Grand Central Corner

After nine months (for me, three months for Natalie) in the fabulous, but quirky, Pike place, Natalie and I were contemplating what to do when our lease came up at the end of the summer. The charm of living upstairs from "a fringe theater dedicated to creating bold new work in an environment of improbability, resourcefulness and risk" was starting to wear thin. Plus I was concerned that Natalie would be unenthusiastic about wearing two pairs of socks, pants, long underwear, shirt, undershirt, and a sweater to bed when the cold months of winter were once again upon us.

We scoured the rental listings and found nothing with genuine appeal. As we were beginning to despair—and steeling ourselves for a months-long siege against the barbarians on craigslist—my sister forwarded a few real estate listings my way. This was an activity she engaged in regularly, in what I assumed to be a subtle hint that we should stick around Seattle for a while. One of those listings caught our eye.

A few visits, bidding, counter-bidding, an inspection, some document signing, and a wire transfer ensued, and with that my real estate empire doubled in size. I present, for your inspection, unit A of the the oxymoronically named "Central Corner Condominiums".

It's only about four blocks from our previous location, so moving was a snap and we handily avoided the trauma of separation from our beloved Capitol Hill.