Dilemma

Almost a week ago the landlord decided that if we wanted to keep the cat, we would have to move out. The thought of a little fuzzy critter scraping up the walls and peeing on the carpets was too much for him. He said that we should clear out by the end of December, so he can raise the rent and security deposit and bring in three new tenants, and start all over again.

This created an explosion of activity within the house, as we tried to decide what to do. The housemates all began looking for local rentals that would accomodate all of us together, or each of us individually. La and I contacted our friends in Cupertino, and together we all went out to look at houses we'd consider renting "over the hill". I decided that this move would signal a new direction for us, including a renewed focus on finding me a higher-paying job.

Just as our options were cohering, the landlord changed his mind. Apparently the thought of seeking a new set of tenants was even worse than the thought of housing a kitten. Now he says we can stay in the house and keep the kitten, provided we agree to an increase in rent that he's been "wanting to do for a while anyway".

And now I can't make up my mind.

Here are the benefits of staying here:

- I can continue to walk to work, saving relatively about $100 a month in gas as long as I work here
- Groovy Santa Cruz weather and the sound of elephant seals drifting in the window
- close proximity of beach and UCSC wilderness for weekend excursions
- reduced commute time for the La
- a variety of convenient organic food stores
- more garden space
- lower utility costs (divided between five instead of four)

And here are the benefits of moving over the hill, if we choose the first house we looked at:

- nice central as well as forced air heating
- a bathtub for the La
- closer proximity to Asian food stores and electronics stores
- room for Dan to install his hot tub
- closer proximity to much larger San Jose job market
- additional garage space
- built-in Braindead Monkeys jam space
- an extra room for La and I to use as a "study", or as guest room

Things shared by BOTH places:

- groovy housemates
- a fireplace
- a nice kitchen
- hardwood floors
- the same rent

What should I do? La and I don't have the money saved up to invest in property, so we still must rent for the time being. I'm acutely interested in finding programming-oriented work, instead of frustrating I.T. stuff. La needs to do at least one more semester at Cabrillo, which is a long way from San Jose (but thanks to her class scheduling, she and I can carpool).

Yargh!

OS X Server 10.4.3 email poop

Say you've got a user who's email box has been corrupted by some spam-relaying jerk in Aruba. Somehow the hash in "cyrus.header" inside that user's mailbox has gone bad, and changing the password on the account no longer works.

So you delete the account from the system, then recreate it. Unfortunately, the email server fails to delete the mailbox for the old user, and now the new user cannot create its mailbox - so it can't receive any mail.

( This is a crappy situation. Time to roll up your sleeves. )

Then go home, and get some sleep!