AnnaMaria Stephens's Profile

If it makes you feel any better, I own, and there's no way I could afford any of these kitchens unless I stopped paying my mortgage!

@Llulu: It definitely was not my intention to sound ageist! My point was that even people who don't share obvious common interests can enjoy each other's company. For example, my husband and my 90-year-old grandmother have very little in common, but every time she visits (or we visit her), they go out for a beer and gab for hours. He loves hearing her stories about early Los Angeles, and she loves hearing him talk about geology. But you are right, there are countless older people who DO share my interests, and that was part of my point too: Don't limit yourself to people your own age, or to people who like all the same things as you. Expand your notion of who your friends should be.

@Truenic: UGH, that sucks. Especially since your parties sound like so much fun. The freeze extends all the way from Seattle to Vancouver, it seems. And to all the other Seattleites who've heard "let's hang out sometime," only to realize that "sometime" means "never," I totally hear you. It can feel a little desperate to follow up and suggest actual plans (this day, this time, this place), especially when the probability of flakiness seems so high. But you'll never know unless you try, I guess.

Hi everyone! OP here. I loved this thread so much, and it made me feel so much better knowing that I'm not the only one who feels this way. I saw that there's a Seattle meetup planned for next weekend, but alas I have family in town and can't make it. I hope we can plan another one soon. In the meantime, feel free to email me directly if you're in Seattle and want to meet for a coffee: annamaria@uccellinimedia.com. Cheers!

I was wondering the same thing about the cords .... they're not visible at all. Even if they're run through a hole in the wall, wouldn't they stick out a bit at the top? Confused.

Yay, Joan, I love your new place! Good job lady.

Instead of Facebook, you could email or call five friends and ask them if they're interested.

@Wistful Dreamer: My last landlord did the same thing when we moved out. I spent two long days and nights scrubbing that place from top to bottom, repairing every nail hole and even painting an entire wall where we'd accidentally marred the finish in one small spot. We offered straight away to pay for new carpeting on the stairs, because my cat had torn up the top step. And then this guy had the gall to call my husband to discuss how filthy we'd left the place. He claimed that he'd had to pay a cleaning service for several days of work (the place was small, too!). The only thing I hadn't done was self-clean the oven because it was crazy hot out, and I'd also cleaned it fairly recently. I didn't take photos but sure wish I had done so, because we lost our $1500 security deposit, in addition to paying for the carpet. All the while he kept complaining about how expensive it was for him that he had to find new tenants after just a year (we were able to buy a house sooner than anticipated but never told him we were staying long-term). Two years after we moved out, the guy called me to tell me we hadn't paid our last gas bill and it was now a lien on his property. Uh, good luck with that buddy!

@AbbyGrayKit: Good point. I was referring more to barely functioning cabinets, like hanging crooked or with doors that don't close or so on. Nobody should expect upgrades. On the same note, I had a landlord who would fix up every apartment as people moved out. We're talking new kitchens, new flooring -- a HUGE difference. Of course, the new tenants paid more, but he continued to raise my rent to be "in line" with what everybody else was paying, even though my apartment was dingy and not even close in quality. I eventually convinced him to fix up my place too if he insisted on charging me the same rent.

Viktoria: THANK YOU. I really appreciate your thorough advice here. I will let you know how it goes!