Ohmygod that was hard.

I JUST hung up the phone with Steve. Literally 5 seconds ago.

Two days ago we went to see THE MOST GORGEOUS apartment over in Russian Hill. For those of you not from here, Russian Hill is old-school San Francisco, and can be one of the hardest neighborhoods to get into. People move there and basically never leave. EVER.

But Steve found this place online, which miraculously had most of the criteria that we were looking for, and at a super reasonable price (this is key):

- 2 bed/2 bath (which we are finding that 2 bathrooms is really hard to find here. And we don't share bathrooms. For any reason).

- Shared backyard with a huge deck and lawn (SO RARE!!!)

- In unit laundry room (not just a washer/dryer shoved in a little nook...an entire room for laundry)

- Parking (also a total rarity in Russian Hill)

- Upgraded kitchen with a gas stove and marble flooring

The place had great light, and this sprawling floor plan that made it feel really big, and actually had an extra room. I literally was planning my new 10x10 ft closet with wardrobes, and mirrors, and a floor rug......oh my god it hurts to think about.

So we went and saw this place on Tuesday night. This showing was a shit show. There were 40+ people there. And literally, the landlord was backed into a corner WITH A LINE OF PEOPLE to talk to her. 

In the course of this 30 minute showing, I realized something about Steve and I that I had never really noticed before:

We are totally awkward. Like really really awkward. I know that most people that know us would be like "Oh, no you're not, you're so sweeeeeeeett...." But that's not true. 

Let me prove it to you:

All of these couples//roommates were standing in line to talk to Terry (landlady), and they're smoozing, and laughing, and telling her about them, and how great they think the place is ("Heeeeey, Terry, it's Jordan - we've exchanged a bunch of emails. Yea, great to meet you! This place is so amazing. Oh my god, we will do anything to get, it...you say the words, our check it is ready!)

We stand in line.

We don't know why we stand in line, but we do. 

We get to the front.

Terry stares and us, we stare at her.

No one says anything.

Steve starts talking. "Hey, do you think....you'd giive.....what do you think about.....are there....have you considered cash discounts??"

Her face totally puzzels.

"I mean....[stammering]....."

I blurt out, "Would you give us preferential treatment if we had cash?" (I instantly regret the decision to say this.)

All the people around us go quiet. We get a few weird looks. It is so awkward you can feel it.

Terry fidgets and laughs nervously. She takes a big breath in. Then says, "Why don't we just start with an application and go from there. It was nice to meet you both." She walks away.

We sink into the floor. God we're stupid. We didn't even offer her a "Hi, Terry, great to meet you! I'm Jenni, this is Steve...." Just opened my mouth and let pure, unadulterated social-idiocy pour out. 

Meanwhile, the tenant who currently lives downstairs is now hugging Terry and introducing her little sister, who also applying for the unit. And Terry is all chummy with her, practically oozing, "Oh Kristen! Great to see you again! How's college going, aren't you gradating soon? Here, let me show you around...."

So. That was bad. I have been kicking myself all week for being so stupid. And looking at Steve and saying "I thought we were so much cuter than that! We are so weird!"

But then this miraculous thing happened:

This morning. Terry called me. AND OFFERED US THE PLACE.

I almost smacked my ass on the ground. 

She wanted to know if we could come and sign the lease today. And then she also mentioned that the ad had been a little bit wrong, and no parking wasn't included in the price, it was actually a few hundred dollars more. 

Now here is some important background:

Steve and I were watching a movie Tuesday night. The whole premise of the movie was dumb, but there was this little moment where one of the actors was freaking out to another actor about their business failing and not being able to make a mortgage payment, and his cars, and his pool, etc etc. The other actor was not freaking out.

He simply responds with "Life is unpredictable man. That's why you gotta keep a small nut."

I literally paused the movie. I looked at Steve was like "We're searching for apartments all wrong. We're looking for value, and trying to balance upgraded amenities//location//backyards with higher and higher rent prices. But in order to get everything that we want, we're going to have pay a fortune for it. I don't want to end up like that guy....in a position where we have everything that we want, but we're paying out the ear to get it.....STEVE. WE NEED A SMALL NUT. And we're never going to have that if we have a killer-everything-we've-ever-dreamed-of apartment."

Ok so back to the call with Terry. This "additional parking fee" puts us several hundred dollars over our comfort zone. Still totally doable, not unreasonable by any means....but at this point the price is more than we had discussed. Especially because with the additional parking fee, we'd be paying more than if we just stayed in the apartment we have now.

But this place had a backyard....and a view....a laundry room....AND AN EXTIRE EXTRA ROOM THAT WAS GOING TO BE MY CLOSET. And she picke us! She said she had 11 applicants in line behind us...and for some crazy-ass reason, she thought that Steve and I were ones she was going to pick. Awkward social skills and all.

I want to barf as I type this: we turned down the place. 

We turned down the backyard.
We turned down the 100 year old completely restored victorian.
We turned down the upgraded kitchen.
We turned down the laundry room.
We turned down the prime location.

I said to Steve on the phone as we were making the choice: As much as I want this place, our happiness doesn't hinge upon having everything we want at once. It hinges on being grateful for what we have and staying within really comfortable means. Because we never know what's going to happen. And a shared backyard isn't enough to make me want to compromise what we're comfortable with."

And then I punched myself in the face for saying it.

Soooooooo....... the hunt kinda continues. I have a feeling that we're realizing that even though our rent is going up in our current place, we're still getting a STEAL of a deal. It's an amazing apartment that has most of the things we want, and we might have to just be ok with not having it all.

That and I also made Steve promise me that once we moved out of the real-estate-market-from-hell that he would build me my own house. And then I could have every single little things Ive always dreamed of. Like a pool made of champagne, and secret passages in the walls.

Ok, hope you have a nice Thursday.

-J