It's time again for my New York City Hipster snapshot of the week:

Roughing It — A Loft Somewhere in East Williamsburg (via telephone), Oct. 23, 2001

So I was looking for a new apartment and I was getting pretty fucking sick of tearing the little tabs from the posters rendered in the wonky, bubbly hand of hipsters holed-up all along Bedford Ave. And I was getting so desperate that when I saw one that looked promising (i.e. no digital pictures of the room, no need to be 'cool' or 'laid back' or a 'quiet non-smoker,' no exclamation marks!!!) I tore the whole goddamned thing down and stuffed it into my bag — I didn't need anymore competition. I paid three bucks for a cup of coffee. They didn't leave room in the top for milk, they only had the little individual sugar packets (fair-trade my ass), and I couldn't find a fucking bench to sit down on. All the seats inside the cafι were occupied, all aglow with the undisturbed throbbing luminescence of the Apple I-Books. Goddamned hipsters.

Jennie, I'm told by a mutual friend, has a room available in her "beautiful loft" somewhere in Williamsburg. I've heard this name before, Jennie. This is Jennie with whom I would "get along well," who has "great taste," who is "really really cool."
So I call — Jennie.

"Hello?"
"Hi, I'm trying to reach Jennie, is she around?"
"Hold on okay?"
(drilling sounds, falling planks, Strokes)
"Hello?"
"Yeah, hi! I'm trying to reach Jennie about the room for rent?"
"Oh, I didn't know they had a room for rent."
"Oh, well, I'm not sure …"
"But that doesn't mean they don't have a room for rent," (British man's voice, panting, seething.)
"Okay, um. Is Jennie around?"
"No I think she went to pick up some gesso."
"Okay … I'll just try back,"
"Hold on, She might be here," he says. "Uri! Hey Uri! Is Jennie here?"
"James! Jaaaaames! Is Jennie here?"
"Manuel! Have you seen Jennie around?"
"Esmerelda! Esmerelda! You haven't seen Jennie around have you?"
"Kevin! Keeeviiiin!! Did you happen to see Jennie around?"
"Sorry, doesn't look like she's here. I'll have her call you though, what's your name?"
"Would you tell her Aimee called, Anna's friend Aimee. Okay?"
"Will do, I'll tell her. Does she have your number?"
"Yeah, she should."
"Okay, Cheers."

LATER

"Hi, I'm looking for Aimee?"
(A note on Jennie's voice: Everything she says ends with a question mark, a Californian I suspect. And her voice is deep, and it sounds like she's chewing on something rubbery.)
"This is she. Is this Jennie?"
"Yes," she said. "Hey, sorry about earlier, Jimbo was trying to put up some sheet rock and he was like totally into it."
"It's okay. Thanks for calling back; it's good to finally talk to you. I've heard a lot about you from Anna."
"Yeah totally, can you hold on a sec?"
(clinking glasses, laughing)
"Okay sorry. It's Aimee right?"
"Yes," I said
"Okay good. Sorry, I'm like totally at a bar and it's totally loud. So you want to move in or something right?"
"Well, yeah, maybe. I'm looking for a room and Anna recommended you, she said you have a great place somewhere in Williamsburg."
"Yeah, it's totally cool," Jennie said.
"So, can you tell me a little bit about it?"
"It's a beautiful 2,000 square foot loft in East Williamsburg. We just moved in a few months ago. Umm, we'd have to figure out something for you because the rooms aren't exactly all ironed out yet. But when are you looking for a place?"
"By the end of the month."
"Oh, okay. Hmm, we'll have to figure some stuff out because I have a friend coming in from San Fran next week and he might be here for a while, and Esmerelda has her boyfriend here, but he's never even there because he plays in a band and I think they might be going on tour for a while or something. She might be going with them so I dunno what's up with that. You could, if you wanted to, sleep on the couch until we get it all figured out …"
"So," I asked. "How many rooms are there?"
"Well, like I said it’s not exactly ironed out yet. We're still putting up sheet rock and stuff and … but the place is awesome, you'd love it probably."
"But there is a room available right?"
"Well, it's like kinda complicated right now. It's like I have to give Jimbo something for building all the walls and stuff and I don't get to pick up my check until the first of the month and he kinda needed it for his rent money and so then I'll have to get another check for rent and his rent will be late, so I was kinda thinking of just asking him to move in until I can get enough for him to cover his rent, but then the room would kinda be taken up, but like I said we're still kinda building rooms and stuff …"
"What's the neighborhood like out there?"
"Oh, it's very cool. It's a mixed bag, there's a hasidic community and a growing Colombian population, there's the old Polish neighborhoods and the Cubans too. It's completely safe if that's what you're wondering about."
"Okay, what about nightlife?"
"Nightlife … well we aren't really into the whole 'bar scene' thing."
"But are there bars around?"
"There's some stuff, but it's pretty isolated out here. We're kind of roughing it. There's no stupid yuppie crap, if that's what you're wondering about."
"Okay. Umm, and how much is rent?"
"It's probably around like seven or eight hundred."
"Okay. So what do you do?"
"I'm a freelance graphic designer and a writer/musician/playwright. I also do digital editing and run a website. I actually also run this zine called 'Focus Impact,' you probably haven't seen it, it gets distributed on the West Coast. I'm also a musician, I play covers of seventies sitcom themes, but, like, electronic versions, kind of like Cowboy Bebop, ya know?"
"Oh, sounds interesting."
"Totally. I kinda gotta go, so like how long are you needing a place for?"
"Well, probably no less than a year."
"Oh, hmm, that sucks. Really?"
"Yeah. Why?" I ask.
"We only need somebody for like two months, max."