The Apartment Search, Day One

Today we set out to find an apartment. The search did not go well. We tried several areas--downtown Sacramento, Davis, Roseville--but didn't find a neighborhood that seemed like it could be a home. The problem, too, is that there are very, very few options for a short-term furnished rental. In Davis, we found one apartment kind of in the middle of nowhere that seemed to promise a Valley of the Dolls-style nervous breakdown. We visited another apartment and were shown around by a kid who must have been no more than nineteen; it was his college apartment and he was leaving for the summer. It was like being inside a dorm room, complete with a foosball table. The two apartments we saw in a complex in Sacramento were nice enough. However, in the first, I found an enormous cockroach in the bathroom. In the second, there was a giant millipede in the sink. Needless to say, these little treats did not bode well.

So we're back to zero, and tomorrow is a holiday so our search won't resume until Thursday. This is a strange city; it seems deserted, empty, like no one actually lives here. We haven't yet found a bookstore, or a grocery store, or a pharmacy. And even though the time difference is only three hours, I am just completely exhausted. It was not the best day but we are both determined to crack this city and figure all this out...