It's cold in them thar lack-of-hills!

‘Tis yet another cold, misty, windy day which makes me wonder why everyone thinks this area is in a drought.  It was a fine day to stay warm and dry in my office and nurse my cold.  Of course, that couldn't happen.  I had to go to a school because the crew phoned to report that some doorknob tried to pass their truck while they were stopped for the crossing guard to escort a child across the street, and the guy's car scraped against their truck.  I didn't see the damage to the guy's car, but the truck had very minor scratches at the rear corner of the flatbed.  (The guy got a ticket, too.)  I hadn't even had time to meet with the crew leader who was going to show me how to fill out an accident form for what had happened yesterday!

On a happier note, I found an inexpensive apartment this afternoon, that I thought I could live in.  The place was shabby but cared for.  I don't know why I was amenable to it today, but other days I might say, "Couldn't you patch that better?  This place is a dump!"  (Untrue – the place I had visited immediately before had a hole in the office's entry wall which hadn't been patched.)  Then I went to the place across the street, which I had found online but, for some reason, didn't put on my list to visit, and found it charming.  It costs $14 a month more than the other place I like, and it doesn't have a washer and dryer in the unit, but it's a lot closer to work.  At the current, local gas price ($3.10/gal.), $14 would be just 1/5 of my tank.  I'm fairly certain I'd spend more than that with a longer commute.  (I just have to hope I don't need to do laundry so badly that I can't avoid walking to the laundry room on rainy or snowy days.)  I still have more places to visit, but I'm now at two possible apartments.

I stopped by the grocery store on the way back to the hotel and noticed that they have a branch inside for one of the banks I put on my pondering list.  They confirmed the information I had read online, and the sweetheart who was pointing out all the account options because she was trained to, even though she knew I wouldn't have enough money to have the exorbitant combined balance for the hoity-toity account, mentioned that a mortgage could be considered as one of the combined accounts.  Serendipity!  It just so happens that my mortgage bank is owned by the same conglomerate that owns this bank, and that would qualify me for that type of account (and, more importantly, waive the monthly fee).  So, I'll be taking them my paycheck this Thursday and opening my local checking account, and then I'll say, "Now would you please transfer x dollars to pay my mortgage?"

I only wish finding an apartment were that easy.