there has been a slight change in plans

i was starting to have my doubts about whether i could afford awesome nyc room with DKNY discounting roommate. though the room was only $780 (cheap by midtown standards) she had a maid and utilities that added a near $170 to the rent. the sight of my near empty checking account balance simultaneously with my online mastercard statement set dread upon me.

two days ago my good friends emily and melissa said they'd found a place in washington heights (translated: way the hell up there in manhattan, think 170's when the middle of manhattan is in the 40's, and not at all close to anything fun) for super cheap (translated: $450 a person). i had already dropped of my security deposit with DKNY and told them so, but the timing of this incredible offer drifted in and out of my mind over the next couple of days.

so when i had a near panic attack that my budgeted rent was way out of my actual budget (remember, one must have actual income of some sort to make a budget...i was working with pretend salaries), i called S who told me to go up and see emily and melissa's place and to see if i liked it. washington heights can be kind of a scary area (translated: kind of dirty, lots of bodegas, and let's just say there's more crime up there than in my happy ex-nest near the posh lincoln center at 66th st). the apt is on a quiet tree-lined block just off a park and only two clean and quick blocks from the subway (an express train). it's newly renovated, a decent sized kitchen, two bedrooms are good sized, one is teeeeeeny, and then there is the living room. i'd have the biggest room, melissa is going to sleep in the living room, emily will take the other bedroom, and the teeeeny room is going to be used as an office for the girls, who have their own fledgling clothing company. it'll have a computer/sewing machines/silk screens/etc. melissa's semi-private room is a little weird, but since i know them well, i'm not too afraid. also, they go out even more than i do, i think i'll have the place to myself often.

i had to call DKNY to break the news to her and she couldn't have handled it better. she understood my lack of funds and said she'd rather have me figure out now that i can't afford the maid than after having moved in for two months. i told her i understood how she needed said maid and didn't want to have to ask her to try to downgrade her standard of living just because i was on a budget. she said she was really sad about it because she really liked me. i told her the feeling was mutual. we may actually stay friends through all of this. the primo discount may not yet be dead for jasmine. that DEFINITELY deserves a huzzah. Huzzah!

this is going to sound stupid to those older and wiser than myself, but this really is my first attempt at being a real person. i've been a student since i was 5 years old. i'm 25 now and finally looking for my first real job (you know, the kind with benefits and 401k's and shit). it's pretty fucking scary. but i feel good about this super cheap place. so does my checking account. if it could have, it would have hugged me today, i'm certain of it. this was, without a doubt, the right thing to do. i think i'm getting a hang of this "real person" stuff.

yeah, i think i'll do just fine.