Home sweet home

Sorry I've been so quiet. On the one hand, nothing's been happening. On the other, we've been doing a lot. Namely, a lot of house-hunting. Yes, we are diving into the pool of insanity known as San Francisco real estate.

This kind of thing is always fun in theory. You find out how much house you can afford, then you ease that number down into the realm of sanity and the occasional green vegetable to go with your ramen and PBJ. You meet an agent, the person who will show you the ropes and keep you in check. And then, you start looking at houses. In theory, this is all good. Fun even, because you get to re-imagine yourselves in different settings. It's like staging your life.

(Somehow, in these imaginary scenarios, I am far more tidy and organized than I am in real life. And color coordinated. And I read the Great Books. And have vases upon vases of fresh-cut flowers that the cats don't eat. Even more amazing: the cats don't shed. I'm sure some kind of magic switch will flip when I become a home owner. I'm sure of it!)

Anyway. Then you actually find a place you like and realize you could probably love it. You start thinking about the fact that buying this lovely house/condo/hovel means paying out $X each month (when your current rent is approximately [X - 1 kajillion]). And then you read the disclosures, and realize: if you buy this house, you are responsible for it. There's no running to the landlord when problems arise, and just picking up and moving when you get fed up with the neighbors is a lot more difficult. There are minor cracks in the foundaton, leaks in the window sills, electrical wiring that needs to be upgraded...and you! get to pay for all of it.

And suddenly, renting seems like the greatest thing ever. EVER.

But then again, it would be nice to have a little patch of land to call your own. Where you can paint the walls and store too much stuff in the basement, fire hazards be damned. And you know that every time you send out a check for the place you live in, it's just a little bit more yours.