24 Nov House warming

In my opinion, it would be just unusually weird not to say anything about the housing situation after living in this city for a while. I’ve understood it so that this is a more complex and severe political and socially problem for a group of the more permanent residents of the bay area. This is a subject I will not touch at that level, but only as a personal view from my standpoint.

It may come as a surprise for many, but with a kid next to you it adds the double of challenge to get a temporary room of any kind if your not able to pay several thousands of dollars per month for a whole apartment. And as an additional fact, to not have the double amount of money to pay up. Not to mention the fact that it should be safe and clean enough, which is not granted here,  and also not require to much travel time to each school destination since I had given up affording a car. And yes, I was open live in a shared housing environment with adolescent youngsters too, with some of the extra that comes with that, as a contrast to what my last 15 years been like. At the end of August the situation was critical to the boiling level; when courses had started, we had not heard from the school district and I struggled to get meetings with landlords and ladies because they would reject everything that has kid, child, middle school age offspring in text or spoken. One day I found myself in Dolores Park, on the phone with a South American friend of a Swedish friend living in Norway that wanted to help us with house hunting, when suddenly this tiny purse dog was peeing at my coat covering my handbag. I didn’t know weather I’d see this as one of several small unfortunate things that randomly happen to me these days, or a sign that I should at least be very lucky when I finally find us a place to live.

We are lucky. We have a helpful landlord and sweet roommates. We have Noriega street with all the local handicraft of art, food and shops. We live just a short walk across the street from the Pacific ocean, in a rather quiet and nice neighborhood. In the streets, the beach promenade and the beach we meet families, surfers, runners and people walking, usually accompanied by their dogs. And sometimes we always see these extraordinary characters. The adventure is still out there.

Soundtrack: Our house by Madness