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Other Apartment Models @ Allerton
Friday, February 21st, 2025 10:13 pm |
13F tonight and clear, going down to 9F.
I heard songbirds today, in the parking lot, when I got to work.
Not just one or two in the distance, but a whole bunch of them in the trees on campus, and near the cars... sounds I haven't heard since last fall.
And indeed, starting Monday we're back up in the 40sF, with 30sF for the lows, so... with the days already noticeably longer, and DST hitting in two weeks... I think it's safe to say that winter's over!
I had a good 20 minutes out there in the car, to take in the moment... with the bright sun casting shadows of the bare trees on the white snow, with the songbirds chirping.
The bleeding edge of spring.
I was there early, because I left early again to day, and this time I did catch Fernando in his office.
He told me that 1102... the apartment directly across the hall from me, was about to be vacant, and if I moved fast, he could get me in there for March 1st.
But I had to tell him, sorry, I just spent a couple days measuring everything and I know I can fit perfectly into an 05, so I gotta turn down 1102.
He then said that he had a guy in 505, who wanted to move into a unit in the Aztec building down the block, so if we all coordinated things, I could take 505!
It was tempting but, I said, You're gonna think I'm super picky?... but... I kinda want to live higher up in the building than the 5th floor.
He said, Okay, I get it... some people really want to see the trains...
I said, I gotta tell you that the next unit I move into is gonna be where I intend to stay for the next several years, so... I wanna get it right.
He swung his monitor around so I could see it, Okay, well full disclosure here... these are what I have coming open, and I'm starting to see into early May here!... and there's no other 05 units, at the moment. So... that means you're in 1106 at least two more months, and maybe longer.
I said, Well, that's fine. I'm willing to wait for the right unit.
I told him I'd make it a new routine to come see him once a week to check in on the situation.
So, Fernando does seem really motivated to get me out of this studio!
And that's probably because these studio units are in such high demand with the college students who attend Potawatomee Community College, two blocks from here.
(Potawatomee CC is not affilated with Potawatomi HS... hence the slightly different spelling.)
But tonight I've finally taken a serious look at the other styles they have, besides the Benton.
And it turns out they're ALL 1BR units!
I thought there were 2BR units in this place, but no!
There are four other styles; Downer, Galena, New York, and the Penthouse Lofts!
The Downers & Galenas are only slightly bigger than the Bentons, overall, but in practical terms, their livingrooms, bathrooms, & kitchenettes are all the same size as the Bentons!
Here's the Downer...
Big bedroom, smaller livingroom. Not interested. I don't need a big bedroom!
Here's the Galena...
Pretty big livingroom!.. but the bedroom is also... way bigger than I need or want!
The, New Yorks, however, are a different story, that I'll get to below!
But the Penthouse Lofts make no sense at all!
They cost the most, because they're on the top floor... actually have central air and heating... and are two-story lofts...
BUT... there's still only 1 bedroom... upstairs!.. along with a weird little mid-level, den/storage area.. only accessible from the upstairs?..
Their bathrooms, kitchenettes, and livingrooms, downstairs, are not much bigger than any other in the building either!
And who wants to go downstairs to pee in the middle of the night?... and then walk back upstairs to get back to bed?
I really don't understand who would ever rent the penthouse lofts?
Like?.. a rich couple?.. with no kids?.. who want to live like Aurora Illinois Royalty for some reason?.. instead of just moving to Chicago?
The New York's however!...
HUGE, cool livingrooms with THREE windows!.. two looking east, and one looking NORTH!
I didn't think I could afford a New York but the range is, $1,235.00 ~ $1,355.00
The range of the Bentons is, $1,140.00 - $1,250.00!
Meaning the most expensive Benton ($1,250), is actually 15 bucks more than the least expensive New York ($1,235)!
And the New York is so cool... I'd gladly take a, "vintage" model, on a low floor! Hell!.. give me the most out dated one on the 2nd floor!.. if it's only twelve thirty-five!
Only one neighbor?... with the bedroom as a buffer? Hell yes!
Let's look at it again...
See, that's a livingroom where I could not only work on a bicycle, but keep it up there, on it's kick stand in the corner!
Also enough space in that bathroom for a litterbox!
That's a unit I wouldn't mind having a cat!.. because there's room for a cat to run around, and four windows for it to stare out, while i'm gone!
Okay, well, I'll let Fernando know on Monday that I'm also up for a New York on any floor, in any condition.
I'm guessing they probably don't come vacant that often, but who knows?
At any rate, I've had this realization since Monday that like... I'm not in a hurry anymore!
Last May & June I was under the gun to get the hell out of the house as soon as possible, and this studio apartment was literally the ONLY thing available ANYWHERE in the tri-city area!
I HAD to take this studio unit, even though it meant leaving behind a TON of good furniture, including a queen sized bed!
It helped that I love this old building, but... the point is, I'm not in that situation anymore!
There's no timer ticking down on me, and nothing to lose by taking my time!
