Where have you gone?

For all 4 of you who regularly read my blog you may have noticed my absence over the past few weeks. Then again, because I talk/email to all 4 of you regularly you probably know why I've been absent. However, for those who don't, my absence has been necessitated by my participation in an ages-old Manhattan ritual...hunting for an apartment.

I have been one of those lucky, rare New Yorkers who has avoided this dreaded task for the past 8 years through a combination of rent stabilization, luck and a steady income. However, my landlord has decided that despite the fact that we're in the worst recession in a generation, and despite the fact that my roommate and I have been ideal tenants for 8 years that he is going to raise our rent. (Pause for effect.) And, because it's the worst recession in a generation my roommate and I have both had our incomes negatively affected. Now, I wasn't a math major, but I'm pretty sure the equation for this problem looks a little something like this:

<(income) + >(rent) = (- negative value!)

So, it is with a heavy heart that I have to leave my home of the past 8 years. The home where I heard the first low-flying plane on September 11, 2001. The home where I experienced the blackout of 2003 with an infestation of mice that were squatting in my stove. The home where I have experienced some of the happiest days of my life and some of the darkest moments I have known.

Everyone keeps saying that "in the end it will all work out and I'll be in a better situation," and I guess I know that, but it still doesn't make it any easier. I mean, I know that I was never going to stay in this apartment forever, but I just thought that when I finally left it would be on my own terms, not because of outside (read: heartless landlord) forces.

I know this kind of change is inevitable, but that doesn't make it an easier pill to swallow. I guess it's all just part of growing up.