Place #1 was a lovely south facing condo (check) looking out onto a park (greenspace, check) with a nice patio (check) in the Arbutus Walk area (location, check). Unfortunately, the den was more of a dead end hallway, so DH and I decided it was just too small.

Place #2, in my current hood, meets most of the requirements. Price is borderline, but could make do. Call up amateur landlady who rattles off details about the place and drops the parking bomb. Parking is $150 extra. Place just went from borderline to too expensive. Coulda mentioned that in the ad maybe? Didn’t bother to go see it.

Place #3 sounded perfect in the craigslist ad. 2bdrm, Fairview, next to greenspace, huge terrace, good price. Unfortunately it was one of those ads that didn’t have a phone number (hate that) so I sent an e-mail into the unknown. 2 days later, I’d given up all hope, only to get an e-mail apologizing for the delay but that the response had been overwhelming and they were struggling to catch up. Great, just what I want to hear, there’s a ton of competition. Regardless I am keen to take any slot they will give me to see the place, even if it’s in 1 hour (!!), send another e-mail accepting the slot (seriously, why no phone number still?!). Few minutes later, get a reply saying sorry, place has been rented. Heartbreak ensues.

Place #4, just down the street from me in a newer building. Skeptical about the square footage being big enough, but with a sunroom And a den, surely it can serve our purposes? Call the number in the ad and the guy offers to show it to me in 30mins. Appreciate that this guy is serious about renting his places, the loss of #3 still fresh in my mind, as well as another promising one where No One Ever Got Back To Me. Unfortunately both the ‘den’ and the ’sunroom’ were the size of closets. Seriously? Why even bother? Beautiful suite, but way too small.

Place #5, in a building I had previously considered, but was unsure of the area. After walking by it recently, I decided it might not be so bad should anything come up. And today, something did. The suite is massive, and a total bargain for the size. Immediately call and tell the guy I will see it tomorrow, anytime (seriously do not want a repeat of #3). We agree to meet tomorrow morning and I am excited and looking online to find a floor plan and any information I can about the suite. Discover that it was previously a furnished rental, and was recently sold after being listed for $600K. Worry a little, since at the price they are renting the place must be bleeding money? Unless it was paid for in cash? Is that a stable situation? Do I want to go there? An hour later, I get a call back and they tell me they made a mistake in the ad and the place is actually $100 than they originally stated. Do I still want to see it? At that price the place is still a deal, but goes from good deal, to average for me. I’ll still go look at it tomorrow, but I think raising the price $100 is rather unprofessional. Although I guess mistakes do happen. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.

The first guest was none other than Seth Godin, whose free e-book I had mentioned back in December. He has very interesting ideas on taking initiative in your career and the growing importance of community and giving back.

The second guest, Matthew B. Crawford, is a PhD who runs his own mechanic shop. The dichotomy of the two definitely makes for an interesting perspective on the working world in this day and age, and if you don’t feel inclined to listen to the interview or read the transcript, he also wrote an article in the New York Times that is a good read.

Here’s a quote from the interview:

It does seem like it’s become more difficult to be self-reliant. I also think that we feel bereft of those occasions to be self-reliant. And I wonder if the growth of the do-it-yourself movement, which seems to be pretty big in these days, is partly an attempt to reclaim that. You know, also that effort to reclaim it is, in part, a response to changes in the world of work. You know, working in an office is often that the case that the chain of cause and effect can become a bit confusing, and responsibility can often get spread around. And so, people come home from work and they knit a sweater, say, or build an addition on their house in an effort to reclaim that.

I think it resonates with me so much because I am that person who comes home from work and knits a sweater (that I totally meant to take a picture of this week-end when there was some daylight so I could blog about it, but didn’t get around to).

Godin makes the point that knowledge jobs these days may not necessarily involve hard labour, but what they do involve is emotional labour which is also hard work. Contrast that with that trades jobs, the ones Crawford argues should not be overlooked, that do involve labour maybe the question a career searching person has to ask themselves is what kind of labour appeals to them?

While I am a big sucker for multi-use items, I admit I don’t really have any interest in getting a PS3. If only the Wii also had a blu-ray player, then my interest might be piqued.

For now it’s good to know that it’s so easy to set up a home theater and media network wirelessly.