Back to the Peg

Ever be riding a bicycle quickly down a river path enjoying all that the river bank has to offer and hit a patch of thick sticky mud? That's how I've been feeling lately. Stuck in a slow motion mudpit pumping like crazy and looking forward to the other side of the pit hoping to make it before I fall over or have to stop and get off. I 've been looking for an apartment, something I've never had a problem with before... easy peasy ..no problem .. I thought as I rode through neighborhoods I liked and jotted down numbers to call. None of the agencies called me back when I left a message and a few of the caretakers didn't either. So I shouldered on and found a nice place which I made an application for right away as the For Rent sign had only been put out hours before I passed by, thinking I was done. Nope and nope... they rejected me saying I didn't make enough money at my current job at which point I pointed out that I had also wrote into the application that I was a self employed artist which meant that I made more than enough. I had to give them copies of my tax return, pay slips and copy of a current contract as support to prove it. But oh no... turns out self employed artists were not welcome. Even ones with solid references and a no past problems paying rent. They said I needed a co-signer.... or that I could pay 6 months of rent in advance, approx. 3000$. I guess they thought I would go away at that point. I said no problem, I'll pay the 6 months rent in advance. It was a nice enough apartment to fight for. They said ok but didn't sound convinced. Then 5 minutes later called back and said they could only hold the lease for 4 days. It was obvious I was being jerked around. I said that this was getting ridiculous, told them I didn't have the cash flow to give them that much at the moment but needed a little more time to get the money together. So it went. I spent the weekend in high anxiety. Why is it that artists have to claw their way to get some respect in this world? What were they going to do next? Am I going to have a confrontation at the landlords office? I got the money together on Monday and went down to sign the lease. No more hassles. I still don't feel right though.