I'm looking at three apartments starting on Friday. One in the neighborhood, which isn't ideal, but I'm very curious about, and two on Saturday. None of them are really ideal actually, at least not on paper, but doesn't hurt to see what's out there. It's like job hunting. When I was job hunting, I interviewed a lot at jobs I didn't want, just for interview practice. My last three jobs were places I'd gone to just to practice interviewing, so I know I should be open and look at all vacant apartments out there.

I told my rock star drummer friend K I wanted to move, and he warned me not too. He said that because the economy is so bad right, and so many people are being laid off, there'll be a glut of apartments on the market cheaper than the ones I'm seeing now. Then on the radio today I heard the head of a San Francisco church that gives grocery bags out to poor people say, that he's never seen lines of people needing free food like this in 40 years, and most of the people are young too.

My rock star drummer friend says that if I get laid off suddenly and I move, I'll be stuck paying higher rent, which would be a dumb idea. He's probably right, but I just can't stand my place anymore. The people upstairs were deliberately stomping above after 10 pm at night. God, they are so rude. And I'm evil as well, and just turn up my stereo since sound travels up. That's how bad it's gotten. And what's laughable is that the whole sound problem could be solved if the people upstairs just bought an area rug. Maybe they like the hardwood floors, maybe they're just plain rude and stupid and unaware that someone lives below them and I can hear every footstep they make especially when they wear their shoes late at night. Who konws what their problem is. I just want out of there as soon as possible.

I know rents are coming down because I've seen apartments that are bigger than mine for rent costing as much as my building was charging in 2000, and my building always prices themselves below the market. I saw two bedrooms apartments for the price of a one bedroom, in nice neighborhoods, with prices from 2000.

I've only been apartment hunting since last week, and I've already seen people having to lower their prices on their rentals. There is no one out there who can afford these prices anymore. I'm looking at a place on Friday, where the landlord had to lower the price by $50. I've never seen that happen in San Francisco ever. I've seen For Rent signs on some buildings for months, probably because and landlord is too greedy and doesn't want to lower the price. Some landlords are offering the first month free and other perks. The apartment above me sat empty for three months, which is extraordinary, since my landlord charges rents below the market rates.

Now I bet you're thinking, why didn't I move upstairs? Well, because the last two families who lived up above me had carpet and I never heard them. There wasn't a reason to move. Now I've got totally rude chick from hell living upstairs from me without carpet, and believe me, it's shocking and eye opening to hear how thin walls are between our apartments. There was a family of four who used to live above me, and I didn't even know they were up there, and that there were so many of them. I didn't find out until they moved out, and I was amazed that I never heard the two kids or the parents. I wish the family were still there. There were good neighbours. But from all the websites on housing and insulation I've been reading, there are a ton of rude people out there who don't care they they disturb their neighbours. I've just been spoiled I guess, by caring and polite upstairs neighbours over the years, and I miss them.