Making Like A Tree...

It snowed this weekend.  Snowed.

SNOWED!!!!

It's October.  And last night it was freezing cold and snowing.  Shut the front door (I usually say this with one hand on my hip and my finger waving in the air).  Okay, it's the end of October, but still, there are still leaves on the trees.  I'm not ready for this.  Ugh.

Oh, and by the way, the next person that says "So much for global warming, huh?" in front of me gets a face full of angry bees.  Never mind where I got them.

Normally, I'd roll with something like this.  It's snow, I live in New England, it's not like I'm entirely new to the concept of white, fluffy precipitation.  In truth, the real hardship for me this time around is that the heat in my apartment hasn't been working.  I have a small space heater, but it just barely keeps my bedroom somewhat warmish.  I found out the heat wasn't working nearly two weeks ago, and notified my landlord immediately.  Until yesterday, zero action and a lot of talk.  Unfortunately, when it comes to this kind of thing, this is more or less par for the course.  November will be my last month in this house, and it seems like he's in no hurry whatsoever to fix anything that's wrong.  Some of these problems have existed for at least a year.  In the case of the heat, I'm pretty sure he knew he could be held liable for damages if he didn't do anything.  Otherwise, either he doesn't know the laws, or he's hoping I don't.

His problem with me, and I completely understand this by the way, is that I've had trouble making the rent on time this year.  Believe me, it's not because I don't feel like it.  Nothing would make me happier than to be able to make the rent deposit on the first of each month like clockwork.  No worries, no bullshit.  I've already gone into my difficulties in finding ways to supplement my income.  It's made things stressful for me financially, which is really the only negative thing in my life right now.  I mean, at least I have a job.  But I'm definitely part of the 99%.  So yes, I have no argument with him regarding my rent being late for the last few months (although last month it was paid on time, actually a few days ahead of time).

My problem with him, which he doesn't seem to get, or doesn't care about (or more likely a combination of the two), is that as diligent as he is about collecting the rent, he definitely doesn't carry that sense of urgency over to keeping the house in good repair.  He's made threats to do things he's legally not allowed to do (And made them via text message, no less.  Hello, lawsuit), and retaliated in very petty ways when I've pointed that out to him.  He's put the house on the market, so I have no faith that he'll actually address the other problems with the apartment.  I'm actually convinced that he never wanted to be a landlord in the first place.  I'm guessing he bought the house with the intention of flipping it, and when he couldn't do that right away, resorted to renting it out to pay the mortgage.  He never had any intention of dealing with the things that landlords have to deal with, and is trying to get away with doing things around here as cheaply as possible, or not at all.

So this will be my last month here.  I'll be shacking up with Jess and her roommate for a bit to save some money and catch up on things as much as I can.  But I like the area I'm in, and want to find another place there as soon as I can.  Jess likes it too, and so maybe down the road we'll both be settling there.  In the meantime we're getting things together and getting the cat accustomed to his new surroundings.  It sounds more stressful than it really is.  I'm also working to come up with a set list for the Secret Society gig.  I talked with the organizer last night at the Cirque du Noir event in Worcester, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

Moving out, moving in, moving on.  Putting the bad mojo behind me, getting new ideas and acting on them, and letting my freak flag fly unfettered by the self-doubt that's plagued me for nearly my entire life.  And I've passed the five month mark of sobriety.  Lots and lots and lots of good things.  More to follow.