house drama

OH, the drama!

Right, so I was staying in a B&B/lady's house where students rented out rooms, and I wanted out. For one thing, she needed the room back, so I would have been on an air mattress in the living room. For another, I felt uncomfortable. She kept doing things like not telling me a time for breakfast, so I just wandered down whenever I felt like it (it was not cooked, just cereal and make-yer-own toast). The last day I was there, she told me pointedly when I came down (at 9 am) that she "usually stops breakfast at 9..." making me feel totally guilty, even though there was no indication of this earlier. Argh!

So in my haste to get out, I decided to go with the dingy basement suite, having negotiated a shorter lease. I dumped my stuff into a cab and moved over there. But once in, I discovered it was FREEZING... and once all the lights were on, you could see the filth of the place. The floor was disgusting, the walls were dirty, there were cobwebs everywhere and dust on everything. To top it all off, the fridge wasn't working. I found the latter out AFTER I had put my milk into it.

I had another house to look at that night, mostly because I forgot to cancel the appointment and would have felt guilty cancelling right before I was supposed to arrive. So I went to the house, and it was an older house with two apartments in it. Both had separate doors and separate access to the basement for laundry and that. Wood floors, lots of windows, BATHTUB... it was pretty nice. (At least in comparison). I wished I hadn't seen it because it was so much nicer. I fretted all the way back to horrible basement suite of filth, and spent a freezing and uncomfortable night there. And I called the landlady of the other place and asked if I could move in right away. She said not only could I, but she would throw in a bed and some other furniture if I wanted.

I hadn't signed anything at the basement suite or paid any money yet. So I went and hid at school (had lots to do!) and waited for the landlady of the new place to call and say I could move in (she was checking references and all that good stuff). It was a horrible day - basement suite landlord doesn't really speak English and I wasn't looking forward to a scene. Plus, there was no guarantee that new landlady would get all the references and that before the basement suite guy was pressuring me to sign something. So stressful. Stomach hurt all day.

FINALLY, around 6.30 pm, she called. I grabbed a cab from uni, went to the basement, grabbed my stuff, left a note, the keys and some money, dumped my stuff into the cab, and legged it for the new place. Having seen the suite, the cab driver said there's no way SHE would have stayed there and it was a good idea to get out.

New landlady is very helpful, new house is above ground with windows galore and an ENORMOUS yard, and I have been given a queen-sized bed and a bunch of furniture! I feel sort of bad about the whole fiasco, but am so happy to be somewhere nice. It is a bit further away, but quite possibly still walking distance.

So now only the small matter of a PhD to sort out...