I am in love.

But as is so often the case, the price my new love demands of me is too high.

Not so high that it�s not worth a second look, high enough just to be just out of reach.

Unless my Powerball ticket pays off.

That�s right, I�ve found my perfect apartment.

In a building that I�ve always liked from the outside. I pass it on my way to work every morning. Then I looked at an apartment in the building last year before I was actually house hunting and began to fall in love even though home ownership was not even on the horizon yet.

And now, when I�m looking for a place to buy, on to the market comes a great two bedroom place in this fantastically located building that I already like. And the apartment on the market is even better than the one upstairs I looked at last year. It has space, it has light, it has a good balcony, decent sized bedrooms with built in wardrobes.

It�s perfect.

It�s about $60,000.00 above the highest I can afford to pay.

And it taunts me each morning as I walk past.

Still no sold sign. Still no sold sign. Actually, I almost wish the sold sign would go up so I can put it completely out of my mind and go back to looking at flawed property after flawed property in far less convenient places with less space, less light and no balconies.

But then what happens if I do win Powerball tonight? Not the whole millions, just $100k would do. Inevitably the sold sign would be up when I go past tomorrow. Of course it would. Typically.

Unless I�ve used up my bad luck on broken washing machines and front fences, cut fingers and robberies. Though both my flights at the weekend left and arrived early, so I�m guessing some of my good luck has been dissipated in that relatively useless direction. And I need to save up some more for my very lovely Insurance Assessor who�s going to tell me next week how much or how little I get to spend on my new computer.

I hate being in unrequited love. It�s painful and unsatisfying. I don�t want someone else to end up in a relationship with my soul mate of an apartment.

Though if they do at least I will be able to take the first steps to get over it, get over my lost, slightly too expensive, two bedroom, light-filled, love.