After six months of living with a friend, I finally have my own apartment. It's in Alameda, a little island maybe 100 feet off the coast of Oakland, but an island nonetheless.

The apartment is far from perfect, but it's large, much closer to work and it's all mine. When I started looking, there were three main things that I was looking for. First was that the place had to be good for the cats. Ideally they would be able to go outside, run around, and be safe. Well, they can't go outside here, but they can hang on my third floor balcony. A compromise. Second was that I wanted to able to walk to a commercial area with restaurants, markets and shops. I didn't really get that. There is a commercial street about a half mile away and Alameda, unlike most of the rest of the Bay Area, doesn't have a massive parking shortage, so this isn't such a big deal. Lastly, I wanted a gas stove. I love to cook. Gas is so much more preferable for so many reasons. This place has an all electric kitchen. C'est la vie. I will deal with it.

Basically, I decided to give up my search for the perfect place after having a heart break over a near perfect place in Rockridge, one of the nicest sections of Oakland. I happened upon this smallish remodeled cottage for rent. It was only a block from upscale College Avenue, with all its trendy restaurants, and within walking distance of BART. The cats could have roamed freely. It had granite countertops in the kitchen and all the appliances (including a gas stove) were so new, they weren't even in the apartment when I went to look at it. I was the first to put in application. I thought I would get it, but after two weeks of being strung along with poor communication, the place was given to someone else.

So instead of perfect, I have acceptable. Instead of a gas stove, I have a fitness center, a spa, a pool, a reserved covered parking space, a laundry facility and mallard ducks that swim in the manmade canals that run around the place. Instead of walking to dinner, I can walk down the street and watch the sun set over San Francisco. Instead of a cramped space that can barely fit all my stuff, I have more room than I need, more than I've ever had. I can handle this for a year while I decompress and settle into a normal life.

New Address:

341 Tideway Drive #308
Alameda, CA 94501