We Broke Up

My day job is advertising, and my side gig is PR but I feel like at this point I can also add Real Estate broker to my resume. My poor feet have pounded the concrete pavements of NYC in search of a decent, affordable apartment for the past two months and still yet I've found nothing!


First I needed to find a room-mate to share a 2BR with, and somehow I found what I thought was the perfect room-mate. Same age, same career/industry, same price-range, Ghanaian chic, sane and level-headed. For once the stars had aligned in my favor. Then the search for 2BR/2BA began, and its been like pulling teeth! Why 2BA? Why not a 2BR/1BA? Well here's the thing, as much as you might think you and a room-mate or potential room-mate are alike and cool, when you begin to live with a person, its a totally different ball game entirely. And sometimes the littlest things could irk either one of you make living together hell. Its for this reason that I feel like the less space shared, the better.


For example, you both have the same morning schedule and need to get into the shower at the same time. Wahala. Or its Saturday morning, roomie wants to take a shower, but shower needs cleaning and its your turn but with the way you've positioned yourself in bed, enjoying that sweet, sweet Saturday imma be a lazy bum kinda sleep, ain't nothing in the world to make you get out of bed. Especially a chore like cleaning bathrooms. Wahala. Plus everybody with their own personal hygiene preferences. U see why I really wanted a 2BA? 


So na so we find, find, find, find o come decide say we go extend our search to reach Jersey City side to increase our chances of finding wetin we want. As I tanda for one apartment viewing yesterday for the Jersey City, na e one text come my phone...this my dear sent from above room-mate was breaking up with me :( lol. *sigh* The matter just tire me, e weak my body nor be small. So na back to square one. Na to either find another room-mate or find 1BR/1BA jeje, and chop all the expenses alone. *sigh* There goes all the nice things I planned to do with spare money.


Mehn, apartment hunting for this NY no be joke sha. Frustrated, tired, worn-out does not even begin to explain how I feel right now. I've literally clicked on every link on Craigslist and they've all turned purple. I can list all the apartment searching sites in my sleep.
- Craigslist
- StreetEasy
- GoNoFee
- NYTimes Real Estate
- NakedApartments
- NestSeekers
- HotPads
- ForRent
- Zillow
- ApartmentGuide


I can tell you how long some apartments have been on the market, I can spot the fake/spam postings, I can tell you which trains are close to which apartments etc lol This whole process has been a nightmare, I kid you not! I just want it to be over really. And I am taking out my frustration on The Man *sigh*. Poor guy doesn't even understand it. I just want a nice, decent place that I decorate the way I like and call home :( Is that too much to ask of you my dear New York? Lord, help me find a place. Please!


Anyway, my search continues. I just needed to vent. If you missed my post about my London Trip, you can catch up HERE with the pictures.    


Hope everyone's having a great week so far. The weekend is almost here! :)


Toodles!


Hugs & Kisses,
Miss Enigma!




*BR - Bedroom
*BA - Bathroom

London Trip 2012

Y'ello me darlings! Happy New Week to you all! Hope everyone had a great weekend, even though it always seems to go by so quickly...and the next one seems like eons away. I had a good weekend. Kicked off on Friday by attending a friend's business 1yr anniversary and I had a good time. Happy to see her receive so much love. Saturday was spent at a funeral...it was sad, cos regardless of the fact that we know that a loved one is going to leave us some day, we can never really prepare ourselves enough. He was 80yrs old, and had lived a full life but still...when you say your final good-byes, lay the flowers, and all its still surreal...when they begin to lower the casket into the ground hian! That na different story o! You begin to reflect say na so life be o, this body, this flesh na inside ground e dey go. And life goes on! Whether we like it or not, whether at that particular point it seems impossible...truth is life goes on!

In other news, where have I been u ask? Well, I've been to London to see The Queen! :) You see, I've never really taken a vacation, because I do not consider going to Naija annually a vacation. So recently, when my Sis got her UK visa, I thought oh! this could be a chance for me to visit as well, seeing as I've never been to London either. Initially, I was hesitant. None of my friends was going with me, accommodation issues, will it be worth it? what will I do for fun there? Yadi, yadi, yada! I sha summoned up courage, God worked everything out and bam! I booked my flight! The minute I clicked 'Book Flight', there was no going back, London here I come!

After work on Thursday I headed for the airport and boarded my flight. My expectations? None whatsoever! My plan? Make the best out of the trip, after all $900 ticket no be beans! With that settled, I jejely balanced in my seat and enjoyed two movies during the flight...Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Mr & Mrs Smith :). Long story short, I connected from Heathrow to Manchester spent a few nights with an old high school friend, and another old high school friend came over...we chilled, caught up, did mall waka, went to see The Vow and I became acquainted with the TV shows 'Shuga' and '4Play: Sex Tips for Girls'. I'm not a fan of Naija/African movies cos of the acting, but the acting in these two shows caught me by surprise! The actors were good! Their delivery was on point! Anyways, I digress! Manchester was nice.

London Trip 2012

I left for Clapham on Monday and finally connected with my Sis. I saw my cousin who I hadn't seen in about ten years! Spent the day chilling, listening and dancing to Naija music and just clowning. Then Tuesday, my Sis and I waka waka'd around London town gan gan. Initially we planned on navigating all the tourist attractions by ourselves using the Underground transport but mehn by 4pm we realized we had only seen two attractions, we decided to hop on the Tour Bus! And it was worth it! We got to see everything while sitting comfortably on the double decker bus. Wish we weren't leaving the next day, would have gone on a second round of touring, but we definitely accomplished a lot in one day!

If you see the way I was chopping Nandos everyday ehn! U'll think there's no chips and chicken in this here America, but the difference is clear biko! American fries and their own nor be the same. I fell in love with Auntie Millie's Cookies (my fav is their white chocolate chip cookie) and Greggs too! Their sausage roll and chicken pie nom nom nom! Pls if anyone knows of a similar joint in Yankee that sells pastries like that let me know...it reminded me so much of Naija...till today I am huge fan of Mr. Biggs sausage roll, and scotch egg! Neways thanks to the cold and the constant chopping of ijeku je (sp?) my cavity started acting up and is hurting like a .... 

My sis and I had a great time! And it was good bonding time for us! You should have seen us running for trains, buses and all together. You wouldn't know there's a ten yr difference between us. We were like lil'girls :) or maybe it was just me :) All in all, it was much needed away time. I stayed off BBM, Twitter, Facebook, emails everything...and was just sleeping, eating and chillin'.


I always used to think to go on a vacation you need a good number of people and alla that but mehn sometimes coordinating the schedule for more than two persons dey hard...and one person canceling can just ruin it for all. Now I know I don't need a crowd jare. Glad I went on this trip! Definitely one of the high-lights of my year! :)


Have a GREAT week everyone!!! Keep pushing! Keep working hard! Trust me people are watching and noticing your growth, even when you don't!


PS: Sorry I didn't caption the pics in the first collage...I'm tired, and have a lot to do before Sunday ends.


Hugs & Kisses,
Miss Enigma!