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July 28, 2004
Kick in the pants
How's this for a wretched day? First, I'm sitting at home. I have my bicycle, the one that is probably too small for me, and I am playing mechaninc and trying to do some adjustments on it. I hear my doorbell ring, and the person ringing it is my landlord.
My immediate thought: "oh shit," because my apartment, as usual, is a tad too disorganized and I don't want him thinking I keep the place in bad condition. (Which I don't... too much.) Anyhow, I figure this has something to do with my lease, which expires in exactly 3 days from today.
It is, sort of. He explains to me his situation: he's selling his house and the one I live in to a new landlord, for a considerable sum of money. I do not want to think about how much this guy is paying, but it has to be a spectacular amount of money.
What is my new feudal lord to do with my house? He's going to demolish it, and (turn on your Elliot Gould voice) turn it into some gaudy monstrosity. That's right, he is turning my house into a casino. Not really, but they will be some new, highly expensive condos. To go with the Ocean's 11 metaphor, this must be what Ruben felt like when Terry Benedict torpedoed his casino.
At any rate, I stand to benefit slightly, because the wrecking ball isn't coming until March - much like, I am sure, when the Dodgers left Brooklyn and razed Ebbets Field. The best part is that from November until March, my rent is going to go down $200 a month, as some sort of small incentive for me to stay until the bitter end. I imagine I'll take them up on the offer, and use the rest of the time to find a swell place to live. I can't decide if I want to stay in Lincoln Park, or even go back up near Wrigleyville, or, God forbid, somewhere farther north that might be a little cheaper. We shall see.
Though, in honesty, my number one choice is somewhere near Clark, Broadway and Diversey. All my favorite stuff is there: Borders, Barnes and Noble, my gym, my favorite bar, my favorite Chinese restaurant, and, of course, my favorite store of all time - Best Buy. Plus most of the area is still in the 143 parking zone, which is generally an easy place to find parking (except on the weekends.) So, if I could find a nice place close to there, I'd jump on it.
Nevertheless, I will miss my little neighborhood. I have a beautiful park at the end of the block, decent neighbors, and close proximity to the lake and the El. But, progress must progress, right? That's how it goes. So hopefully I'll find something. I wonder how the rental market is in February?
So, there was that lovely piece of news. Then, not ten minutes after he leaves, my mom calls. Lately, when I see that my mom is calling, I get this feeling of dread, because it possibly means bad news. Oftentimes it isn't, but it happens enough to make me worry that it could be something bad.
And, so it was. My dad was working along at the hospital, when something or other went awry, and now he was in the hospital. My mom says it isn't anything too serious, and that he should be fine. He's fine enough, I'm told, that he is trying to get work sent up to his bed so that he can do something useful. That's a good sign, but that's my dad. He'd work even if he was blind.
The worst part about living away from your family, as I do, is that there is a certain feeling of helplessness. I can't do anything, because I am 300 miles away. I'm not around to see life's little events, or the big important events. I don't realize how much I miss it until things like this happen, but at the same time I don't want to go back - mostly because I think the place sucks.
Because of this, I'll be headed back there next week on my vacation - as opposed to that Seattle trip I was planning - and we will see how things go. We shall see what happens, and hopefully I'll have some actual good news next time!
Posted by at July 28, 2004 07:53 AM
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