Junky

My apartment is junky because of me. I've lived here 10 months now, never felt quite comfortable, constantly planned on moving once the lease was up... and so have left a lot of junk lying around and never properly decorated.

Today was my deadline for either giving notice to move out April 15 or signing up for another year. I signed up for another year.

(1) The guys in the apartment overlooking mine who have been so disruptive since I moved in (April 2017) will be forcibly moving out March 4, says the apartment manager. Also, the maintenance room next to my apartment is no longer a (loud) hangout for the maintenance dudes since the hiring of an older guy several months ago, who seems to keep his team out doing work instead of goofing off next-door to me and my thin walls. (The apartment manager is probably the main reason I'm staying: Unlike many past managers, this one is very much on top of things and responsive.)
(2) The rent is staying exactly the same: $1275 monthly for 1200 sq ft. A prime Austin location on Burnet Road. Months-long searches on Craigslist have yielded 600-700 sq ft apartments for the same price.
(3) No view, but... pretty quiet. At my last apartment at the more-desirable North Loop location (just a mile or so south, also off Burnet), the loud-voiced guy downstairs yelled constantly, a new neighbor blared his stereo at 4am, and a newly moved-in couple held frequent parties, shot off fireworks in the parking lot, etc. I liked that location better, but the neighbors were worse.
(4) I'm currently a 10-minute drive from work. I also like being able to walk 20 ft to the pool in the summer. And the laundry room is steps away (yet not so close that I have to listen to people there).
(5) Honestly, I don't feel like moving again so soon. It's not like it was when I was 20 or 30 and had a bed and a foam sofa that my friends could haul in a pickup. I've got a lot of shit now. Movers can always take care of the heavy lifting, but... I was not up for packing up my books and random stuff at this point. 2017 was a bad year, emotionally, and I feel that I still need to recuperate and stay still for a little while.

Lastly, I had a niggling sensation that I hadn't yet given this apartment a chance. 1200 sq ft! A "study" that I'd parked some shelves and books in, but that I'd never used. A bedroom that I rarely use (sleeping on the couch) because of the huge window that I think passers-by can see through, and that didn't have a TV to watch while falling asleep. A big pile of boxes sitting around that I'd been saving up for 10 months in anticipation of a move. Junky. There's a lot of potential here that has not been realized. A project for the next year.