roomies

So I met our potential new housemate for real last night. We sat next to each other at the roommate's brother's wedding but this is the first time we've talked. I'm showing her the house and I feel like a realtor ("look at the balcony! We have a dryer and washer downstairs! You can walk everywhere! My landlord is amazing! We're a mile from the lake! You can park for free in the lot across the street! The downstairs neighbors are nice! It's month-to-month so you can bail if you need to! etc etc"), but she seems awesome and we have mutual friends.

(UPDATE... she ended up changing her mind but we did let her know that as usual, there's 2 couches in the living room perfect for crashing on).

We got dinner at Brother's Lounge and listened to Dave play with the Mojo Big Band, and he was amazing, and that place is amazing, kind of like Nighttown for the west side. The food was good and the sound quality was perfect and the crowd was chill. I forget how much I love watching live jazz, seeing the interplay between musicians and really wishing I had an upright bass.

I've lived with a lot of roommates since I went off to school and subsequently moved back. I hate coming home to an empty apartment and having people around makes me feel more safe, and I know that I can always retreat to my room if I need to.

I had a roommate who loved NASCAR and southern gospel, another who was in a sorority and didn't understand why I didn't drink even though I was over 21, two social workers, two graphic designers, a roommate who spent all summer living in a tent in West Virginia leading whitewater rafting trips, and my current roommate and the incoming one who are classical musicians that are actually employed.

I love that I learn something from everyone and that usually we can all learn to live with each other, and learn that it's not easy to generalize by region, culture, political affiliation, or interest. I'm interested to see where this next chapter will lead.