The Mother Lives
In our apartment, apparently. Steamroller was trying to hide it, but she certainly wasn't fooling me.
Tonight I met SteamMom. She was very nice. She spoke English. We said hello, nice to meet you. I asked if she's having fun; she said she is. She apologized for the inconvenience, told me the furniture was nice, thanked me for letting me stay here.
I told Steamroller that when I came home the fridge door was a little bit open (it needs to be pushed closed; she often doesn't close it all the way). I phrased it as "I'd hate for all the food you're cooking to go bad." Her mother assumed responsibility for this and apologized and assured me she'd take care to make sure it closes.
Meanwhile I'm looking for a new place to live. I just don't want to deal with Steamroller anymore.
So, Diamond Heights? Not the place for me. At all.
First of all, I went to look at an Avalon apartment. Avalons have the reputation of being REALLY nice. These were not nice.
I had to take BART to Glen Park, and then take a bus to see the apartment. The guy who works at Avalon told me I could either take the bus OR just walk up the hill, five or six blocks.
Yeah, that guy was a freaking LIAR. It was more like a dozen blocks, with HUGE hills. It's not something a normal person would walk up.
I get up there, and realize that although I'm still in San Francisco, I feel like I'm in suburbia. The guy gives me the tour, and tells me the place was built in 1972. That explains why it looks like it was built in ... 1972. The cabinets all look like wood paneling. Carpeting is old and stained. Old fashioned elevators. The guy tells me that there's asbestos. Great!
So we finish, I leave, and I wait for the bus to take me back down the huge hill. I wait, and wait. Then I wait some more. I'm FREEZING. It's much colder up there than where I live, right next to the Bay. It's also dramatic looking. If you were filming a movie that started with a man who has a deep voice saying, "It was a dark and stormy night, when Nanette decided to go out for that fateful walk that would change her life... forever" you would have filmed in Diamond Heights. It was cold, it was windy, the fog wasn't just rolling, but BLOWING across the sky.
The bus never comes. I check the schedule and it says a bus should come every half hour. My eyes are tearing it's so cold and windy. Fuck that. Taxi to the rescue. I'll not be living there. Too far from work, too suburban and isolated (perhaps I'd feel differently if I had a car), and too old.
Tonight I met SteamMom. She was very nice. She spoke English. We said hello, nice to meet you. I asked if she's having fun; she said she is. She apologized for the inconvenience, told me the furniture was nice, thanked me for letting me stay here.
I told Steamroller that when I came home the fridge door was a little bit open (it needs to be pushed closed; she often doesn't close it all the way). I phrased it as "I'd hate for all the food you're cooking to go bad." Her mother assumed responsibility for this and apologized and assured me she'd take care to make sure it closes.
Meanwhile I'm looking for a new place to live. I just don't want to deal with Steamroller anymore.
So, Diamond Heights? Not the place for me. At all.
First of all, I went to look at an Avalon apartment. Avalons have the reputation of being REALLY nice. These were not nice.
I had to take BART to Glen Park, and then take a bus to see the apartment. The guy who works at Avalon told me I could either take the bus OR just walk up the hill, five or six blocks.
Yeah, that guy was a freaking LIAR. It was more like a dozen blocks, with HUGE hills. It's not something a normal person would walk up.
I get up there, and realize that although I'm still in San Francisco, I feel like I'm in suburbia. The guy gives me the tour, and tells me the place was built in 1972. That explains why it looks like it was built in ... 1972. The cabinets all look like wood paneling. Carpeting is old and stained. Old fashioned elevators. The guy tells me that there's asbestos. Great!
So we finish, I leave, and I wait for the bus to take me back down the huge hill. I wait, and wait. Then I wait some more. I'm FREEZING. It's much colder up there than where I live, right next to the Bay. It's also dramatic looking. If you were filming a movie that started with a man who has a deep voice saying, "It was a dark and stormy night, when Nanette decided to go out for that fateful walk that would change her life... forever" you would have filmed in Diamond Heights. It was cold, it was windy, the fog wasn't just rolling, but BLOWING across the sky.
The bus never comes. I check the schedule and it says a bus should come every half hour. My eyes are tearing it's so cold and windy. Fuck that. Taxi to the rescue. I'll not be living there. Too far from work, too suburban and isolated (perhaps I'd feel differently if I had a car), and too old.
posted by Green at 8/31/2006 11:07:00 PM
8 Comments:
Diamond Heights is a great neighborhood if (a) you're gay, but you don't want to live right in the Castro. You can walk down for your fun but retreat from the madness, or (b) you have kids (there are a couple of good playgrounds, and it's quiet) or (c) you live for views, but you can't afford Pac Heights.
For a youthful single person, it's not quite right. I'm not sure how high your tolerance is for roughness, but you might want to look into the edges of the Haight, like the Panhandle. Mass transit is pretty good there, and it's definitely not suburban feeling. There can be some good values in the Western Addition, but some areas are gentrified and others are not.
I like that asbestos was one of the selling points. Have you thought about the Richmond? Just kidding.
yeah, diamond heights is not so great for you right now. what about that place we talked about a while ago? that was on the other side of GP BART, a much easier neighborhood to deal with. and your old idea of living in the castro?
What is your criteria?
I'm very adept at diciphering landlord speak if yu need a translator and want to save yourself some time.
Man, it is so unfair that you need to move out of your own apartment.
You know, you COULD always tell her that she needs to cover more of the rent for this month. At least that way you're getting something out of the deal.
So are you at least getting some home cooked and maybe tasty meals?
Nope. I just clean and re-clean the kitchen.
Did you find a new place? Are they still there?
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