Says 130 – Clean up disaster

paint wrinkling2013 Jan 01 Yesterday I bought some TSP cleaner to wash the walls and remove the smoke film. I began in the kitchen where the landlord had used Spray Nine yesterday to see if there was any problem with the product. There was none so I continued with the rest of the kitchen. I then began on a wall in the living room/bedroom and then made my way around the entire room. Next I tackled the bathroom and closet door. Just before supper I pulled out the fridge and washed the sides and walls and then washed the upper kitchen cupboards and before stopping for supper.

pot scrubberAfter supper, I cleaned the bottom cupboard and I was finished… or so I thought. As I was cleaning, I was shocked and heartbroken to see the finish peeling and blistering and falling off like dry or sun burnt skin or fish scales. I washed it with clear water again and again but nothing helped. I decided to let it dry and see what it looked like in the morning. The only thing I can think of that I did differently was use the Spray Nine he had left as I felt that the TSP hadn’t really cleaned the bottom section like it did the top. There had to be a chemical reaction with the TSP, Spray Nine and the finish to create such an effect. The thing was that it didn’t affect the stain under the clear finish, just the thin clear finish that I was able to scrape off with my finger nail or a soft plastic non scratch pot scrubber. I was prepared to pay to have them re-finished or to buy new front component replacements. Needless to say, I didn’t have a good sleep that night.

The next morning I called the landlord and told him what happened and he said he would be out in the afternoon to look at it. When he arrived, he said that he thought about the problem last night and said the problem was his, as he had sprayed the bottom units with a clear coat. He also said that he would fix it. He removed the doors to take with him.

He also had a look at the ceiling fan and light that wasn’t working except on full speed and bright light, and thought it might be a bad remote control. We also exchanged a brown recliner for another blue swivel rocker he had.

Says 111 – The same issues are resurfacing

2012 Nov. 05 Monday Last night I went downstairs to make supper and I smelt hash/marijuana. I decided to make a quick supper of coleslaw and raw veggies and a dip and took it upstairs to my room to eat it there. I kept my door closed so that it didn’t get any worse but I had a headache for several hours. When I was downstairs, I also noticed that the dirty dishes from last night were still in the sink and on the counter. Not only that, but the toothbrushes and toothpaste are back on the window sill and behind the kitchen sink. As I was eating my supper, I decided to take my old toothbrush and put it on the kitchen window sill along with the others. I have no intention of using it but I hope it will make him think.

This reminds me of my roommates when I was going to DeVry Tech http://bachelors-degrees.devry.ca/ and when I was working before I got married. At that time, all that my roommates seemed to think and care about was getting drunk, drugs, sex, cars and partying. It’s like nothing else in the world mattered except feeling good and doing what gave them physical pleasure and made them happy, even if it was short lived, they just repeated the cycle. They also liked to present the illusion that they were capable of more thought and physical action, but that’s just how twisted their reality was and how they saw themselves as being something they are not. It’s like their mind is in a fog and they can’t seem to see through it, or rise above it by stopping the substance and physical habits that are creating the fog. The only things they can see are what is in front of their nose, and even then, they only see what they want to see.

Hummmmm. As this issue is reoccurring, it means that this is not the real issue. So what is it that I am not seeing? Humm? That I’m different, that I don’t feel like running with the crowd and doing the things that they are doing. Is that why I never had any real male friends and never had that so called, “male bonding experience?” I believe that female bonding is similar to male bonding, where girls and women need to do similar things that men do, just in a feminine way. It’s like a herd and pack mentality where one just follows and mimics the actions of the leader of the pack. Is this like the dance issue, where I was afraid to be me and that I had to be like the others. YES! I think/feel that is it. It’s just another version of the same program.

Says 102 – More issues coming up.

2012 Oct 04 I had previously noticed a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste on the kitchen window above the sink, and this morning as I was eating breakfast at the kitchen counter, Paul was brushing his teeth in the kitchen sink. I made the comment that living here was like living in a cabin in the bush, one bowl for everything. After a brief discussion, he said that he doesn’t like brushing his teeth in the bathroom sinks as he doesn’t like to clean up afterwards. I commented, so, you rather make a mess in the kitchen sink where we prepare our food and wash our dishes. He thought for a moment and said that he would not do it anymore if it upset me, which I said it did.

Paul has a large orange translucent sink in the bathroom upstairs, but that’s it. There is no cabinetry hiding the rough plumbing job and the sink is actually 3-4 inches too high for it to be comfortable unless you are over six feet tall and he is my height. The sink is about 4 feet wide, and 3.5 feet of that is the actual basin of the sink so there is very little counter space. There is a matching mirror on the wall, but that is all there is, there is no bathroom cabinet so everything just has to lay on the limited flat surface of the sink, or on the toilet tank. The bathroom on the main level has a clear glass sink and again there are no cabinets to store anything. It’s all for presentation and not functional. I said, it looks nice but they are basically useless.

