A Place to Call Home

The last two month's I've been sleeping on a cot on my boss's floor while I've tried to find an apartment. (It's not as weird as it sounds, his wife is my old professor, so THAT'S why I'm staying there) (not that he doesn't like having a live-in-assistant).

Of course finding a good, cheap apartment in LA is like finding a needle in a haystack. or worse, it's like finding a ONE needle in 5 DOZEN haystacks.

LA isn't like most places - where you strictly have the city and suburbia. In LA there's downtown, the city, the other city, suburbia, suburbia's suburbia - well, you get the picture.

Luckily, I at least had it narrowed down to the Valley so I could stay near work, but I never realized how big of an undertaking apartment shopping is.

I lived the first two years of college in the campus dorms. After a brief stint abroad which involved more hostels than my actual flat, I moved into a campus apartment. More space, more freedom but definitely with all the perks of a college dorm - low rent, furniture provided, and easy financial aid funded payments.

When I found out that I'd be working in Burbank I didn't think it would be THAT hard to find an apartment. But before I found an apartment I had to find a roommate. Then I had to decide exactly WHERE to live. (Burbank? Toluca Lake? Valley Village? Studio City? No Ho?) Help! Even when I got that hammered down it still meant spending lunch hour after lunch hour touring a bunch of crappy places that wanted my soul and then a little more to cover rent. It was a humbling experience.

Eventually my roommate and I found a comfy 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath townhome - and it comes with a fridge!!! We put down our deposits this week and will get to move in by the end of the month!

Finally, I thought all the hard stuff was over with, delighted to finally have my own place. We're lucky to have an Ikea close by, which I assumed would take care of all my furniture needs.

Well, you quickly learn how poor you are when Ikea is too expensive for your tastes. So, I've been spending the past two days at work scouring craigslist for cheap furniture finds, praying I can find a mattress that doesn't stink or stain or basically one that doesn't scare me.

I can't wait for the day when I can actually afford to buy my own furniture, because at this point I am so exhausted that all I want is to walk into a furniture store and say - This one. Yep. Ship it to me.