I noticed today that I've started getting the Home and Garden channel and with it has come a whole new world I didn't know existed. It's like getting a view into an obscure Aboriginal culture. Well, more like an obscure Aboriginal culture with in-ground pools and rooftop hottubs.

You'd think from this channel that everyone in the universe owned homes and had unlimited spending budgets to remodel, redecorate and redesign. As an apartment dweller, I couldn't know (or care) LESS about irrigation trenches and window installation and crown moulding. No trips to Home Depot for this girl. I like the absence of responsibility that an apartment brings.

Sure, every now and then I want to paint my stark white walls and install better fixtures and move a shiny new stainless steel kitchen into my place...but then that feeling quickly dulls away when I consider the $100K tab and months of construction that it would entail.

For now I'll have to continue observing this strange new culture from the safety of my sofa and my rented apartment.