apartment

I'm really excited about my new apartment. I haven't even sealed the deal yet-haven't given the leasing company the deposit check. But I will tomorrow. I'm obsessed. I've been in this place I'm at now for almost two years, and it's serves me well, but it's unkempt. The floors are dull, the bathroom moldy. The closet doors don't really close. the back stairs and basement stairs feel as though they are about to collapse. And it's a bitch to heat in the winter. For the past several years, there has not been a complete turnover of renters, just one or two at a time, so the landlord doesn't get in in between the fix up the place. And I guess that's the benefit of a management company.

Today, I went with the leasing agent first to a two bedroom that was a little too dark, a little too small, and a little too boring. She asked if I could expand my budget a bit. I could. We went to a quieter street in the beautiful neighborhood of Victorian homes that I have become obsessed with in the last month. The apartment is two stories tall within a three story, potentially 150 year old building. You go in this side entrance and are met by a grand staircase with a huge picture window. Inside, the ceilings seem miles above, the paint in clean and fresh, the light is pouring in the huge windows. The carpeting is only two weeks old, not yet lived in. There is a kitchen with a granite island counter, new appliances. Little touches, like a brick mantel. A little nook. For this nook I am already planning an overstuffed chair, in which I will spend many lazy Sunday afternoons reading as the sun comes pouring in the window and warming me. I will nap in this nook.

Upstairs, there is a new, moldless bathroom. And two bedrooms, both huge, with big, walkable closets. One bedroom which will be my roommate's, has sloping ceilings and three oddly placed windows. The other, which will be mine (oh yes, it will be mine), is in a damn turret. There's a square part to the room, where I guess my bed will go, and then there is a sunny circular space with windows all around and an amazing view of the entire East End of Pittsburgh. I. Love. It.

It's near a parklet and a farmers' market and everything. My dog is welcome. There is parking in the back. And all utilities but electricity are included. I hate paying utilities, All the envelopes, licking, check-writing, stamp-buying.

There is even a convenience store around the corner. And it sells beer. The post office is a block away, the bus a block away. A half dozen neighborhoods within walking distance, all ones I want to go to. I am calling the leasing agent first thing tomorrow. I will be at the office at 4:30 with a check in hand, ready to claim this bitch.