Les jeux sont faits

I've spared you, dear reader, the trials and tribulations of my recent forays into the Manhattan unreal estate market. Trying to find a sublet for Jase, who arrives next Tuesday for a month in NYC. Have seen 'em all, from the Lower East Side to the Upper West and all points in between . But today---sacre bleu---I met a wonderful 30-something French woman who is returning to Paris for two months and needs someone to sublet her place in the w 90s. Voila! We have liftoff....

So, add one more item to my gratitude list: owning my own secure and comfortable apartment. This rental market is for the birds........tweet, tweet.

Chasing down apartments these last 30 days brings me back to my first apartment search here a long time ago, right after grad school. The insane rush to see and commit quickly---that hasn't changed. And the "there's always something..." rule, yep, still true today. At my lowest and most frustrated point, during that first apartment search years ago, I had my car towed a second time ($100 per, which seemed like a fortune for a poor grad student), and I remember sitting on the curb and bursting into tears.

No more tears. Just relief today over finding the perfect place for Jase in the budget range of what he can afford. And, in an example of coming full circle, his place is 2 blocks away from where I (finally) found and rented my first apartment in NYC. How cool.

The work is done. Looking forward to his arrival in a few days. Let the games begin !