I went apartment shopping yesterday. It was an experience I'd be glad to forget. The apartment I'm currently living in is nice.... as long as you don't mind the black smith pounding away outside and the nasty mix of pollution that comes wafting in through the window. Oh, and there's the radioactive river too and the soft sewage open drain that run along side it. To top it all off, the population density is enormous. At 6 in the morning, when I'm out rollerblading, half the city is out there with me. The little trails next to the radioactive river are swarming with people! Hundreds of them! Why aren't they in bed?? But I guess they have the same idea as me. Six in the morning or ten at night is the only time cool enough to exercise... but still!! Moving to a new apartment wont solve the population density issue, but I hope to solve all the others.

The adventure with the real estate agent... where to start. To abbreviate the story, my roommate and I went to a what-ever-those-places-are-called and asked if there were any apartments available matching our qualifications. The silly guy said yes, and then dragged us over half the city looking at everything except what we asked for! There was the one-bedroom apartment (which he claimed was two, since he was counting the living room as a bedroom). There were the four three-bedroom apartments with neither refrigerator or washing machine like we specified. And anyway, we asked for a two-bedroom place. Then, when I got mad and demanded that he take us back to our car he whined pathetically that the next apartment he would take us to was exactly what we wanted. Stupidly giving in, we looked at this final apartment and then stormed out. It was the size of a matchbox. We had asked for something much bigger.

I occasionally give people names that reflect a negative side of their personality. I know a Weasel, a Shark, Crap (it sounds rude, but he was stalking me so I feel justified... and anyway, crap was what I'd say every time he called me so the name seemed to fit) and this real estate guy--the Snake. I wish my mom had been around. She kills snakes with shovels.