the great house hunt.

The mister and I are currently on the quest to purchase our first house together.  As I look at all these dreamy houses, I reflect on my time as a renter.  Especially as a renter in an apartment.
 
I'm going to write a book.

After my time in living in an apartment building in California, I feel that others need to be informed of what I like to call "the apartment code."

After leaving the wonder & peacefulness of living in the country here in Texas, I was thrust into apartment life in California. Oh, what a change. I was accustomed to my nearest neighbor being a half mile away. Suddenly, they were a half foot away.

Now, you may be thinking that apartment life is great and I was being a wimp. Let me take you through a normal day in MY building.

First of all, I had a studio apartment. There are no "rooms." The bedroom was in the living room, which was in the office, which was in the kitchen, which was right next to the bathroom door. My neighbor, of course, had the same set up. However, with the help of his "drink of choice," he was constantly falling into everything making the loudest possible noises as things fell off shelves and onto the floor. His lack of balance did not stay in his apartment.  Oh, no!  He also enjoyed evenings of sitting out on the community balcony down the hall while enjoying his beverage. When he decided it was time for bed, he stumbled down the hall alternately bouncing off each wall. How do I know? I watched through my peephole. This came back to bite me the night he bounced off the walls and ran face first into MY door. I held back a startled sound and watched him fall to the ground, moaning, with his beverage in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

In addition to my next door neighbor, I had my beloved neighbor above me on the third floor. He enjoyed nightly runs...on his treadmill. I pictured him smiling as he ran. Stanford t-shirt. Reebok sneakers. His iPod earbuds in listening to ZZ Top. I, on the other hand, was sitting on my couch with all of my breakables and waiting for the "earthquake" to end.

Just to add to all of the fun, over half of the people there smoked a combination of things. This made for interesting smells in the hallway. To entertain myself, I started a game to see if I could guess each element that makes up each day's "mystery aroma."  They mainly consisted of 1) cigarettes & bologna, 2) old sausage biscuits & laundry detergent, & 3) bologna & sunshine. Have I mentioned that these wonderful odors loved to find their way through the crack under my door and into my apartment? Febreeze was my very best friend.

These experiences gave me the desire to write "the apartment code." It is something everyone should know AND practice. At least if I am living in their apartment building.

I know I'm not the only one to experience horrors as an apartment dweller.  Leave a comment and let me know what humorous things you have encountered as a renter!