No Romance/NY Apt Drama

Call me a hopeless romantic, but does it bother anyone else to have these things plastered in the streets or on trains.

Yes, I am aware that this is a reality, but I'd like to see some advertisements for couple's counseling with a picture of a couple in love and not just for Viagra ads. 

That is just too much. I'm just saying, really? Was this banner necessary?

I'm doing well. Thanks for asking. Currently, I'm on the train on my way to my job to help set up some computers. Yes, I have a job, but I do not officially start until the 9th of September. My job will include career counseling, scheduling and some technical support. This job allows me to do the things I love and explore the things I want. EXCITING STUFF!

I've finished my apartment hunt and I will be moving on the 30th. Yes, I found a studio apartment in Brooklyn about 30 minutes on the train from my job. It will be hard going 

from a townhouse to a studio, but that's the price of moving to lovely New York. There are apartments everywhere and as soon as one listing is posted, is as soon as the listing is gone. Especially in the summer! Literally, an apartment would post and 1 hour later, it would be gone! Sold! Oh and the other things about NEW YORK. They deal with brokers. It's been a while since I've had to search for an apartment, but apparently there are brokers fee's that are equal to the month of rent. Let me break it down. For an apartment that cost $1,500 a month. One could pay the following just to MOVE IN.

  - First Month:                    $1,500
  - Security/Last Month:      $1,500
  - Broker's Fee:                   $1,500 (only if it's equivalent to monthly rent. Some agencies want you to pay 15-18% of the annual fee. That is for one year @ this rent amount, you will pay - $18,000. Depending on the broker, you may pay $2,700 for the broker's fee or @ 18% - #3,240.)

Let's add this up! To move in an apartment, you may have to pay one of the following!

$4,500 with the broker's fee being $1,500
$5,700 with a 15% broker's fee
$6,240 with 18% broker's fee

Please have good credit and you must make 40 x the rent. Meaning, if the rent is $1,500, you will need to make no less than $60,000 a year. Oh, and lets' just say your credit isn't the best - you can get a consigner. This person must make 80x the rent and have a credit score of 700 or more. Who has this kind of money? I don't - that's for sure. I mean, are these people kidding. Who has this kind of credit? 80x the rent. I was speechless on the phone when the realtor told me that. Who makes over $135,000 a year with a credit score over 700? SMH - Sorry, I'm drawing a blank. I'm not sure if I hung up on him or he hung up on me, because my mouth was wide open and I couldn't get a word out. This is a down payment on a house. 

One broker told me that one apartment, which was being renovated at the time would cost me, the first month, last month, security and an 18% broker's fee. Let's not forget that the floor was being redone and I could see outside. I should be able to see outside, if we are on the third floor. I understand the floor is not complete, but I shouldn't be able to see outside, right? I also shouldn't see a cat come from out the floor from the outside. I looked at the broker and the realtor and they just acted like he was the apartment cat. I almost said, does the cat come with the apartment, but thought that he might actually say yes. I mean, really. A cat coming from out the floor. That took the cake. Highway robbery, as my Grandma would say.

Now on to the hassle's of moving. I signed my lease and was told that the apartment needs to be 80% carpeted. I looked at the lady, like are you going to provide the carpet? Are you kidding me? I then ask her if I can hang up pictures. Well, if you know me - I don't hang up pictures - the walls will stay bare for all I care, but I just wanted to see what she was going to say. She says, it's an old lease and she is sure I can hang up pictures. I looked at her, like whatever - rest assure, that if there is a hole in the wall, they'll deduct that from my security deposit - quick!

I won't even complain - I have a place to stay and it's clean!!!! So exciting!

The other thing I realized is that my furniture will not fit into this studio. :-) Therefore, I've been attempting to sell my furniture on Craigslist. The bad part is, most of the furniture is very nice and I've had it for less than a year and then there is the tech stuff, which is still in the box and never used. At this point, I need to sell it, in order to buy new furniture and live until I get paid. Well, here are a list of responses I get from Craigslist.

• One guys tells me that my brand new TV is on sale on Amazon for $29 more and therefore I shouldn't consider saying it's a sale. (Sir, really. Thanks for sharing that news with me. I appreciate you telling me how to sell my products. It makes my life easier)
• Another guy asks me if I would trade my new TV for (2) of his new iPads still in the box. (Sir, I can barely sell the brand new TV, $400 less than what I bought it for and you want me to try to sell iPads - I'm good).

Craigslist is a trip. 

As I was riding home from work, I finally got a chance to sit down. A few stops later, this guy sits next to me, talking, looking for napkins to wipe his face, playing with his phone, listening and singing to music. When I say singing, I mean - hand gestures and all. Mind you, we are sitting hip to hip. So, every hand gesture is in my frontal line of site. I put my phone away, because all I could think about was getting stabbed in the throat. Everyone else is looking another way, because you can't meet crazy head on. Well, as he sat, doing his seat interpretation of Prince (The Artist) dances, moving his hands, he spotted a lady (maybe in her 40's) standing there. He stop singing his song and gestures for her to sit down - more like demanded for her to sit down. She shakes her head frantically, like, Heck to the NO. She wasn't going nowhere near that seat. So a younger lady sat down. He proceeds to stand up, but before he does he shouts out -- "Show me some love, strip off your shoes, and take off your socks" and continues doing the standing version of Prince (The Artist) dances or Michael Jackson. He was on his toes and wiggling his hips. I couldn't look at anyone and resisted taking out my phone to record him. Why? Apparently, he was listening to Missy Elliot (4 My People). I had to look it up. We didn't know if he was talking to any of us or not.

Two people down from me, this lady is sitting there and she starts cleaning her nails with her other nails and stuff starts flying and falling the floor. I almost gagged. What in the world is under her nails. I had to look back at my hands in my lap. The guy that was standing in front of her, looked up from his e-reader like, What in the world? I traced the lines in my palms. SMH

Anyway, it's been a day. Had to share.

Will keep you posted on my adventure and the move.

Signing off,

Tammy J