Green Light

Yes, my brother co-signed for me. Yes, the new apartment people extended my deadline and held the apartment while I waited for my brother to finish flying across the country.

I got the apartment. Please come visit me in February, and please bring your dogs when you do.

While I was in Florida last week, my father said he wanted the three of us (him, my mom, me) to sit down and talk about how the co-signing request went down.

Apparently my mother feels insulted that I never actually ASKED her to co-sign. Here's the thing though: I didn't ask her because as I wrapped up telling her all about the apartment, ending with "So I have until tomorrow at noon to either produce a roommate or have someone to co-sign," she responded by saying, "Oh well. I'm sure you'll find another apartment." I saw that as a CLEAR sign to NOT ask her. So I didn't. She claims to have been hurt and insulted that I didn't actually ask.

THEN, when I was telling my dad all about it and she overheard him talking to me and walked by and said "No," my mother claims that she didn't know what my father was talking about, and only thought he was agreeing to do something involving a lot of money without talking to her first.

THENNNNNNN, she claimed that she wanted to help by agreeing to co-sign, but felt she couldn't because I had told her to be "less mother, more friend" and she didn't believe a friend would ever offer to co-sign. So I told her that two friends actually had made that exact offer.

My father and I went round and round with her, trying to get her to commit to one stance and stick with it, to no avail. I say, if you see somebody has a problem and you want to help, you offer the help. There's no rule that says you have to wait to be asked for said help. No rule that says only people with certain relationships to you can offer certain types of help.

Poor dad. He apparently had this happen to him back in the olden days - he was dirt poor after having just gotten out of the Army, went to his parents to ask for a loan, and they refused. He told me he was VERY upset that his child came to him for money help and his wife put him in a position where he was forced to say no.

So that's what happened. Meanwhile, yesterday, on Christmas Eve Day, while I was in a parking lot in Florida, my cell phone rang. It was the dude from the new leasing office, apologizing for bothering me, but calling to say someone asked if anyone was looking for a roommate and he thought of me. I wrote down the chick's e-mail address and even though he said she's "well into her 40's" I will e-mail her today. People in their 40's can be okay, right? Right?

Yeah, I'll put an ad up on a few sites just in case.