November
November’s muni-pass is green and green. Not necessarily colors I associate with autumn, but pleasant and soothing nonetheless.
The ginkgo tree in the backyard has begun dropping its smelly fruit. Because it has rained over the past two days the berries have fallen en masse, congealing with the wet earth into a detestably fragrant paste. God help anyone who gets such a mess on his shoes, because the stuff does not wash out. Whether it stains cloth, rubber or flesh, the smell has to dissipate naturally over time. This includes puppy paws, meaning that Percy isn’t allowed in the backyard until the berries have all fallen and have been raked up into the compost bin. Poor little dog.
For the past month I’ve been posting ads on Craigslist and screening applicants, scheduling times for people to meet Melissa and me. It was a harrowing process, trying to size people up in short meetings, offering the room to a few candidates who ended up not calling us back. Several people backed out at the last minue, in fact, and we were afraid at one point that we might have to pay for November with our security deposits and start househunting for a new home for December. In the end everything worked out and now I have two new roommates. Both female, one is lesbian and the other is Canadian. Hooray!