Michael's new apartment
We used the van to move the rest of Michael's larger items into his new apartment tonight so we had our first chance to look around at his new digs.
The apartment complex is in a nice, clean, part of Saratoga and is walking distance to just about everything. It looks like lots of young families live there. The pool was full of happy splashing people and a table was set up outside where two young women were playing a board game. The walkways were uneven and the landscaping consisted mostly of patches of dead grass and dirt but it looked like a good (ie safe) place to live.
Michael's apartment has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with two 19 year old boys in each room. Yep, you read that right -- there are 4 of them in this apartment. I can't help but imagine the smell of all those socks. If anyone has a teenage male still at home, they know what I mean.
Their mattresses are sitting directly on the floor. I'm sure all of them could have brought the frames but thought it was more stylish to be on the floor (Michael did: we're storing his frame in our garage). There were several laundry baskets, obviously used for moving, overflowing with household items. There were boxes everywhere. Something tells me this is cleaner than we'll ever see this apartment again!
They're using paper plates and plastic cups and don't have plans to change that. They have one pot and one pan. We offered to give them some of ours but they didn't think they would ever need more. I was just dying to open the fridge and have a peek inside but was afraid I'd be haunted by what I did (or didn't) see in there.
In the living room, they have two comfy looking hand-me-down sofas and a 36 inch TV. Behind one of the sofas, and dividing the room, are two long folding tables set up side by side to accommodate four computers, keyboards and mouse pads. Andrew laughed and said the room looked like an India call center. Two of Michael's three roommates were playing an Xbox video game when we came in. A fan was moving hot air around the room (saving on air-conditioning expenses, I'm sure). The third roommate was stirring something on the stove and I'm pretty sure I recognized the smell of Macaroni (right before you add the cheese powder). Gawd, it smelled GOOD!
There were colorful, abstract, odd art/paintings leaning up against the walls in the hall. Gwen grabbed a hammer out of Michael's laundry basket and looked like she was going to get busy hanging something (or destroying something). I stopped her.
There was a 9 week old kitten playing with a shoelace. He has a long tail which fascinated Maddy since our cat doesn't have a tail at all. There were guitars here and there and boxes everywhere else. In the breakfast nook of the kitchen (aka the Dining Room), I saw a small kitchen table but no chairs.
Oh to be 19 again! This looks like incredible fun!
Michael said he's having a good time living with his friends. I asked him how he's doing at work and he said he was Employee of the Month this month. He's been promoted to Shift Leader. Not too bad considering he's only worked there for two months! He's still committed to trade school (eventually) but having fun living with friends and working. For now, I think this will suit him fine. But when the bills start rolling in, he's sure to see how hard it is to stretch his meager paycheck to cover everything.
Hopefully he'll be ready to go back to school pretty soon. Whatever path he chooses in life, I'm sure he'll be incredibly successful. I just want his path to be as obstacle free as possible. And, of course, I hope his path crosses ours very often.
