Apartment Woes, homelessness insues

Originally written June 8, 2006:

I drove from Charlottesville Sunday, June 4, 2006 and arrived in Nashville Sunday night. I had planned on staying in an apartment that I had paid to sublease for the month of June. I stayed there one night and realized that the situation would not work. I was the only human in the apartment, but not the only living thing. I was accompanied by millions of roaches, more than I have ever seen in one location in my life, including the trailer in which I spent my youth. It was bad. The mold had taken over various parts of the apartment as well. I couldn't bring myself to go into the shower, and therefore chose to suffer the consequences until I found someone else to stay with on Tuesday night.

The Vanderbilt grad students that Dan and I met a couple of weeks ago came to the rescue. One named Lyndi offered me her floor, which was a wonderful alternative to the pests. She is a great person, and after recently having a baby, her mom skills kicked in and she mobilized. She contacted all of the other grad students in the sociology department to come to my aid. Lyndi offered me her floor as long as I needed it, but found someone with an actual bed and room for me. So, I am currently staying with another graduate student and her husband in their basement. Unfortunately, they have family coming in Tuesday, but I lined up a place today for the rest of the month if I need it.

My good friends the Deaton's hooked me up with their uncle who produces music under his own label. I met with him today, and his assistant's girlfriend has an extra room in her condo. She had a roommate, but she moved out, and now it's just vacant. She has kindly offered me the space for as long as I need. The residents of Nashville have hearts of gold, and are the kindest people I have ever met. In a way, having a horrible apartment has been a great experience--I have met the kindest people in this city, and now have a greater understanding for how much it means to help friends or strangers in need.

As for the house, it was inspected Tuesday, with mixed results. It is livable, of course, but has some state building code violations, as well as some elements of inconvenience. We submitted the requested changes to the seller's agency today, and expect to hear a response tomorrow sometime. One of three things could happen--they accept all changes (which our agent says is unlikely), they reject all changes (which he also says is unlikely), or they accept some, and reject some. I also requested to have the closing date moved up if possible, so I won't be homeless for longer than necessary. However, the closing will greatly depend on the repairs they agree to make and the time they need to make them. As for the job hunt, it continues. I have had several interviews. Some for existing positions, and some for informational purposes. All of the information interviews have netted in many more contacts to follow up on. My last interview for the week is tomorrow afternoon at Belmont University. Afterwards, I hope to visit my friend Rachel for her last weekend in Athens, Ga. I can't place many calls or go on any interviews over the weekend, right?

As soon as Dan and I get settled, we will invite everyone to come visit and stay to experience the warm southern welcome that we have received.

Continue to send on any contacts that you have in the area. We have met so many people that were referred to us by friends elsewhere, and have had great success meeting them. Even if it's not for a place to sleep, or a job, we would love to contact them. Thanks so much for your concern. We will keep you posted on all of your adventures.