NO, I WANT YOU TO FIND MY PARENTS FOR ME.  But today I signed the accepted bid on the apartment.  The seller and I agreed - at exactly the middle between his original ask and my original bid.  So I’m pretty happy.  The daunting part is the actual move.  There’s so much to do: get a mortgage, get an inspection, get movers, pack, unpack, have the bathroom renovated, wish to have the kitchen renovated, paint, pray it all really happens.

It’s a top-floor unit which means there’s NO ONE ABOVE ME!  And after 27 years of having people upstairs, that will be a real treat.  It’s a small-ish 2-bedroom unit with one bathroom so if I want to renovate the bathroom - and it needs it! - that has to be done before I move in - I don’t think the building management will permit a porta-potti in the hallway during renovation.

So I’m excited but at the same time kind of calm about it all.  It’s time.

My current lease expires March 31 and I already submitted a 2-year renewal to the landlady so I’ll have to break it - I hope it doesn’t get ugly but she’s a bitch so it might.  Wish me luck on that one. 

The owner is already moved out - he still has stuff in the closets but that’s a one-day thing for him and his wife to handle.  So once we close I can call the movers.

Actually, before I do that I have to get bids on renovating the bathroom.  It’s the original bathroom - small and old and tired and dirty.  So I want to do it over.  Do you blame me?  So I need to contact contractors and see what’s up.  I know what I want to do.  Since it’s an old bathroom and I’m not changing the floorplan at all or moving the plumbing, I want to rip out the tub and replace it with a 3/4 shower and then in the rest of the space put a slim closet for hair products and all the crap that goes in a bathroom; there’s a linen closet in the hallway so I don’t need to worry about that.  I’ll put in a pedestal sink and a new toilet.  That way I get the illusion of more room than there really is.

I’d love to do the kitchen at the same time but I can’t afford to do both and since I use the bathroom more than I use the kitchen, the bathroom takes priority. 

So today I was in a meeting that ran over and my cell phone rang; I looked at it and it was my parents.  I debated but let it go to voice mail.  About 10 or 15 minutes later I checked and they didn’t leave a message.  I checked my desk phone and sure enough 2 messages.  The first was my father having a coughing fit.  The second was my father saying “Everything’s fine.  Nothing to get excited about.  I’ll call you back.” 

Everything’s fine and nothing to get excited about.

I immediately got excited.  They weren’t home and they weren’t answering the cell phone.  I tried multiple times.  I did what any neurotic daughter would do.  I called the ER (I have the number in my cell phone from the last several thousand visits) and they weren’t there.  Thank god!  But where were they?  Their car died on Monday but it was fixed.  Did it die again? 

A bit before 1pm one of my colleagues, Kenny, came by and took one look at me and backed off.  He asked if I wanted a glass of water.  I said “No, I want you to find my parents for me.”

About 3pm or so my father called.  From home.  They’d been out gallivanting and stopped in at the bank and he wanted to let me know about mortgage rates.  Mortgage rates!  I couldn’t believe it.  I was so relieved.  They did some banking, some grocery shopping, visited the beach and hung out with their pals for a bit.