The Bad and The Ugly

So.... I am no longer all set for my stay here.  Yesterday, my mom and I met up with an old schoolmate of hers to have lunch.  Prior to that we went to Pike Place Market but you got to see that experience.  I wish I could somehow post the smell too.  There were so many flowers and fresh fruit and veg stands.  It was incredible. But I digress.  Since we are still on Michigan time, we left the house too early.  I guess around 10, I got an e-mail from Robert (landlord guy) saying that I could stop by the place between 10 and noon.  While we were at lunch, I got a call from Robert wondering why I didn't stop by.  So it turned out, Robert couldn't be there when we saw the house.  I described the house the other day as not so classy.  That is quite possibly the understatement of all time.  We just saw the outside of the house which was mostly obscured by a privacy fence.  Turns out the seating on the outside of the house was a bucket seat removed from someone's van.  We knocked on the front door for like 3 minutes solid.  I called Robert again.  He said we had to go downstairs to get Joe to show us the room.  Well, the garage thingy was covered in crap.  Joe was a foreign gentleman in his 40's.  He walked us out of the garage, through a gate and into the backyard.  My "room" was a room only the academic sense.  It had 4 walls and a roof.  The floor looked like a deck or something.  As in, no insulation and day light coming through.  It was a tiny room with a bed.  My mom described the ideal tenant for this room as a defector from the Eastern Block for whom this room would be a step up.  It was unlivable.  I expect a real floor for $400 per month plus utilities.  Well, after seeing the room, my mom and I got out of there as soon as humanly possible.  I started making phone calls.  First, to Robert telling him to rip up the check that we had sent as the deposit.  Then, I called Jeff, my boss, asking if he had gotten any more responses from the first e-mail he had sent out on my behalf to find a place.  Cassie, my mom's school friend, has also been on the hunt for a room for me.  We went straight from the rat nest back to Russ and Beth's house to hop on Craig's List once again.  I called about a few places and was able to see one last night.  It's only $270/month with everything included.  It's just a room with 3 other people in the apartment.  Tiny kitchen and bathroom and laundry can be done in the owner's house for $1 a load.  I'm not a huge fan but the price is nice.  I'm worried about security on that one and it isn't the best location.  We are going to see another place this morning that is $500/month with everything included.  That doesn't leave me much wiggle room for my budget but we did a drive-by last night and it looks a lot better than the other places that we have seen.  I'll update later today.  I will also take pictures so you guys can see what I'm talking about.