There's no place like home.

[UPDATE: I found a $2500 studio on craigslist this morning. Sure, it's furnished, BUT IT'S A STUDIO! For more than some people pay for a decent TWO-bedroom. RIDICULOUS. Why would anyone -- even a rich GW undergrad -- spend that kind of money on a studio? I just don't get it....]

Let me apologize for breaking my relaunch rules and leaving you nearly a week without a post. Jen and Ryan were both here from out of town, I had issues with my new job (no worries! they've been cleared up), and it was my last week at PBS. It was actually REALLY sad to leave everyone. There was a little party on Thursday afternoon and there was so much food and I got gifts and well wishes -- it could make anyone feel all warm and squishy inside.

With my professional life coming together nicely, it seems like the microscope of self-awareness has focused itself on other aspects of my life. I'll save for another time the fact that I've been romatically alone so long that I'm giving serious thought to becoming a priest (I'd make an off-the-chain Pope) and that my gut is expanding at such an alarming rate that I should report myself to Homeland Security because all of DC might be in danger. Yes, those topics are better left unaddressed at the moment.

Instead, let's discuss that my apartment feels like it's getting smaller each day. As many of you know, I live in a small studio in one of the nicer DC neighborhoods. It's a quirky-cute apartment with high ceilings, lots of natural light, and even a faux fireplace. At the same time, it's pretty small, I have a two-burner stove with no oven, and my closet space is less than desirable. Then again, I've never really had all that much space. After freshman year, I spent two years in tiny, tiny singles and then one year in a spacious-only-for-college studio with a little kitchenette and my own bathroom. When I lived in Jersey City with Jared and Nula, while the apartment was huge, Nula's and my bedrooms were quite teeny. Still, I feel like I've earned more. I'm tired of living in what is, essentially, a dorm room. I want space. I want a kitchen with more than five inches of counter space. I want deep closets. I want a tub. I want to be able to lie in bed and NOT see my refrigerator across the room. I want doors that separate rooms. I don't think it's too much to ask.

So, over the course of last week -- when I should've been blogging -- I started lurking on the craigslist apartment listings. They were a bit of a downer. First off, things are so much more expensive than I remember them being when I last looked for housing (summer '04). A studio for $1900? Seriously? I would love to meet the guy who moves in there just so I can ask him why the hell he didn't just live in a one-bedroom for that amount of money. Even worse are the posts that seriously exaggerate neighborhood. Adams Morgan is based around 18th Street NW, north of U Street. So don't tell me that your apartment is in Adams Morgan if it's over on 14th Street! The mislabeling of neighborhoods really infuriates me for some reason. Maybe because it's so stupid. You got me to look at your post because you promised me a Dupont location, but I'm not suddenly going to live there when I see that it's nowhere near Dupont. "Well, I know that 16th and Harvard is a 30-40 minute walk to Dupont Circle, but if this craigslist poster says it's Dupont, then I'm interested!!!" Let people in the Casual Encounters section lie about the details. At least there you might get to a point where backing out is awkward. But if you're going to refer to something way north of U Street as "Upper Logan," you're not fooling anyone.

But craigslist found a great apartment for me in the past so I'm not giving up. I actually went to see my first place on Saturday. It was at M and 4th Streets NW. (Go ahead DC-ites, gasp in disbelief.) I know it's a bit out there, but it was a one-bedroom at a decent price so I felt like I had to check it out. It was perfectly nice, but it was rather small and there were three boarded up houses on the same block. I can give a little on either location or quality, but if I'm settling on both, I'm not getting the kind of deal I'm looking for. So my search continues.

If you hear of anything good in terms of one- or even two-bedroom apartments, PLEASE let me know. Ideally I'd like to live somewhere south of U, east of 17th St, and west of 9th, but I'm definitely open to stuff off the beaten path. I felt so lucky when I found my current place. I'd like to get lucky again. (See how I brought that back around to one of the topics I wasn't going to discuss?)