I had planned to spend Friday evening going out and finding a nice club to check out. I even brought my club outfit—the one I wore to the Josh Groban concert taping. However, I found that after all that driving . . . and searching . . . and touring of apartments, I just wanted to kick back and veg out on the bed and watch some frivolous television.
Early the next morning I heard from Sandy, so I packed up my bags and headed up to Tennessee. I got a little lost once I got there, so I was running late. That’s not unusual for me! Chattanooga is nearly a two-hour drive from where I was in Atlanta, so by the time I got up there, picked up Sandy, grabbed a quick lunch at Arby’s, it was around 1:30 P.M. That would mean that we wouldn’t get to Atlanta until 3:30 or so. It was Saturday, so I wasn’t sure how late some places would be showing apartments. Well, we got there and drove around and around. I was able to show her a few apartments that I liked, and then I decided to show her an apartment that was at the top of my list.
I had seen it the previous day, and I really liked it. The community was very nice, it has two swimming pools and Jacuzzis, a walking path, and a fitness center. I was shown a one-bedroom, but as I stated earlier, I started thinking that I didn’t want to have a one-bedroom. Some things are just nicer when you have more space available. I also thought that I may have a roomie one day, and it would be better to not have to move again. Heh.
Before we could get to the apartment, though, we had to go through a bit of a fright. I was in a rental car. That’s my excuse! The gas gauge is on the far left side and the speedometer is on the right side. That’s my other excuse! The car starting sputtering. Sandy and I had gotten turned around (again, not lost!) and the car started sputtering. I thought This is a rental car, for crying out loud! What could be wrong? Ummm . . . what is that flashing there? Is it the low-gas symbol? Could it be? Nahhh! I only drove up to Chattanooga and back and all around the city. It couldn't possibly be . . . the . . . gas?
Oh man, I was running out of gas! I was so into chatting with Sandy that I didn’t even think about the gas. Darn it! There wasn’t a gas station to be seen. I turned at the stoplight because I didn’t want to get stuck in the middle of the intersection. It actually turned out really great! I now know where the seedy part of town is. It’s true. We were trying to turn around and not have to really stop, but we ended up completely stopping at the stop sign to get back onto the main road. It was not a busy road fortunately, but the people that did come up behind me were not pleased. I had my four-ways on!! Well, Sandy got out to go and find out where the closest gas station was. I was a little nervous about that, but she seemed to really not have a problem doing it. (She’s so strong!)
Once she disappeared over the little hill, a white van pulled up beside me. They paused before calling out to me. “Are you alright, miss?” I smiled and told them that I was fine. I had just run out of gas and that a friend was finding a gas station. They paused again and then asked, “Did you want us to push you back out of the wya?"” I thought for a second before answering with a big smile, “Would you do that? That would be great!” I was in the car. All I had to do was put the car in neutral and they would push me. I was safe. The van backs up and out of the way. The moment that Sandy came back over the hill on her way back to the car just happened to be the same moment that three large black men were converging upon my car. I saw her and knew that until she knew what was happening, she’d be freaked. When she saw men converging upon the car, she had her hand on her cell phone ready to call for help if need be. Like I said, we found the seedy part of town, and one can’t be too cautious. It’s too bad, but unfortunately it’s true.
The guys got me pushed back off to the side of the road and out of the way. Sandy was back with me by this time. She hadn’t ever been too far away. The men were so very nice! One asked if we wanted him to get some gas—he had a gas can in his van. We said, “Oh yes, that would be so great! Thank you!” The man told the other two to stay with us because even he wouldn’t want to be stranded where we were. (Oh yeah, that made me feel really good!) The other two guys kind of argued, saying that he should stay while they go. (Again, not making me feel so good to be there if they were a little nervous about being there!) Well, the two stayed with us while the third went and got some gas. We chatted a bit while he was gone. When he returned, he put in the gas, we reimbursed him and were once again on our way. It’s nice to know that there are still good Samaritans out there. Very nice.
Once that was over, I wanted to take Sandy to the apartment that I really liked. We called to find out if they were still there (it was well after 5 P.M.). I talked to the young man that had shown me the apartment, and he was more than happy to show it again. When we got there, I asked to see a two-bedroom instead, and the moment that Sandy and I stepped in it, we both loved it. It had two bathrooms, too. The kitchen was great and it was just really nice. It is hooked up for high-speed Internet connections, too. Muy importante. Sandy and I discussed it a little bit. I figured my budget out on a piece of paper, even though I had done it several times before the previous day.
I signed a lease and left a deposit for an apartment. I have an apartment! I’m so very excited!
We returned to Chattanooga, had dinner with her hunny bunny and then turned in for the evening. And I flew out the next day. All in all it was a very successful and enjoyable time. I visited the school. I got to spend time with Sandy. And I found an apartment.
Now all I have to do is decide if I’m going to keep my furniture or sell it and buy new stuff when I get there. Dang. There are always decisions to be made!
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