Building the Apartment

The illustrious Mr. Shisler and I moved into our new residence on Saturday, July 15th. While the rent was near the upper bound of my price range, I am very excited about moving into a (nice) place that will be my home for longer than 4 months.

We are located just a little bit east of the Galleria district in Houston. During the apartment hunt, Adam and I gave weight to a limited number of factors such as work proximity, entertainment proximity, and non-suck-hole-ness (yes, that is a technical term). Our residence, Gables CityScape, conquered all of these criteria and managed to offer some other very solid perks.

First and foremost, the apartment management decided to replace the carpet and linoleum in the dining room and kitchen respectively with vinyl faux wood flooring. This seemingly minor change does wonders for the space. We also get our very own washer and dryer. I don't know if you know this about me, but laundry is one of my great vices. Or something. Whatever, I like doing laundry. There is also a wide selection of really great supermarkets. There is a ritzy Kroger (if there can be such a thing), a Whole Foods, and then this Central Market place, which, I hear, is basically this bazaar of produce and weird stuff. I really like grocery shopping way more than I ought, so these stores are quite exciting.

The sum of these pieces is an impressive whole by my eyes; I have an apartment where I am excited to be living, with a roommate I enjoy, that is located close to interesting things. And not only that, but 14 other TFA people ended up renting in the same complex, so there will be endless amounts of fun and Real World like romances popping up I am sure. There is nothing like a fair bit of drama (which I am not directly involved in).

The downside, if it could be labeled as such, is that since I am coming from a completely transitory lifestyle, I am extremely reticent to purchase any furniture. And in case you were not aware, shopping for furniture is an immense pain. It is almost as bad as shopping for an apartment.

I came to Houston with one official piece of furniture, which almost doesn't count, because it was only a mattress. I don't even have a box spring or frame for the mattress. Nor am I likely to be obtaining these items anytime soon due to my abnormal stature; my bed was purchased to fit me, and as a result, is a daunting 6'10" in length. Does IKEA carry beds for that size? No. Walmart? No. Target? Yea right! Mattress places? Haha! The Internet? Well, probably somewhere...but I couldn't find it.

So I am torn over what direction I actually want to go with this whole furniture quandary. My roommate has this perfectly decorated room (initiated by his perfectly decorating mother), with a giant queen bed with stained wood frame, desk, filing table etc etc. Then I look in my room, see my beautiful mattress lying limply on the floor, and...Well, I don't know.

Perhaps I should drop a large portion of my discretionary funds on purchasing matching furniture, including a desk, a chair, a floor lamp, a desk lamp, a bedside table, a bed frame (one of those metal ones that can fit any mattress), a box spring, a couch, a book shelf and a table lamp.

Or maybe I should say "screw you" to the man and his cultural hegemony which demands my kowtow, and use my rubbermaid totes as seats, set up my milk crates with a board on top for a desk, and be off on my merry way.

Until it all collapses on my foot and I swear for the next hour.