M.A.S.H.

If you are even close to my age it is likely you have played the Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House game. On the four sides of a square you write MASH, names of boys (or girls) you could marry, number of children, then a city or place. Based on a number you pick the choices are eliminated until you have one of each. I always thought a shack would be the worst type of habitation, but I am quickly learning that an apartment isn't much better. At least, not one owned by someone else and 'managed' by some random assistant.

It is time for us to renew our contract so we can keep living in the apartment we've been in for the last year. It is not my favorite place, as most of you probably already know, but the price is right, the location is good, and the pool is close by. When John and I went down to the office last weekend to sign our new contract we were surprised by a 'bond program' we apparently signed on for last year. We remember signing the papers, but the office girls who explained it to us neglected to tell us that if we exceed a certain income we would have to move out of our apartment. That's right, I make too much money so they were going to kick us out. Seriously?! Seriously.

Long story short, we've figured it out, but it has been a huge hassle every step of the way. If one more thing had gone wrong or if they had made me jump through just one more hoop we would be moving somewhere else. As it is, John and I are both bitter about the whole thing now. Fortunately, we aren't planning on being here much longer than a year so we won't have to go through it again. Hopefully. You never know...