And just like that, it's October

This whole year has flown by, but September especially seemed to go so fast. It was supposed to start so well with the long-awaited San Diego Bouchercon, but that didn't exactly pan out the way I'd hoped. Then there was the fire that seriously scared the living daylights out of me. I'm still so grateful to have my home to come home to. 

 

But finally, September did end on a higher note than the rest of the month: I got to see what my apartment will look like after the upcoming renovations and holy moly, is it going to be gorgeous! The renovations have been in the works for almost ten years, and previous plans were not well received by residents, so we've been dreading it for ages. But the plans have been revised to make a lot more sense, and after a Zoom call and an open house of an already renovated unit, most of our fears have been eased. A few residents still have concerns, but for me personally pretty much all my issues have been resolved. Not only will the move-out/move-in be less disruptive than anticipated, I'm actually looking forward to getting it done while I had previously dreaded it. 

 

This is a huge complex and my building isn't in the first wave of renovations, but they'll get to me eventually. I think that possibly a year from now my apartment could be updated. Improvements include all wood floors, snazzy new cabinets and countertops, A/C and my favorite part, a washer and dryer in the unit. We're also losing our apartment-sized appliances and getting big stainless steel gas stoves (we currently have electric) and a huge, double-sided stainless steel fridge. I'm finally going to have the kitchen of my dreams that I've wanted since culinary school. 

Most importantly, it eases the dread of having to figure out where I would move next. I figured I'd either be priced out at some point (costs of apartments in the L.A. area continue to soar) but during the period I lived away from the beach this complex went under some kind of rent control and part of the agreement for the renovations includes not raising the rents for current tenants when our apartments are upgraded, and subsequent annual increases are limited. I got my first increase since moving back here earlier this year and it was much less than I was expecting. God knows what they'll charge new tenants for the fancy new apartments, but that won't affect me. I can probably count on living here indefinitely if not forever, which despite the downward trajectory Los Angeles has been on is still comforting for me. It's just easier for me than having to wonder where I'll go. I'm still dragging a bit on the writing thing, but I'm a huge homebody so knowing my home will be mine pretty much as long as I want is making me feel more positive than I've felt in a while.