Yes, I'm Still Alive

I'm sure many of you were about ready to send out search parties.

Anyhow, work is going well. I'm actually working at a place that does not make me dread Sunday evenings.  And—dare I say it—I actually kind of look forward to going to work in the morning.  Or maybe it's just because it gets me out of that hotel room.

Kidding.

Though this was initially presented to me as a 30-60 day contract, I fully expect it to end up with a permanent job offer.  Last week the I.T. Director asked me if I thought I'd be open to making this into something more "long term," and the recruiter who placed me there called Friday afternoon and told me that the company "loved me."

While there is the possibility that this gig will not go permanent, the fact that I'm not acting as an addition to the staff, but rather as a replacement, gives me some hope that I'm not misinterpreting things here.

Speaking of long term, yesterday Ben and I started looking for an apartment.  We both fell in love with the first place we saw, but to make sure we weren't missing out on anything, we visited two other communities.

The first place we visited is a relatively new development on Colorado Boulevard in the Cherry Creek neighborhood, about a half hour bus ride from Ben's school and a 40 minute commute by car to my workplace. It has all the amenities we had in our place in Phoenix (washer/dryer, microwave, soaking tub, ceiling fans, off street covered parking), plus a few that we didn't (an elevator, hardwood floors, granite countertops).

The second place we saw was a little older (built early 90s) but was undergoing renovation.  It was nice enough, but one of the first things I noticed was that the new cabinet doors in the kitchen didn't even line up with each other and the edge of the new flooring in the bathroom was rough and uneven, making me wonder what other corners were being cut in this community. Ben wasn't especially impressed with the place either.

The third property was very nice, and both Ben and I agreed that if we didn't qualify for the first place this would definitely be our second choice. It was a cute, much smaller development built at approximately the same time as our place in Phoenix, but had more of a townhome feel to it.  In addition to a washer/dryer and an over-the-stove microwave in each unit like both of the other places we'd seen (an absolute must for me after having had them for the last eight years) these units also had fireplaces and individual attached garages.

Ultimately we were approved for the first place (which is awesome), but we can't do anything about it until I get my first full paycheck and Ben receives his student loan disbursement, both of which happen the first week of September.  While we have the money now to put a hold on a place and the building currently has an apartment we would jump on in an instant (third floor on the south side of the building that faces a quiet side street), they can't hold anything longer than ten days and that doesn't fit our September timeline. They also have three other apartments available, but none of them are as ideal (one on the third floor that faces busy Colorado Blvd. and two on the first floor that face into the pool courtyard) as that one. Since the leasing agent was really trying to get us to commit to one of these units and potential renters weren't exactly busting down the door to get in while we were there yesterday, this leads me to believe they've been on the market for a while and will hopefully remain that way for at least another three weeks.  In any case, I'm sure there will be something available and acceptable to both of us when the time comes for us to lay the money down.