So, as you know, I've constantly been going back and forth back and forth back and forth with my living situation. Do I want to live alone? Do I want a roommate? Do I want to live in Rosslyn? Do I even need to be near the Metro? Do I need to stay under $1000 a month? Where can I find that anyway?...
Well, GOOD NEWS!!! I HAVE A NEW APARTMENT!!
Remember that girl I said was perfect and how her apartment was so sunny and perfect?
...
Well, I didn't choose her's. HAH! Here's the story:
Basically, I had sent out inquiry after inquiry, trying to find roommates, places, something! I couldn't find anywhere closer to work less than $1200 a month, and I couldn't find anywhere near the Metro under $1000! I finally decided I needed to get down to business and decide ASAP so I wouldn't have to worry about my living situation when I'm out of town in July! I talked to so many different people that I quickly realized I'm never going to find the "perfect" accommodation...
So after hanging out with that "perfect" girl, I realized, "Wow! I really want to live with her." BUT Anthony had a great point: I was mesmerized by her clean apartment and wasn't really separating HER from the PLACE. After a couple days, I got to the point where I could actually separate the two, and I decided she wasn't so perfect after all. I thought about when she kept buying drink after drink because she kept losing hers...how her bestie kept spilling her drink on me...how fake she seemed...and how she hated VT with a passion all because she went to FSU! Puuuuuleeeeeeeeez! Give me a break!
I woke up with the firm intention to go look at the golden retriever girl (Amelia)'s apartment complex. First off, I thought I was in Blacksburg. The main office was so convenient, the neighborhood is clean and nice, trees everywhere, grassy congregating areas, picnic tables, complimentary coffee (something I've grown to cherish here), and such NICE office managers!! The office manager, Claudia, showed me around the complex and to the outside of my apartment. It's on ground floor, which is so convenient because of Belle, her doggy! We don't have a patio, but we have a private entrance apart from the apartment complex, and grass everywhere outside our doorstep for her to do her stuff! It's also nice enough to go out and sit to enjoy a drink! The laundry is right next door in the next building, they're replacing the carpet right before we move in, and there are ceiling fans in both bedrooms (something I have grown to miss here)! It was so nice, frankly, and I had a GUT FEELING that I should be committing to it asap.
I got to the office and texted Amelia, "Is it still available? Because I want to live with you!" She got back to me RIGHT away and said, "Perfect! I'm canceling my other appointments now!" (Yesterday she said she'd love to have me live with her and how much fun it would be to live together.) Then, I had to get down to the dirty work: tell the "perfect sunny" girl that I chose another place.
As an introduction to the next part of the story, the "perfectly sunny" girl never ever said, "I'd love to have you live with me!" Only: "I'll let you know by the end of the week! I have more people interested." Also, I am quoting verbatim. Nothing has been intensified or manipulated.
I emailed this to her:
Dear girl,
Despite the perfection of your apartment, I have chosen to live in another apartment. Your place would've been a great fit for me, but I needed to commit asap since I will be out of town almost every weekend this month. I understand you've got lots of options, so I wish you good luck with your next roommate!! I would love to spend more time with you, since I had a great time hanging out with you and Shelby last weekend!
(No hard feelings!)
Sincerely,
Courtney
I thought I was being nice! She responded:
Courtney,
Ok? Not sure what changed from yesterday. Like I stated in my email I would let you know by the end of the day. I guess one day was a deal breaker? It was nice meeting you and good luck with your job!
Then, 20 minutes later, I got a text saying:
You left me in a tricky situation today. I guess it's a good thing I didn't cancle my appointments today! You told me numerous times that you weren't looking at any other apartments. I was upfront and honest with you I guess I expected the same in return. Please don't email Kathleen I will call her and let her know that you found another place. That's the last thing I'll say.
CORRECTIONS:
A. I did tell her I stopped looking at places. BUT I didn't tell her about Amelia. AND I only told her this once.
B. Don't spell cancel with the l before the e.
C. I was honest, just not 100% accurate. I left out the unimportant details because I didn't want anything to jeopardize chances to live with her if my other option(s) didn't work out.
FYI: Kathleen is the owner of the unit.
Then, I responded:
I'm glad to hear you're taking it so well :)
Her:
Are you serious?
Me:
I was honest with you. This other place was something I inquired about weeks before I found your's. Honest. Besides, you couldn't stop telling me you had all these people looking so I decided to put fate into my own hands.
Her:
Whatever it's no big deal bye
BAHAHAHAHAHA
GOOD RIDDANCE!!!!!!!!!!
I am SO happy I listened to Rhianna and Anthony about trusting my gut with her. Something this minor bringing out the worst in someone is someone that I don't want to associate myself with. This isn't college. I don't HAVE to put up with you, and I have met great other people I would rather surround myself with. Jokes on her!
Let's go back to Amelia now. We went to dinner after we got off work, and enjoyed every minute of it! We hit it off instantly, and I found that we're so much alike, but NOT in a bad way. We enjoy the same TV shows, she seems very patient and quiet-tempered, laid back, and most importantly: FAIR! The FSU chick said, "Oh yeah, you'll be paying $75 more for the big room." Amelia said, "We split everything 50/50, and you can have the big bedroom if Belle can have the private den. You see, the apartment is a 1,000 sq ft unit with 2 bedrooms and a den! Peeeerfect! I said, "Yeah! That sounds great!"
Altogether, it's cheaper to live with her than anywhere else because of the value of living, honestly. Happiness with the person/dog I live with is worth a bit more money each month, personally, and Anthony had another good point: "You need a roommate. You feed off peoples' energy." Isn't he wise?
Our official move-in date is July 18th. We have a prorated rent, and I am paying for part of the month because I'm going to start moving in my things and actually move in during the last week in July. Unfortunately, Belle won't be joining us until the end of August. Booooo.
The apartment complex even said we could paint our walls whatever colors we wanted, as long as we prime them before we move out. If we prime them, we don't have to pay our of the security deposit for the paint! NICE! The "perfectly sunny" place had rules stating things like:
No congregating on the central lawn, including sunbathing and recreational sports.
No vacuuming between 9pm and 9am.
Yeah, right. My complex is like, "Go ahead, strip down to your skivvies and soak up that sun!" AND my complex has monthly get-togethers with all the management and renters. For example, they're having a happy hour in July and we're invited! Yes, please! The only thing that would make this complex ABSOLUTELY PERFECT was if it had a pool. :( Did I mention it's a half mile away from my office???
Long story short, I am 100% happy, and I have been learning the lesson of my lifetime: trust my gut. How have I learned this, you ask?
A. Accepting an Internship at a top architecture firm in hopes to land that job.
Got the job.
B. Thinking Rhianna was the best roommate option for me in May, even though I didn't know her or the area JUST because she contacted me through the VT listserv and really indirectly through Adil.
Perfect accommodation.
C. Committing to Amelia and not FSU. (She doesn't even deserve the chick anymore.)
Gained a great roommate (well, technically two), and a friend.
Trust your gut. Something I've always known but never understood. At VT, trusting my gut got me my only C in Biology. Now, I truly understand the meaning and it only took me a couple months and a lot of decision making!
THANKS, EVERYONE! I'm so happy everything's slowly falling into place. But I keep dreaming about tornados...like two nights ago it was a mile wide. No joke. and all my grandparents were in it. ...what does that mean?
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