Meerkat Manor
A Nerdy, Arty, Queer-Friendly, Semi-Collective House in San Francisco
Meerkats Wanted
(Bonus Tracks)
emotionally:
This is an art house. A fun funny sweet house. A smart interesting geeky house. A deep sarcasm house. A caring about the world and neighbors and housemates house.
socially:
A queer friendly house. A birthday party house. A gathering of friends to do projects house. A brunch house. A movie night house. A playful games house. A TV in the living room playing a DVD which someone is excited about house. A Christmassy Hannukahy Solsticey Christian and Jewish and Pagan friendly house.
negatively:
We would be unlikely to enjoy or have raucous beer parties, satanic rites,
12-step Anythings, Loud disruptive DJ-Mixings, republican party fundraisers, or bonsai
kitten trimmings. This is not a smoking house. As to 420, entactogens,
psychedelia, these are your god-given rights as a San Franciscan, but you
must be responsible and respectful of your housemates. We are not tolerant
of anything more addictive. This is not an issue that comes up often, because
this is not a drug house, either. You should not be new to living with
people you enjoy.
physically:
A house with a good sunlit kitchen, a dishwasher, a living room, a linen closet, and a shower/bath upstairs. A house with four bedrooms upstairs and one bedroom below. A house with a basement and a little yard. The basement has another 1/2 bath and a washer/dryer. A house with central heat. A house with DSL and cable and Playstation and Cat 5 ethernet throughout.
Julian says...
We care a lot about keeping the household happy and running well. We're
far more concerned about getting great folks to live with then we are with
rushing to fill a vacancy. There will always be an ongoing effort to keep
the place a good place to live. On the off chance that there are ever two
people in the house who end up truly not getting along (even after months
of trying), we won't go for folks just tolerating each other and still
staying in the same house. Household harmony is too important for all of
us.
I tend to get a lot done, but it cuts into how much I get to socialize. I love to be around people who are good humans. The vast majority of my time goes to working on The Human Creativity Project.
We're not a "party house" with loud music or large late night gatherings, but sometime projects run late or people stay up a while. We're courteous about noise and can shut the doors that separate different parts of the house. Still, if you're a light sleeper, that will probably end up being an issue.
Jackie is sometimes super energetic and a total blast.
Jackie says...
We preferably want a upbeat, smart, capable person, with a good sense of humor. There is a sarcastic streak to the household- if you don't understand sarcasm you will think we are monsters! We are a queer friendly household, so all kinds of gay/bi/queer folk encouraged to apply.
Randal (who will be moving in a while) says...
To live with the Meerkats, you should be a living example of the following: I was nerdy in high school, and I'm warm and informal. I search for the limits of human experience, and I don't smoke. I expect to hang out with my roommates, and I have an outside life. I've reached a mature attitude in my roommate career, and I approach the world with the wonder of a kid at Disneyland.
EXCELSIOR NEIGHBORHOOD
The neighborhood has been called the most diverse in San Francisco. Once
a blue collar Irish/Italian settlement, the Excelsior is now home to Filipinos,
Chinese, Vietnamese, Afro-American, Salvadorian, and even a couple waspy
Dot-Commers with facial piercings. Local dining reflects this demographic.
The nearest neighbors we talk to, nice grey-haired ladies who bake, are a little more hip than you'd guess. We sometimes attend neighborhood meetings.
Things get quiet after dark on most evenings, but there's the occasional car stereo. In the daytime, you can hear the children playing at the nearby school. Parking is a problem on two nights of the week, but it's nothing like Mid-City. Some people are actually possessive about the space in front of their house(!)
THE HOUSE
This is a 1930's stucco town house, typical of those in Mission Terrace and Daly City. When you walk up the stairs and into the house, you get the feeling that all the surrounding houses share the same layout: living room in front, TV room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms, and then a full basement/garage downstairs. But the rumpus room downstairs and the second living room upstairs are being used as bedrooms, bringing the total to 5 possible bedrooms.
The décor flows through a process of renewal from its 1960's origins, but all the worn-out wallpaper has been scrapped and re-painted. Many of the carpets are due, but no worn holes. The façade, painted with Easter colors, has turned heads in this neighborhood.
HOW THINGS WORK HERE
The housekeeping policy is in transition. With people moving out, it's
a great time to get cleaner (not that the old roommates were slobs, but
they were accustomed to us being slobs, and now we can have a fresh start.)
Everyone does the dishes as they happen. Some housekeeping chores are rotated
while others are volunteered.
Julian and Jackie work from home in the office for creative.ly in the basement.
We all have different diets, but we share meals on a whim. You get your own sector in the fridge and pantry, and there's a community space as well.
We like for house meetings to be monthly. House issues should be addressed verbally, one-on-one or at the meetings. Blunt is better then "subtle clues". It's best to talk about things as soon as they come up. Silence is the voice of complacency.
What do ya think?
Are we the kind of place you're looking for? If not, do you have a friend who would probably be perfect?
Maybe it's worth poking at the people section again to look at who lives in the place now.
Life is good.