While I was at it, I went over to the cutlery drawer and pulled out a disgusting can-opener and showed it to him. I asked him why it was in the drawer along with clean utensils. It was disgusting as it was rusty and caked with old and rotten food. He said that he didn’t use it, that he used the new one. I said that’s great, but why keep it in the drawer with the new one and the other kitchen utensils when it should be in the garbage. He took it and threw it in the garbage can under the sink. With that, I said that was my bitching for the day. He laughed it off as he went out the door to go to work. PS: The picture of the can opener is the actual one…

I also realized that the actions of Paul and his friend last night remind me of high school and my trying to hang out with assholes like them that just want to get drunk and fucked. I had issues with them back then and it’s back in my face again. Hummmm?

Says 94 – Having a second look at potential new room

I got an reply email form the woman who had the room for rent stating that she had more questions for me before she decided to rent me the room. I replied that I too had some questions. She wanted me to come over in the morning as she had another person coming to have a look at it in the afternoon. I emailed her saying that the afternoon was more convenient for me but if the other person was ok with her, that she should rent them the room, as each of us still had unanswered questions that didn’t make the deal a certainty. I set up an appointment to see her at 4:00 pm and stated that she was to email me if she rented the room . I never received an email, so I went to see her and asked her what happened with the person that wanted to rent it and she said that she told them it was rented. I asked her why she would say that if we still have questions and we might change our minds about sharing this space. She never replied, but changed the subject.

We chatted for a good half hour and as we went along, I decided that it was not the right place for me for a number of reasons that were not evident on my original visit. She was renting a three bedroom, two-story home with a basement and was asking $500.00/month to help pay the rent, which was 25% higher than most places. She also mentioned that she was going in for a hip replacement in January and was not going to be too mobile for a while, and I felt her hinting things she would like me to do to help her. I asked her why she just didn’t move and get a smaller place, one that she could afford, and a one level apartment that would be easier for her to move around in. She became adamant that she had put too much money into this place to leave it. She was a penny pincher when it came to using hydro, yet didn’t see how she was wasting electrical energy. She had a small kitchen and what she offered me for my food was one shelf in a small cupboard. She was also paranoid about germs and near the end of our conversation she went to the kitchen and used some hand sanitizer which sent me into a coughing fit where I could hardly breathe and I had to go outside for some fresh air. She said that she would buy a different one if that one bothered me, but that really didn’t interest me. In many ways, she reminded me of my ex-wife. Needless to say she was angry when I said I would not take the room, and later she even emailed me telling me how bad I was for leading her on.

Says 68 – Tenants internet off and on – Tennant cleaning up after others – Owner asks me when I was leaving

July 21 A couple of days ago, the woman that has a room down the hallway from me, asked if the internet was working. I checked my computer and told her it was. She asked me again yesterday and said she just couldn’t figure out what the problem was as it was working fine and she never made any changes. Today she came to my room and told that this morning she ran her Windows internet repair program and it came back saying that she had been manually discounted. She said she went downstairs and raised hell, saying that she wanted to be re-hooked up instantly. She didn’t go into all the details, but suffice to say, her internet is now working. More owner hanky-panky.

I went to make breakfast this morning and found the youngest tenant cleaning the kitchen. He had already cleaned the bathroom and was now half way though cleaning the kitchen. I asked him why he was cleaning and he said that if he didn’t do it, nobody would. I said that I clean up after myself and I expect others to do the same. I know you do, so that only leaves a couple of people that are the problem. I said that if you keep cleaning up after them instead of confronting them, then they will just be happy to let you continue to be their mother and clean up after them. I said I’ve purposely let it get dirty as I wanted to make a point and confront them, but now that you have destroyed the evidence, there is nothing I can do. I told him how I got fed up with the dishes being left in the kitchen sink and how I removed them and put them and put them on a bottom shelf. After a couple of times he got the message and as you have noticed, there are no more dirty dishes in the kitchen sink.

I said some people are stupid and don’t know any better and if you stop to educate them, they will learn and change their ways. Other people only pretend to be stupid, not notice, or admit they can’t do certain things, but when asked if they want to learn, they quickly find some excuse as they have no intent to clean up after themselves as they are too happy letting others do it for them. It’s then that you need to take a stand and stop enabling them by doing it for them. In both case, if nothing is said and if you don’t make a stand to stop abusing yourself by doing it for them, then nothing changes and you will continue to be the victim.

He disagreed and then got upset when I mentioned that he could remove the stove knobs, instead of trying to clean under them like he was doing. He said, I know! Do you think I’m a child? With that outburst, he left without finishing what he had started. It’s not the first time we have had an exchange and he has left, but later, after thinking about it, he has always come around.

Later the owner was up to see me today and asked me when I was leaving. I said I had no immediate plans to leave. We had a little chat and for now, things appear to be quiet. I’m looking for another place but there is nothing new that is suitable. They are either looking for students or females only, or its smoking, or it’s just a repeat of one that I have seen and am not interested in, and it appears, neither are others.