newest entry older entries

October 15, 2004 - 7:38 a.m.

Gaining a housemate, losing a car, gaining weight

We found a new housemate last night, and woo-hoo and hallelujah, because I'm not sure I was up to interviewing any more people.

Thanks to San Francisco's rent control laws (and I seriously am thankful for them, because otherwise, I couldn't afford to live here), C, Bartleby, and I have a pretty nice flat that doesn't cost a lot of money. Despite this, we've had kind of a hard time finding flatmates for our front room.

Part of the problem is that most people around are age aren't really looking for roommate situations. And the cheap rent on our flat means that we tend to attract two kinds of people -- 22-year-old students/artists who are also DJs (they're all fucking DJs) and aging hippies who don't just want to share a house, but a lifestyle and tend to be kind of snotty about how much TV we watch.

I know that sounds old and stodgy. Believe me, I know. We got one response from a guy who listed "making scratch tracks" as one of his hobbies. "What is that?" I asked my roommates. "Is it noisy?" (I found out later that it is. I am also coming to terms with the fact that just asking this question makes me hopelessly old.) But I've learned from bitter experience that no matter how much people swear they'll keep their practicing for the drum circle to a minimum or not be loud on weeknights, they never keep their promises.

The search this time was for some reason even more disheartening. Perusing the "housing wanted" ads on craigslist, I came across phrases such as "don't be a narc" and "be aware of your shadow side." Even the people who we interviewed would seem normal, and then mention that they'd be leaving in the summer to follow the Warped Tour. One guy we liked called us an hour after leaving to tell us he'd found another place. Bartleby was sick this whole time, and C is leaving for France on Tuesday, and I think we were all starting to stress a little.

But thanks to Mo, our worries ended last night. She'd found out about a guy who was moving to town to work at her company, and he ended up being very cool and enthusiastic and blessedly normal. Also, he watches TV.

Of course, he could end up killing us all in our sleep, but at least he won't be playing techno music or burning patchouli while he does it.



My other excitement this week was selling my car. To tell the truth, I was a little melancholy about it. This was the first car I ever bought, and it also brought me across the country. But for the past year, I've only driven it to move it on street-cleaning days, and it started to seem silly to pay to maintain a vehicle to drive it less than a mile a month.

The last straw came when I was in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago visiting my brother's family. I had asked Bartleby to please move it on Wednesday, so I wouldn't get a ticket. But when he went to take care of it, street crews had torn up the entire street and towed away all the cars that had been left there. As I wrote a check for $235 to pay Bartleby back for getting my car out of jail, I knew it was time to get rid of it.

I actually ended up getting a pretty good price for a Ford Escort with no radio and 145,000 miles on it. The buyers were so eager that they gave me cash and told me to just mail them the title the next day (I know, I know -- but I'd gotten home from work late and hadn't had time to dig it up before they showed up). So far the bank hasn't called to say the money was counterfeit, and I took care of transferring the title and all the other DMV stuff the very next day, so I think everything has worked out fine.

Ah, little car. Even though you pissed me off many times, I will miss you.


Of course, while all this other stuff is really good, my body seems to be going to hell. As of this morning, I am officially almost six pounds up from my goal weight, and my pants are starting to get uncomfortable. There is no mystery why -- I haven't worked out in weeks, and I've been going through one of those phases where I'm all resentful about having to watch what I eat. "Why can't I have french fries and ice cream? What is this, some kind of dictatorship? Chocolate for the people!"

I know I need to eat more sensibly. And exercise -- exercise is key. But yesterday I woke up with terrible low-back pain. I'm not sure what I did, which is really disheartening. Is it possible that I am so out of shape that I threw my back out sleeping?

Anyway, for a while there I was starting to feel hot, but now I definitely am not, so I think it's back to counting points for a while. This will be especially challenging, as, in addition to not being able to so much exercise, I am also hosting Mas (a grand tradition) this weekend.

Still, if I keep things mostly out of control, I'm pretty sure I won't bust out of my pants.

previous - next


about me - read my profile! read other Diar
yLand diaries! recommend my diary to a friend! Get
 your own fun + free diary at DiaryLand.com!