Wherein I Go Room Hunting

I am so tired.

Having already expressed my discomfort at having to share a room with my sister, you may already know that I am itching to move out. You may also know that I am somehat adamant against staying in a school hostel again after moving out with my pride last semester.

So I had to go room hunting. Spent most of today running about looking at the blasted things.

Next to job-hunting, room-hunting has to be the next most frustrating thing to have to do in your life. The last time I managed to hit paydirt within my second viewing and got a really nice little room with an elderly couple who would wash my laundry for me. This time, though...

1st Room - Holland Road - S$250/mth
Advantages: Cheap, high floor, close to Holland Village and various amenities
Disadvantages: Roommate is a half-with whose own brother doesn't want to live with

2nd Room - Clementi, Sunset Way - S$330/mth
Advantages: Close to NUS, other tenants all my age and also students
Disadvantages: Not close to anything else, landlady reminds me of the kind of evil land-owning bourgeousie that started the whole ruckus with communism

3rd Room - West Coast Road - S$380/mth (shophouse!)
Advantages: Close to Ginza Plaza, a whole bunch of shops, hawker centre, should be pretty fun getting to live in a shophouse
Disadvantages: Far away from town

4th Room - Holland Road - S$400/mth
Advantages: Only one with air-conditioning so far, close to Holland Village and town, owner seems really friendly and nice and reads a LOT (had shelves and shelves of books)
Disadvantages: Highest rent of the lot, owner might be psychotic neat freak (unnaturally neat for a bachelor - even his Army stuff was arranged neatly in shelves)

5th Room - Sophia Road - S$300/mth
Advantages: Location incredibly central, right behind Peace centre, about 500m from Orchard road, owner and other tenant my own age and seemed quite hip and pretty (females)
Disadvantages: Room size only about a third of the minimum I expect. Owner explained to me that I could use the room only for sleeping and leave all my stuff in the living room

The problem this time round in choosing a room is that I'm being a lot more choosy. Had it been the Alex of a year ago I'd have stayed with the mentally-challenged brother in Room 1 without hesitation - the cost is just too yummy. Unfortunately, I am now expected to exhibit some form of taste, so that leaves, really, only the middle 3 choices. I have yet to figure out my killer-requirement, and have a sickening feeling that this time round it's going to have to be a complex mix of factors that decides the issue.

So complicated I think I'm going to leave it to my subconcious mind.

Plus my army responsibilities have caught up. They were surprised that I even went back considering I was on leave already, but I can't leave without at least arranging for my duties to be properly taken over. I'm also supposed to be working on portfolio, but that's just something of a pipe dream at the moment with the room and the army - I'm so tired when I get home it's all I can do to sit drooling in my chair and read webcomics till I fall asleep (or when I get calls).

So forgive the whining. I'm pretty sure I'll have a definite answer as to which room I'll take tomorrow morning after I wake up. I always have an answer after I have rest - my subconcious mind always churns out something by then (or quits and leaves me the top-of-the-list).

Stay tuned for room pics.