All praises be to Craigslist.org. The one-stop shopping website where I’ve found everything from cheap luggage to my last date (a 6’3” brown haired, blue eyed, gorgeous Spaniard – I totally scored…pun intended). I also found a room to rent and a flat-screen TV and a bike to go in that room.
Yes, my dorm experience has ended and I’m now renting a room in a house in Berkeley. It’s a little further from campus than I’d prefer (about 1.5 mi.) and I was late to work the first couple of days after moving Oh no! But it’s been going pretty well. The house is … its got character, like the owner. It even has a story. One day, Rufus T. Firefly returned home one day to find a full-spectrum rainbow leading directly into his house on Cedar Ave. He watched as it remained for 15 minutes. From that day on, he knew that his house was lucky. He painted it gold with rainbows over the decorative arches. And so was born Rainbow Ranch. While, Rufus T. Firefly is the fake name that Tim, my housemate and homeowner, created for his little theatrical lighting company, this story did happen to him -- and the house is referred to as “Rainbow Ranch” in the lease. I even have a rainbow key! Tim is a retired high school performing arts teacher and I know you are all thinking it. Theater and rainbows? He’s gay, right? No. He’s straight and has a lovely girlfriend (that I’ve met). He’s just a happy-go-lucky guy who’s pretty chill. He’s not home often, but will usually be up eating popcorn and watching movies until 3 a.m. Basically, what sold me was access to premium cable stations for $10 (which meant I could watch my favorite show, Queer As Folk, as well as other brilliant cable drams like Six Feet Under). Also, Tim has HUNDREDS of DVDs (a man after my own heart). If anything, premium cable and DVDs are keeping me from buying DVDs (my weakness).
But, the room is great. It’s furnished with a full-sized bed, hardwood floor, drawers under the bed and in the closet, built-in desk and shelves… I mean, I have TONS of storage space. I have kitchen and laundry privileges, but the bathroom is shared. It’s a nice little environment, which will come in handy when the fall semester starts but I’m in a completely different area than my dorm friends… which could also come in handy. No, next fall will most likely by the hectic of my Cal career. In addition to the last of my major requirements, I will be a reader (i.e. grader) for a Mass Communications 104: First Amendment and the Press. It’s a major requirement that examines the courts cases that define press rights. I took it last fall, got an A and over winter break the teacher asked if I’d be a reader. This situation has led me to consider law school for grad school…which reminds me, he said I could call him in his office today discuss law school. I better go.