Specs presents: something resembling a sock.

Could it be? Yes! We have a Jaywalker! Well, part of one, anyway. The lighting is horrible, but it's been raining here for the past few days, and should rain for a few more. I wanted to just take a damn picture and post it, so sorry for the poor quality. You can't really tell, but there's a lovely shade of Slimer green in there, which I either love or hate, depending on how whimsical I'm feeling on any given day. Slimer-sock #1 is past the heel and well into the instep decreases, so I hope to have another one by the end of the weekend (she said, glancing at her stack of "to read" books). Speaking of this weekend, The Boyfriend and I are taking a hurried trip down to Tennessee in the hopes of finding an apartment. The cats will be on their own for a night, the van's brakes will be tested on the mountains of the southern Appalachians, and I will hopefully return very happy and optimistic about the next four years. I've been shifting through the online apartment ads and listings (I found a house with a jacuzzi in the living room, people), and I've realized that as well as being very desperate for a place to live, I'm also very, very picky. This doesn't sound like a good combination to me, either. Things I want in an apartment: 1. Second floor or higher. We're on the first floor now and we've had at least one close call with someone breaking in (which resulted in me sleeping with a hammer and a Susan Bates #13 by my pillow). 2. A balcony. I just want one. 3. No crazy elderly neighbors who come over to my apartment in their underwear. This happened several times in last year's apartment. I plan to knock on the doors of potential neighbors and keep track of how many answer in an unacceptable state of undress. 4. A bathroom with a ceiling that stays a ceiling, and doesn't suddenly decide to become a powdery floor decoration. 5. A bathroom sink that has only one faucet, and not two separate taps for hot and cold. This is more annoying than I can possibly describe -- when I wash my face I have to decide if I'd rather be scalded or frostbitten. 6. A kitchen with cabinets that are in tact and a floor that isn't covered in 50+ years of grime. 7. A bedroom with a window that faces East. I've been sleeping in disgustingly late while living in my current apartment, and I think it's because our only bedroom window faces north and is dark for most of the day. My mind is boggling with all the things I could accomplish if I had the power of the sun to wake me up in the morning. I think that's it. I welcome all suggestions for other things I should ask for (or demand -- I could take the #13 and the hammer with me) in a living space.