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The Perfect Apartment
Kellie Strausser
 Recently I moved into a new apartment from owning my own home for many
years. This in itself was quite a change for me. The search for the
perfect apartment was growing tiring and daunting and as I looked in the
Sunday newspaper, one seemed to catch my eye. It sounded perfect. It was a
snowy day, and the roads were getting bad, but the open house for the
apartment was today. I didn't want to miss this opportunity. I dropped
everything and headed to my possible living destination and as I headed into
the city, and up the stairs to my prospective second floor apartment, I had
a feeling this was it. It had everything I was looking for, newly
remodeled, washer and dryer, dishwasher, hardwood floors, cute as a button
and the perfect price. I couldn't let it slip through my fingers.
I did everything I needed to do, to secure that it was mine, and sure enough
the next day it was. The search was over and now the only stress was the
physical act of moving my things. So I thought.
The moving part was easy. Everything went off without a problem. As I
settled into my new living space, I felt good...comfortable..secure...free
and able to do anything and everything. This was the best decision I had
made for a very long time.
The next morning, after having a very well rested nights sleep in my new
place...I hopped into my first new apartment shower... and shocked my body
with ice cold water. It felt like someone was pouring an entire bucket of
ice cubes over my body. It would not get warmer..no matter how much I
prodded and pulled at the levers, the water temperature would not change.
It is still winter time here. This wasn't exactly the way I wanted to wake
up. I kept thinking that I must have a gas and this was
the reason my showers were cold for one week straight...because my gas had
not been turned on yet. But when the gas was finally turned on, my showers
remained cold. Apparently this was not the problem. "Oh Mr. landlord, I
have a problem." The repairman came, and the needed
repaired. One full week of ice cold showers was my limit.
Next, the freezer in my refrigerator died...not a huge deal, but another
issue that needed addressed..another call, another repairman. Continuing
the appliance theme, the clothes dryer did not work as well. This is when I
started to get frustrated. Another call to the man. It was an old washer
and dryer, so the landlord ordered a new set. I was responsible for setting
up the delivery time with the store it was purchased from. When they came
to deliver, the deivery men had strict policies about unhooking the dryer
due to it being gas generated. Since I was the only person there, as I
talked to my landlord via phone, I had the honors of unhooking and
untwisting anything attached to the equipment with all my strength and a big
wrench, while being watched by two delivery men who would not budge to help
me. I was not a happy camper. My fuse was growing shorter and shorter, but
I did not realize how short it could get until the new washer and dryer that
were to be placed did not fit due to my landlords lack of measuring
knowledge. The fuse was so short now it was about to burn off.
Now, I did not have an old washer and dryer, or a new washer and dryer and
no way to do my laundry for two weeks straight. I could have gone to the
laundr-o-mat down the street, sure. Did I feel like lugging my clothes, of
course not. With no dryer attached to the vent that led into the wall, I
started to hear noises. Wierd noises. Loud noises. Many noises. Birds.
I lay in my bed, just waking up early in the morning. Tired, and frustrated
with my new apartment hassles, my eyes were slowly opening and as they were
I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or hallucinating. A big black bird was
flying straight for my face. I jumped out of my bed, and there it was, as
frantic as I was...banging into walls and going potty on everything. Sandy
yellow splatters were being painted on my walls rather quickly. I opened my
apartment doors, and finally persuaded my feathered artist friend to fly
out. Whew. Another call. Mr. Landlord, we have birds. Birds that like
art. Do something. Now.
Another similar bird episode happened the following day. Obviously
unresolved. Another door opening and alot of running through the apartment
waiving my arms around and luckily, another fly out. More "art" to clean up.
Another call.
This call was anxious. "I'm usually laid back", I said with desperation
slowly building. "I usually can handle quite a bit...the problem is, I
don't feel any of this is my responsibility and I am paying for a washer and
dryer, a freezer, hot water, phone jacks (yes, there were none) a doorbell
that works (no, it did not), the opportunity to have cable TV (which they
had a hard time hooking up due to another issue), and I am starting to
become extremely frustrated and upset and if these problems aren't resolved
very, very soon....
Well, needless to say, this morning I did two loads of laundry. The birds
are gone. The walls are back to their original off-white. My food is
frozen. My showers are good and hot...the phone jacks are ready and waiting
and the doorbell is in the process of being fixed. My perfect apartment,
was not so perfect for my first couple of weeks getting to know it. In this
brand new relationship we have, as we bond and meld together, and the issues
are now being resolved, I feel that even though it may never be perfect, it
is on it's way to being perfect for me. I was starting to have doubts that
my intial instincts about it were right, due to the numerous glitches.
Those doubts are again melting away.
The moral? When you rent, make sure your landlord takes care of you, then
again, maybe it's better to buy. Seriously though? We may not always get
what we want right away, but if we are patient (I was losing that battle),
and we can see a light at the end of the tunnel...we will get what we need.
Sometimes we need to get to a point of desperation to come to a conclusion
of what is really important in our lives, and when we figure that out,
things will again fall into place.
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