicated by the fact that sometimes I am convinced that I want the gritty, urban experience for my home neighborhood. Good for creativity. Good for keeping your edge. Good for keeping you from getting soft and complacent.

Then fifteen minutes later I'll drive down a nice tree-lined avenue and find myself yearning for that pergo-floored utopia, with quiet neighbors and sun-dappled lawns. Not good for keeping you on your toes, but a much better prognosis for the future of your car stereo. The illusion of security is just an illusion, yes, but it's a nice illusion.

All that to say this: I don't know where we'll end up living in August, but I'm hoping to find out soon so that, if for no other reason, I can get back to actually doing work while I'm at work. I don't know if I can keep this addiction under wraps for much longer. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a website I need to check...