And this has been reminding me of being the janitor at Cloud, for 14 months.
Like, I wanted to move up to maintenance, and even if I couldn't do that right away, I was kinda champing at the bit to get out of the little primary school and be a janitor at a high school... or at least a middle school!
I applied for a mid-shift position at AquaDale HS early on, while at Cloud, but never heard back about it.
And then later, I actually got hired by District 313 to be a janitor at Odlaw Middle School, closer to home... but was talked out of it, by Kristina.
So, I finally accepted my fate, and thought, Well, I guess it's me & you, Bob! to the big portrait of Robert Cloud, by the office.
I guess I'm here at Cloud for another year or two, huh? It's okay. The place is growing on me.
And occasionally, Moses, the maintenance guy would visit.
And one time I told him that I had 20 years experience in maintenance, and was hoping to move up.
And Moses was like, Oh! Don't you worry!.. GeoStaff is hiring for new maintenance guys all the time! You'll get there!
And in the end, I was only at Cloud for a total of 14 months!
And now, as a maintenance guy at Potawatomi HS... working mid-shift!.. I see Moses all the time!
Somehow, I've only been with GeoStaff for two and a half years, and in that time, I've gone from a part time janitor at Grape, to a full time maintenance guy at PVHS, making seven more dollars than when I started!
And I've been at PVHS now, for eight months!.. meaning, I really know the building now, and the job, and I'm starting to get some real freedom there... especially now that Mark's been gone!
So... I'm really loving where I'm at, employment-wise!
And 2.5 years, anymore, to me, is like the blink of an eye!
This has been a lightning fast recovery, from unemployed bum, in the summer of 2022, to... essentially the same job & pay I had when I left the hospital (after 14 years)... but in a much more FUN environment, WAY closer to home!
So, I mean... this studio, 1106, is to my stay at Allerton Tower, as Cloud Elementary was to my career with GeoStaff!
It's the little place where I establish some history with them, and kinda, pay my dues before I can advance to... suddenly, a way better unit than I was even imagining!
A, New York unit is kind of the PVHS of apartments in this building... for me at least.
If my luck holds, I'll wind up in a New York!
But the 05 Bentons are actually the next best, so if I get one of those first, I'm gonna stay in it... cuz I'm tired of moving!
So, we shall see what the spring of 2025 holds in store!
But at the end of this entry tonight, I do want to point out that the winter has been very healing for me!
I was in such emotional agony last summer!.. and hardcore dissociating with all the whiplash changes to my job and living quarters!
All I wanted was to get on the other side of the sun from that bullshit, into the opposite world, of winter!
And fall 2024 was pretty nice!.. I was healing a bit, and it was gorgous... but it was fleeting.
This winter, however, has been VERY good for my soul!
There's nothing like, long nights, thick clouds, snow, and cold, to help process trauma!
Especially with Christmas lights, Valentine hearts, and... I dunno... like a good scarf and gloves?
I think it's also helped that winter is the absolute peak of the high school year!
There's been so much going on at Potawatomi the past two months... basketball games and shows in the auditorium almost every weekend, often simultaneously.
So I've been watching kids make baskets and beat the pants off the rival teams in the gym, with crowds cheering... and hearing the band play, and the chorus singing... and buying pizza at the concessions stand outside the gym on game nights...
Very healing!
So, I'm starting to feel like I'm ready for spring, and for this new year to really get underway.
And this time around, I'm in no hurry!
Let things happen organically... I'm already in a safe situation!
And I know any contemporary readers of this are thinking, You say that now, but just wait for the banking collapse, hyper-inflation, martial law gestapo to haul you off to the labor camp when the AI robot/drone occupation begins in March!.. or April!... or May!... or... SOON!
PVHS is going to be shuttered!.. your building's going to be bombed!.. We're all going to suffer and die!... VERY SOON!
I refuse to indulge any alarmist nightmare scenarios about 2025, or the years soon to follow, and here's why!..
- IF they happen, I can't stop them.
- I can't flee anywhere.
- I already LIVED my nightmare scenario, LAST YEAR... when the Democrats had power!.. so I've been pre-disastered!
- The Law of the Unreasonable Unpredictability of the Future.
- Hitler ruled over a country the size of Wisconsin, with a much simpler constitution, in a pre-WW2 world!
- Trump is in his, "honeymoon" period, like it or not!.. which is why nobody's really jumping out to say anything, and taking such a wait-n-see attitude to all his shinnanegans.
But that will end when his approval rating starts to tank, which it will! - The left really does have to do a lot of shadow work!
- I already HAD, a full blown nervous breakdown over these same kinds of nighmare Nazi scenarios, way back in 2006, when BUSH was in his 2nd term!.. and I'm NEVER doing that again!
- The planet is billions of years old, and nobody can explain life, death, time, the core tenets of physics, or consciousness!
So what are governments, corporations, and economies in that scheme?
They are MAKE BELIEVE!
So stop freaking out about nightmare scenarios!
And... let's try to have a good weekend, here!
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