Apartment

I'm getting a different apartment and I'm thrilled!
The manager took me to see three of them. The first was completely out, as it also has steps. Second? Not good, as it's even closer to the pool than I am now--directly across, in fact, maybe twenty feet away.
The third: IDEAL! It's in a quiet area, facing foliage before other apartments; it's really first floor, has no steps at all; closer to where my parking space will be, and closer even to one of the laundry rooms, plus the office.
This is, of course, considerably smaller with one bedroom, but I can certainly manage with that. Plus, I had understood it was $235 less per month, but the manager looked and discovered it actually went down $30 dollars, so it's $270 less per month. Considering my house mortgage went up by $100 a month, that helps a lot.
I was given the choice of keeping my present lease, which is up in June, or signing a new lease, which is up in September. I first told her the present one, but then changed my mind. True, there's still the dog thing, but I'm hoping I'm going to be happy with the new place and if it was up in June, the rent would almost surely go up then, too. So I called her and told her I'd like the new lease, which is only a ten-month, anyway.
Even better: I'm not expected to give them a new security deposit; they'll just roll it over. As for when--I can move in over three days: November 21, 22, and 23rd. Over that time, they'll charge me only for the smaller apartment rent (for the three days).
Now I have to get busy with getting rid of more things. I don't have that much furniture, so that isn't a problem, but I must rid myself of all kinds of doo-dads and decorative items I need like a hole in the head. I took a lot to the thrift store yesterday, but a lot more needs to go.
Boy, am I happy about this. No more steps and no more screams and screeches from the pool day and night. Okay, dogs, but as long as they don't bark a lot, that's okay.
I called two moving places. I liked one better--Burger Brothers (and they actually are brothers), but he's ten bucks an hour more the other, with a three hours minimum. He also has an extra charge for materials to wrap table legs and so on. Even Sea Cure, the crooks, included that as part of the overall cost. Think I'll visit him and try to negotiate a lower price.
Drove way up to Poli Street (which turns into Foothill Road, so it can be imagined how high up it is), trying to find a consignment shop I might want to deal with. (In Jersey, I sold a "lady desk," a number of antiques, and so on for a good price). Didn't find it, but as I drove up and up, I turned my head and saw the incredibly beautiful Pacific, spread out far below, shining in the sun like molten silver. It took my breath away and I was so glad to be a Californian.