As much as July feels like it didn't really happen, I'm mentally preparing myself for August to be hard. My dad is going to Philadelphia this coming Tuesday and having his left hip replaced, which means a replay of April. It sucks most for him, no doubt about that, but my mom is already freaking out because she can't handle stress at all, and I'm just waiting for the chaos about to descend. At least this time my sister will be around for the whole time to take some of the brunt, and I can keep using my earbuds to drown out the shouting.

I'm seeing a lot of winter rentals coming up now, but I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and look at getting a car and an apartment regardless since another winter with four of us in this house is not happening unless absolutely necessary. I really don't want to go through the hassle of moving but it is the best option. In the meantime, I'm going to hope my dad's surgery goes well and the recovery is faster since it's being done with a different method than his right hip. Fingers crossed.

My back is finally to the point where I can move mostly without pain again. It turns out that adding a pillow to the dining room chair and pillows behind my back gives me enough cushioning that I can at least bear it for ten hours a day. I didn't call the apartment complexes since I saw the prices rise again and it's now $2,000-$2,400 for the non-luxury one bedrooms, which is just insane. I'm officially putting the search on hold until Aug-Sept when the summer rush should be done, and over the past two weeks I'm seeing prices moderate a bit. We've finally hit peak gouging.

July is historically a tough month mentally and emotionally for me, and this year has been no exception as I find myself thinking too often about the past and watching the clusterfucks in society that are happening more often, or at least it seems that way. I always try to remind myself that as humans, we overemphasize our current experiences and have very poor habits of whitewashing the past or remembering it with a distinct bias, so maybe things aren't as screwed up as they appear to be. If (when) I read about this time period in history books, however, I'll be fascinated to see what does make it into the collective consciousness and how the scholars judge the Dobbs decision, Jan. 6th hearings, inflation, wage stagnation, etc.

Only time will tell; for now, we endure it.

This week my goal is to call those apartment complexes and ask again if there's any availability, although I suspect waiting to rent would be wise. I think the pricing bubble is about stabilize and/or let out some air since rents literally can't go any higher considering average wages in this area. When you're pricing out even the middle class, it means landlords are playing with fire and risking multiple evictions or empty apartments. 

Of course waiting means staying here longer which is driving me nuts. I threw out my back last Monday and it's only just healing, since sitting on the dining room chairs for 10 hours a day is making it worse. There's just no room here, and we are absolutely on top of each other every waking moment. I'm already trading a washer/dryer in house for a laundry room situation again, along with a few other conveniences I have living with my parents, but I'm so ready for it just to have my own space again. It would be a dream to not have them overhear (and comment on) every conversation or criticize the way I work, react, even the way I choose to use my PTO (I took a couple of half days when I thought I would be going to the two concerts in NYC, neither of which happened but I couldn't take the days back. My mom thinks this is wasteful. I told her plans changed, I'm not happy about that either, but it's none of her business how I use my PTO).

The car situation I still have no idea what to do with, but that has to be another bridge I cross when I have to. I just want affordable rent and some peace and quiet - is that so bad?!