EMERGENCY---Or, Remember How Things Were Going Well?

Up to now, January has been good to me. Agents have expressed interest in my book, I'm almost done with my proposal, and I just got a story idea accepted by This American Life, which led me to spend this weekend at the MIT Mystery Hunt, where I wound up on the team that actually won. I had every hope that in just a few months, once the book was sold, I'd have a little money I could use to find a cheaper apartment and/or a better-paying job. (Even that's not going too badly; whereas I used to coast into each payday with less than $20 in the bank, this past payday---which, admittedly, came three days sooner than usual---I somehow held onto all of $100.) I figured I'd need maybe $1500 to $2000---I've seen rents as low as $600 with roommates in Brooklyn, and $1500 seems like it'd cover first month, last month, and whatever modest deposit they might require, as well as some relatively minor amount for the move itself, if I wound up having to rent a truck. (I only have one small room full of stuff.) Selling a book seemed a sure way to get at least that much.

But tonight, less than five minutes before I started this post, my chief roommate---the guy I'm subletting from---told me that he has family coming into town and he needs me to move out. I have a month to find a new place.

In a way, I'm surprised I'm not more freaked out than I am. I think I'm experiencing what was meant when Matthew Broderick said in The Freshman (and I think I've quoted this before), "There's a certain freedom that comes from being totally screwed." I have literally no options: I guess I'm moving, whether I have money or not. At worst, I still have a job, and if I wind up on the street (we're thinking worst-case scenarios), I'll be able to save up enough money in about a month and a half to make that $1500 I've needed all this time.

Anyway, I obviously need help, and I could definitely use ideas. (And, for that matter, encouragement.) I've already dunned most of my friends back when I moved here, and have been utterly unable to repay their debts (another thing I was counting on a book sale to rectify), so I'd rather not ask for more money. But if someone has a guest room or a couch they can offer for a month or so---I could even go from place to place, two weeks at a time, if I could find a storage place that wasn't exorbitant---I'll clearly be receptive to it.