Richmond is beautiful city after all, maybe Dr. Kelso was right.

I’m a bit of a Scrubs nerd. I love it. I have all five available season on DVD and watch it whenever life allows such a delectable treat. However a fourth season quote from Dr. Kelso rang in my mind loud and true while I was in Richmond looking for a place to call home for the next couple of years.

“Anything in life that is worth a damn won’t come easy. You gotta work for it. So, get up off your ass. Get out there and do the work.”

Two days to find a place to live is challenging enough as it is. But doing for myself and for my two roomies in a town I know nothing about was, well, let’s say it was big set of growing pains. Mike Seaver, eat your heart out, my friend.

I was in Richmond, VA to fend for myself. No friends. No family. And thanks to Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, no rental car. Just my luck; it was a hundred some-odd degrees that blistering Tuesday. I only had two appointments lined up and every place I saw on the Internet must have thought I was kidding when I very politely asked, “please call me back when you have a chance. Thank you so much.” I’m still tryin’ to figure out just why I was thanking them.

8:30am to 4:30 I trekked across the rainforest of a city that was Richmond as the Sun licked me up and down. Kept my chin up, kept placing one foot in front of the other and kept my eagle eyes open for places better than what I saw on the Internet. I’m sure I lost 10 pounds of water weight, but the Scrubs quote kept echoing and I kept going with a stiff upper lip. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, the heavens decided it’d be a great idea to pour its soul on me. I was drenched.

I got leads from everyone and everywhere, but every place I saw became worse than the previous. A funny one was when a lady from Waybright Properties showed me an apartment that looked like part of WWII was fought in it. Windows were broken. The refrigerator door was missing a handle. Floor boards were missing. Paint was peeling everywhere, as if the even the paint hated being associated with the place. There was a hook latch for the front door’s lock. It looked like someone started a fire in the restroom. Debris was crumbled all around my feet.

I ran into luck. A very nice waitress named Heather at the 821 Café over in the Fan district of Richmond saw me drag into the restaurant, slump in my chair from dehydration, exhaustion and just being soaked. We got to talking and she was kind enough to tote me around for a tour of Richmond for two and a half hours.

It was a blessing. Suddenly, through Heather’s kindness, I was able to learn about the town, some of its history, where not to look for places to live, who not to rent from (Waybright, Pollard & Bagby, etc.) and what there is to do in the town. I felt like I was becoming a local. No worries, I paid her gas money.

Well, moral of the story is I put in the work, to little avail. I was blessed with undeserved kindness. Then on the following day, found a place to live. I’m not sure that chain events would have happened if it weren’t for just going out and doing the work, even if I’m still dehydrated from the whole affair. Thank you for you words of wisdom, Dr. Kelso. Thank you.