The Banzai Chronicles

Signed a lease on the new place, starting 1 June. I can be like that with decisions, particularly financial ones: I will circle around something for ages, but then something strikes me and I make a decision so quickly that it seems out of the blue. So boom—I have a new apartment.

So much to love about it. It has three great things I've always wanted but never had before: a fireplace (gas), a dishwasher, and a washer/dryer. It's a daylight basement with great light, wood beams, lots of meticulous details, an alcove overlooking the backyard, an enclosed front patio with stonework and some garden space, and an open architecture between the living area and sleeping area (it's a half wall rather than a full one). The basement itself is only six years old or so; the house was moved in the early 20th century, and the current owner, a designer and architect, decided to raise it up and build a basement apartment. So it looks old because of the design and attention, but it's all recent construction. It feels like an urban retreat, steps off the Burke Gilman Trail and a couple blocks from Lake Union. The view of the city from the streetcorner is fantastic.

Emotionally, though, I feel pretty down, wiped out, and knotted in my gut. Some of it is just the way I get when I have to lay out a lot of money, some of it is second guessing my decision, some of it is fretting over the logistics of moving and ending my lease, and some of it is totally unrelated to the apartment stuff. It's just a lot to take in and deal with at once; I think I've overwhelmed myself.