2 April 2013 – Happiness is…I have an apartment
It has been an adventure getting here. When I first started looking for apartments, I had no idea how many would be available in Morris. It’s a small town and I thought there would a small number of apartments.
Turns out that isn’t true. Morris has a lot of rental properties, several apartment buildings, and most of the downtown businesses have apartments above them. All in a town of 13,000 people. Well, not a town really since it’s called the City of Morris. But it’s still just 13,000 people.
I was surprised by how many people didn’t return phone calls about the apartments they advertised. For a while I wondered if maybe they recognised my name and just didn’t want me around. You could say the last few months have given my self-confidence a wee bit of a beating. 🙂
There were a few learning points along the way, too. For example, I grew up calling the electric bill a hydro bill. So when I talked to people and called it hydro, they had no idea what I was talking about. For me, I had to learn who handles different utilities and what the process is for getting an account in my name. It was all kind of cool.
The result is that I have an apartment today. That feels really good.
I decided not to stay there tonight, though, Tom, the landlord, is having the carpets cleaned, so I’ll wait until that is done before sleeping in the apartment. Since I don’t have a bed, I’d like to know the carpets are clean. So I’m staying at PADS tonight, and maybe the next couple of nights.
Still, happiness is knowing I have a place to call home. It’s a big step up from being homeless. I even spoken to two of the guys I’ve made friends with at PADS and told them they’re welcome to stay with me if they need a place. The PADS program ends in 10 days.
