Infidelity

I'm seeing other condos today. Lots of them. While I love my current condo—I really do—I feel it's time to move on. I want something with more long-term potential. I want to—as they say on all those reality dating shows—take it to the next level. I want my own washer and dryer.

I took today and tomorrow off so I could be fresh and ready for this weekend's show. (Got your tickets yet? You'd better. You wouldn't want to have an incomplete Christmas would you? WOULD YOU?) So Keith is meeting my mom and me at 10 for my first round of lookie-loos. On the docket today: two units in my building (and I'm all but giddy at the prospect of moving without having to rent a truck) and a handful of vintage rehabs (which theoretically have lower association fees because they don't have doormen, elevators and pools).

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY BUILDING THAT I'D LIKE TO KEEP:
• The view Have I gushed about my view yet? It's specatacular! 24 stories up with an unobstructed panoramic look at the city that twinkles endlessly to the horizon at night.
• The location There's an express bus that gets on the drive a block from my front door and takes me almost directly to work. I'm half a block from the lake and the lakefront trail. I can walk to TWO grocery stores, TWO awesome pizza places, a cute little coffee shop, a haircut store and even a Payless (in case I need new shoes for Starr Jones' next wedding).
• The construction Yes, it's essentially a shoebox in a bland 1980s highrise—with all the character of a suburban Holiday Inn—but the building is solid, the rehab was done relatively well, and I feel very safe and cozy in it.
• The parking It's indoors. It's right next to the building. It cost me $20 grand, but I don't regret one penny of it.
• The utility bill I pay $18 a month in the spring and fall and never more than $40 in the summer and winter. ’Nuff said.

THINGS I WANT IN A NEW PLACE:
• My own washer and dryer I'm SO tired of scheduling my life around my dirty underwear. (Granted, I own enough underwear and (jeans) that I could go two months without doing laundry, but I'd really rather be able to do laundry when it's convenient for ME.)
• More room I want a second bedroom for the guests that seem to drop by at least one weekend a month. I want room to throw lavish parties and not feel like I have to exclude people because of space. I want an office where I can hide all the bills and crap that are trying to bury me alive. 750 square feet just isn't cutting it for me anymore.
• Outside space of some kind I want a porch. Or a courtyard. I want the fucking American Dream, and I want it right ouside my door, damnit!
• Sidewalk culture I'd love to open my front door and be instantly surrounded by people and excitement and cute little foo-foo shops and restaurants. Right now all I have is a lonely bus stop and a dry cleaner nobody seems to use.
• Real neighbors I thought living in a highrise would give me an instant community of friends. I was wrong. Nobody in this building makes conversation. Or even eye contact. I want fun people who drop by to borrow a cup of sugar and end up spending the day watching movie musicals on DVD with me. I want people who live down the hall who aren't afraid to ask me to help them paint a bathroom or install new plumbing. I want a building filled with supermodels who wander around in towels demanding that I kiss them.

One grave concern I have about moving—and I hate to even bring it up, but I feel I have to—is that there's a whole lot more city south of Foster than there is north of it. Which does not bode well for the NoFo thing. It's almost too much to bear.