La La LI La La La LI

I'm employed, but homeless. Kind of.

Only "kind of" because I have temporary lodging while I find a place to live...strategically located around the corner from a mall.  When you're as big a fan of #retailtherapy as I am, and your bank account and wallet are collecting cobwebs like mine are, this is TORTURE! 

The Point:

Apartment hunting at the last minute (for instance, when you find out you're starting a job in 5 days in an area you've never been to/spent a good deal of your life trying to avoid) is kind of like the Hunger Games. You know right away which ones won't make the cut, only one apartment is left at the end, and you'd do anything to get your hands on that rental agreement. There's lots of trickery and obstacles along the way, enter Craigslist scams and competing prospective tenants.

The Plan:

1. Create EXTENSIVE apartment spreadsheet
2. Browse Craigslist (because what other choice do you have so close to desired move-in?)
3. Call/E-mail these people to set up an appointment and hope they're not trying to steal your identity
4. See 'em and sign on the dotted line

In Practice:

One person DID appear to be trying to steal my identity...let's hope she didn't. Barbara, I'm looking at you.

Number of appointments:  6

Number of apartments seen:  3

1. Great neighborhood, FAR away (relatively speaking) from my job. Small, but clean. Way too expensive, but manageable

2.  SLUM. Not kidding, even a little.  Don't believe me? Here's my conversation with the current tenant:

Tenant:  You want to live here?

Me:  Yes, well maybe.

Tenant:  No.

Me:  I'm sorry, what? What do you mean?

Tenant:  This place is rampant with mold and mildew. I go through about a gallon of bleach a week. You don't want you live here.

He was right...I DON'T want to live there. Ran into the landlord on my way back to the car. This is what he opened with: 

"I mean, it's a basement apartment. You can't expect it to be the Taj Mahal, you know? ::Chuckle:: What do you think?" 

Oh, you want my thoughts?! They consist of only one thing:  RUN!!!!

3. PERFECTION. Great neighborhood, even better landlords, perfect amount of space, rent is all-inclusive (heat, water, electric, cable!!, internet!!!!!). #obsessed

• Deposit:  Made
• Other appointments:  Cancelled
• Furniture:  Purchased
• First Month's Rent:  Paid

Apartment:  FOUND

Look out, world! I'm LI-bound

The "search" is (finally) OVER!

My life has taken quite a few turns these past few months since my lamentable return from Spain.

Summer started off bright and carefree (as it should), full of vacations and plans to catch up with old and new friends. I was embarking on a summer of "funemployment" and life was good.

Dim:

As the real world came knocking, as it was bound to do, I found myself unprepared and overwhelmed by the fact that I had a "kinda-sorta" career goal, and NO CLUE how to get there, wherever "there" was.

How unlike me! 

Dark:

I like plans, I like having things figured out! Except that I didn't have either of those things, which meant I was unsure about a lot, particularly myself. ### of job applications sent, a lot of waiting, a few interviews, more waiting, and no responses. Such is the slow-going life of a post-collegiate job seeker.  These were some dark, dark times.

But fear not! Another vacation was right around the corner and, let's be honest, I was happy for the escape!

Darker:

As Nelly Furtado would be so happy to remind me, "All good things come to an end." So, like Rabbit in 8 Mile, I snapped back to reality, which had changed from slightly depressed to sheer panic overnight. (Thanks for that, dwindling bank account)

This time I was taking a different approach:  I knew where I wanted to be (employed...ANYWHERE), I just needed SOME way to get in with a company.  Solution:  Temp work à la staffing firm (insert name here)!  Interviews scheduled, promising job prospects rolled in...

Light at the end of the tunnel:

...and THEN a series of rather unfortunate events created a wonderful window of opportunity for me:  A CEO change at my uncle's company meant there were a lot of available positions that needed to be filled immediately.

Friday the 14th

Late Morning:  Uncle slides resume across desks of influential co-workers' desks

Around noon:  HR calls to schedule interview for Monday AM

Monday the 17th

Mid Morning: Interview

Afternoon:  Receive call:  "They want to make you an offer"

Wednesday the 19th

Mid Morning:  Please fill out this background check so we can make the offer

Bright, Bright, Bright Sunshiny Day:

Thursday the 20th

Mid Morning:  Offer Made

Early Afternoon:  Offer Accepted

Start Date? Wednesday, September 26th

After 3 months of searching, I went from woefully unemployed to starting work as a full-time employee with EXCELLENT benefits in about a week and a half.

Call me Cinderella!