Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

The adorable millhouse

The Gryphon and I began Sunday the process of looking for a place together. I had made some calls on Friday to a couple places. One of them was supposed to show us the house on Sunday, but when I called him back Sunday morning, it turned out he'd rented it to someone the day before.

So we went through the rent ads in the local newspapers, circling the ones that interested us, and then The Gryphon made calls.

I also called my current landlords to find out if they had anything larger they could rent to us. They said they didn't, because they'd just rented out a property that size but that they would keep me in mind if something opens up.

Of course, one of the first questions we have to ask is whether pets or OK. Most people have a prepared response to that. They'll either say yes or no right away, or they'll think about it and say a deposit might be required.

One of the places we looked at was in Upper Darby, and this landlord wouldn't give us a straight answer about the pet issue. He said that he'd show us the place and then we could talk about it. Since most of the other people weren't home when The Gryphon called, we arranged to see this place.

We got there a little early and stood on the little patio out front. The railing was loose and would be a danger to kids, but that's not an issue for us. We waited, watching the neighbors as they came and go. It was definitely a multicultural neighborhood, which makes me feel at home.

Finally, the landlord drove up with his son, both of whom had closed shaved heads and wore boots. The Gryphon tells me he doesn't think they're skinheads. They are, however, taciturn. I believe we had about two sentences out of both of them the entire time.

They did volunteer that the front windows on the first floor are going to be replaced.

Inside, the row house was spacious. And pink. They had put in new rose-colored carpeting and painted the walls to match, all through the downstairs, up the stairs and then in the master bedroom. The second bedroom had blue carpeting, and there was a very small room that had no carpeting.

Downstairs was a little dining room area and a small kitchen. The basement had no water in it, which is always a plus.

Although I noticed work supplies around the house, we couldn't get them to volunteer much about what they were working on. I think they're just going through the motions and weren't terribly anxious to have us live there.

But they had us fill out a very detailed rental application. After we had done that, we went on our merry way, never having received a definitive answer on the pet question, despite asking once again. I think they're really hoping that someone will show an interest who doesn't have a pet, and then it won't be an issue.

We had a couple other addresses for places that were available, so we thought we'd drive by them before arranging to see them. Both of those places didn't appeal to us. One was on a street where the houses weren't as well kept. Another was on a nice enough street but was next to an industrial area with no easy shopping and no green space for blocks and blocks. So we didn't arrange to see those.

A couple people called me back on Monday, so I arranged to see them today on my own. The Gryphon and I have opposite schedules, but my sister had suggested I could look at places by myself and then he could look at them later if he likes them.

Yesterday, I drove by one of those places and took pictures to show to The Gryphon. He agreed it would be one to check out in person, so I'll be seeing that this afternoon.

This morning I had a tour of a place in suburbia that was described as an "adorable" former mill house. It is a cute house, but there's not much storage which could be a problem.

The landlord herself was a trip. She talked nonstop the entire time, about all the things that are new or will be fixed before the May move in date. This had been a fixer upper which they were fixing by themselves.

I liked the location, on a tree-lined road. The air felt really fresh there, and there was a deck and everything. Of course, it's also a bit far from public transport, which could be trouble for The Gryphon. The individual rooms were very small with very little closet space. This could be a problem unless we used the space creatively.

Still, I figured it would be worth letting The Gryphon take a look in person and see what he thought. I set up a time for him to view it tomorrow night, provided she doesn't rent it to the couple who's looking at it this afternoon. I think they're unlikely to take it, though, because they're expecting a baby and I can't imagine how they'll fit in that "adorable" little house.

I'm fairly certain the landlady is a psychic vampire. She talked incessantly, and the more she talked the more tired I felt. She wouldn't let me leave right away but insisted that I look through the house another time or two, to imagine what I could do with it. I just kept imagining, "Where will all my books go?"

By the time we left, she must have noticed I was weakening. "Get some sleep," she said. I stopped at a convenience store and bought a diet soda and an energy bar.

I don't know how soon we'll find something. You don't always get lucky right away. The last two apartments I had, I took the first place I looked. But that's because I was pretty certain about them before I even went to look at them.

At first, I was really intimidated by the whole project, but the more I think about it, the better I feel. After all, I have a capable partner to help me this time, which will be a lot easier than it's ever been by myself.

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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