Own worst enemy
Things about which I have been pointlessly distressed over the last several days:
* Coming home after a few hours to find that the builders had opened all of the windows in the apartment…and left the central air conditioning running the entire time.
* Discovering, fifteen minutes after the builders had all cleared out, that they’d closed every window except one. No wonder it wasn’t getting too cool in here.
* The builders constantly leaving the door to my apartment wide open, despite the fact that the air conditioning is on (and sometimes, when I’m not even home - PLEASE BURGLE ME).
* Finding scratches and marks on some of my furniture from the move.
* Spotting filthy footprints on the arms of my favorite leather chair, left by one of the builders (yes, he goes around barefoot and stands on my stuff in lieu of using a ladder).
* Walking into my apartment, using my ass to shut the door behind me, and then being told that they’d just painted the door. (I used Dawn dish soap, warm water and a toothbrush on my favorite linen trousers to get the paint out while still fresh. It seems to have worked.)
* The cleaning crew failing for the second time to clean the sawdust out of the cabinets and drawers in both bathrooms.
* The cleaning crew filling up my kitchen bin with their dirty sponges and rags until it overflowed.
* Still not having a %*&(#! landline (jury’s out on whether it’s the landlord’s fault or Cincinnati Bell’s; at this point, I don’t care) and having to pay 40 cents a minute for cell phone calls, because T-Mobile only does a 300 minute per month plan for the BlackBerry Pearl, and I ran out of those minutes days ago because…I don’t have a landline yet.
* Lights being left on all over the place by the builders. I am turning into my dad, because all I can do is wonder WHY THIS PLACE IS LIT UP LIKE A GD CHRISTMAS TREE.
* A crew of five builders showing up unannounced at 7PM, to do some more touch-up painting and install the gas fire, because Lord knows I don’t mind eating my dinner under the curious gaze of sweaty, smelly strangers. (I asked them to leave.)
And yes, I am all too aware that these are my worries over an apartment I absolutely adore, an apartment I wanted into so much that I lost sleep while I waited to find out if I was accepted, an apartment I was so relieved to get all my stuff into that I thought there was NO WAY anything housing-related would ever bother me again.
THIS - and not the temptation to drink - is why I needed to go to three AA meetings yesterday. As one of my friends says, “I’m not in AA because I have a drinking problem. I’m in AA because I have a living problem.” (And yes, it helped immensely. AA meetings are nothing like they are portrayed, or how I thought they would be. They’re much more fun than getting bladdered ever was.)
On a more positive note, I got a check for $1.98 from Duke Energy today. No, I’m not too proud to cash that mofo.
Filed under: Life
I’m not surprised if it’s driving you nuts, I would be a nervous wreck after all that intrusion. At least it will (hopefully) be over soon and you can have some personal space back.
As for being grateful- *of course* really wanting an apartment doesn’t make you obligated to put up with a hundred kinds of crap from anyone/ thing associated with it. I hate how people try to put that one over on us.
Alice, thanks. I really do feel like this stuff drives me much crazier than it would other people, so it’s nice to get your perspective. It’s just so boring to complain about, but I reached my limit tonight with the suppertime invasion.
And no, I don’t feel obligated to put up with crap. It’s just what I’d call a higher class of problem. I’m also really glad that the property manager is so apologetic about everything, and seems to be working her tail off to sort it all out. If things are going to be effed up, some sheepishness goes a long way.
Your dad sounds like mine with respect to the lights.
On the other hand, a quick calculation. Assume the lights are 50 watts each. Assume you pay 10 cents a kilowatt hour for electricity. (These are both very reasonable assumptions. Assume you have 5 lights switched on all the time. This means that all the lights cost you about 2.5 cents an hour and something like $4 if you leave them on for an entire week.
Leaving lights on is not especially expensive. On the other hand, I would be enraged about the phone calls. (It took me six weeks to get a landline installed when I moved into my flat, and then another two weeks to get my DSL connection installed. That was BT though).
We all get stressed about this stuff though. On lists of the most stressful things that happen to us in life, moving house is generally listed pretty high.
That’s drag city amiga. I’m glad you’re seemingly keeping it together.
Oh, and for $1.98 you are on your way to being able to buy a latte.