on roommates. part three

The HopeArts Years.

I would here like to state that it was my idea to remove the space between "Hope" and "Arts" which somehow turned the phrase into one that David Taylor could live with.

Sometime in June of 2001, i visited Austin and met an acquaintance of my dearly beloved Micah, who was looking for a roommate. It was a great house in a great location (little did i know how great it would become!) with two wonderful women, Angie and Jocelyn. I moved in with them on July 3.

Angie, Jocelyn, Tigger, Tally (Angie's cat and mine--i've been leaving pets out of this, but i should have mentioned Birdie the Parakeet, Chewy the Hedgehog, and the goldfish that shared the Ridgewood home) and i lived peaceably together, fought off two lumbering raccoons, and hosted a few tremendous parties there on Harris Avenue.

My aim in this season was to pursue theatre, however, and i ended up taking an apprenticeship with AD Players in Houston for the summer. It worked out that a friend of ours needed a place to move in just as i was leaving, so my commitment was covered...a bit too well, as Susannah needed to move a few weeks before i was able to leave Austin. So i kindly packed my things into boxes (there wasn't much that had fit into the built-in back porch room without a closet, anyway) and moved in temporarily with Elizabeth McClure.

Elizabeth lived in a one room apartment with a tiny little sunroom that my foam couch just squeezed into. For 6 weeks, the sunroom was my bedroom, and dear patient Elizabeth dealt with the crammedness of all my things in her tiny little space. God bless her!

When it came time to head to Houston, a kindly gentleman, Ed Tschoepe was the lone friend who came to help me and my dad pack up the van ("You can bring him home anytime," my dad said to me once we were off. Good planning on Someone's part!)

And we were off. To Houston, where i was going to be living with the Prices, parents of my friend Catherine, who happened to live a mere 3 blocks from the theatre where i would be apprenticing. A bearable walk, even for Houston! I lived on the bottom floor of their townhouse, while they took the middle floor, and a Japanese graduate student lived in the room on the third floor. (Three more housemates! and another cat, for those who care to count)

Let's see. i'm up to...6 housemates so far for this season. OK.

Returning to Austin, i would be taking an internship with HopeArts. That meant i would (presumably) be provided with housing from a family in the church (this is getting familiar). The internship/housing agreement started in September, but i got back in August, so for the first few weeks, i lived in a house with my sister and her two roommates, Kara and Jennifer. And Bessie the pee-happy dachshund.

Amanda (my sister this time) and i were to move into a house together with the daughter of the family that would be providing my intern housing. But that house wasn't ready yet. But Amanda's lease came up. So we had to go somewhere. So the Rasco family, unable to say no to my poor face, took me in. Sara, Martha, and John provided a wonderful wonderful haven for me!

Finally, our house in Barton Hills was ready for us, and Amanda Rosalie and i moved in with a poet, Brooke, who is ten times the introvert i am. Amanda and i shared a room.

The poet house, with its carpet (the only house i lived in with carpet, i think!) and extremely tall ceilings, lasted only a few months until changes had to come, and i returned to the Rascos for a brief period until i could move in with yet Another Amanda.

August, 200...um...2003. yes. I moved into Crestview, two doors down from the fire station, with an artist/teacher/songwriter/wailer named Amanda. I had the particular privilege of living with her during the dramatic period that launched her first album of songs (a period that included winning best costume at a XANADU roller-rink party).

And then, after a year, it was time for her to move on. This time, she moved in with Angie, and i was blessed with a sweet woman, Emily, working as a nurse at the time. Emily brought with her another temporary housemate, who was preparing to move to Kenya. Allison lived with us about 6 weeks. Then Emily and i had a quiet month or so, until Micah decided it was time for her to move back to Austin, so we took her in until she could find a job and a more permanent place.

Well, what happened instead was that i decided to move to New York. So Micah stayed, becoming my...let's see, where are we now...57 + 13 + 17...87!! My 87th housemate! Wow. i didn't realize it was that many myself. no wonder i'm so patient. Ed, you should send a thank you letter to all these people...

But we're not done! Stay tuned for part four: New York, New York!