It must an -ism of some sort. There’s no other logical explanation.
Maybe it’s blondism, the deep dislike and distrust of women with blond hair. I used to run into this one at some job interviews. The questions I was asked just because I’m blond! Unbelievable! And, I might add, inappropriate.
But wait, my husband isn’t blond. Maybe I’m being too specific by focusing on hair color. It could be simply that we both have hair. That’s it, hairism, the distrust of people with hair.
No, that doesn’t work either. Now that I think about it, most of the leasing agents had plenty of hair.
But something’s going on. Maybe it’s paleism (I don’t tan), hygienism (I take regular showers), ageism (I’m not in my twenties), moneyism (too much or too little?), or average-height-and-weightism. It’s a mystery which kind of -ism is disrupting my life, only that there is one.
Because honestly, there’s no way this is a coincidence. Apartment shopping shouldn’t be this frustrating.
In the last few weeks I’ve had a zillion conversations such as this one:
Agent: “Sure, we’ve got just the two bedroom apartment you want. It’s a corner one, so it gets extra light. The rent is $2100 a month and the square footage is 1083. Do you want to come see it?”
Me: “Love to. I can be there in an hour.”
Agent: “Great. See you at 11.”
Shortly followed by this one:
Me: “I have an appointment to see the two bedroom.”
Agent: “Okay. How much do you want to spend?”
Me: “No. I called. I already know you have a 1083 sq. ft. apartment that rents for $2100 a month-”
Agent: “You’ve been misinformed. Those people in the central office never know what we have. How much do you want to spend?”
Me: “Well…we definitely want to keep it below $2500-”
Agent: “Ohhh. Well, we have a 750 sq. ft. apartment that goes for $2600. Would you like to see that?”
Okay, a zillion might be overstating it a bit. It was more like twenty. But isn’t even twenty a little suspicious?
The first couple of times I thought it was just bad luck. But it happened too often, way too often.
And since the price of the apartment didn’t change until we showed up and the leasing agent got a look at us I know that an -ism, of some sort, must at work.
Even if I don’t know what kind.
At least I know it isn’t racism. As far as I can tell not a one of the leasing agents was from a different planet. No room for racism when we’re all a part of the human race.