Wherein I Walk Into a Stranger's Apartment

I left for Seattle on Monday, July 23rd and arrived that same day. Although it's a 6-hour flight, I've done it at least a few times before and gaining 3 hours on the way makes it seem shorter. There was just a small delay in Newark because of weather, but from then on it was smooth sailing. I had loaded my iPad with plenty of stuff to keep me occupied, and have also been reading Richard Branson's autobiography which came in handy when you couldn't use any electronics. His life is actually incredibly interesting - I highly recommend at least reading his Wikipedia page.

Once at the Seattle airport, I waited for my bag, took a shuttle to the rental car facility, and drove to pickup the keys for my temporary apartment. With the keys in hand, I set off to find the location I'd be staying for the majority of the week until the moving company delivered all my stuff. Up until this point, everything was going very well. I may have been tired and a little hungry, but smooth and safe travels are often taken for granted, so I was happy.

Now the location I was initially given (note the wording here) for my temporary residence is in Issaquah, WA, pretty far Southeast of Redmond. After I got the key, which I picked up near Seattle, I headed over there. I wasn't thrilled with how far away the place was, but it was a place to sleep, shower, and access the internet. I located the complex, and tried looking at the map that came with the key to figure out where my unit was. For the life of me, I could not figure out where to go. The map seemed nothing like the location I was in, and I was totally lost. I circled around the apartment community a few times before finally finding my building number. I was supposed to park in a specific, numbered spot, which was nowhere to be found, so I just parked close to the building. I wandered around the building until finally locating what I thought was where I'd be staying. I turned the doorknob without even trying the key, and the door opens to reveal a man preparing dinner for his family. As soon as I realized someone was there, I knocked on the door - a moot action since the door was open already.

I could not believe what I was seeing. Here I was, looking forward to getting some much needed sleep, and there's someone in that apartment. The guy came over to the door, understandably upset that a stranger had just opened his door and then knocked. I apologized profusely, saying I assumed the place would be empty considering I thought I was staying here. I think he could see the shock on my face, and explained to me that his family has been using this for temporary residence as well. They recently decided to extend their stay while they look for more permanent residence, and notified the relocation company. Apparently, someone had missed something along the way. I apologized again many times over, saying that I would call them and figure it out. He seemed to sympathize with my situation (he made sure I had a way to contact someone), and I was glad he didn't just go off on me for intruding on his home. Never again will I let something like this happen.

I went back to my car to try and figure out what to do. I was a little worried, but knew that in the worst case, the relocation company would just book a hotel for me while they figured something else out. I called them up, and as I was waiting to talk to someone, I went through the materials that came with the key I picked up. Something looked a little off... I didn't recognize the address on the forms that came in the packet. I compared it to the printout that I had, and sure enough they were different. Almost immediately, I realized what happened: I was the one that dropped the ball in this situation. It seems that because this guy and his family extended their stay, I was put in a different location (specifically Bothell, WA). I'm sure it says that can happen in the fine print, and if I had read what they gave me with the key, this could have been avoided. I wasn't thrilled about trying to find my way to this new location without the help of internet (I don't have a smartphone), and I had gotten even more hungry, I stopped somewhere to eat and cool off.

The directions to the new apartment originated in the key pickup location, which I was nowhere near, I could, theoretically, reverse the directions I had just followed to go back there, and then start following the new ones. That seemed like quite a waste, so I read more closely. The directions said to get on 405N at some point, and I remember taking 405S to get to where I was. Even though I was in unfamiliar territory, I have a good sense of direction. I was able to get back to the highway without any problems, and made it to my actual temporary apartment around 10pm Pacific time. Wanna take a guess as to what I did when I first got there? I knocked on the door and waited for a good 2 minutes just to be sure...

Clearly, this apartment was meant for more than just myself. I walked in, and saw the following:

I'm not even gonna use this.

2 of 3 beds in the place. I will sleep in each one.

Oh Colbert, you so silly.

Now that I was here, I took a shower and did a long-overdue check of my email. Sure enough, there was one telling me the location of the temporary apartment had changed. Off to sleep, for a long week ahead.