Saturday, March 12, 2011

Ants and Rant

Hello blog. I really missed you. This school term has been so thick with essays that I just couldn't bring myself to type another word that wasn't required as per syllabi. Also, the event of a broken elbow made the usage of my right hand a real pain in the behind. Here I am again, with so much to write that I don't have fast enough fingers.
I will begin with the simple and mundane:

I just bit into a Chocolove dark chocolate with candied ginger bar that has been hiding in my purse for over a week, waiting for a secret moment of quiet and indulgence. Here I am alone at home, compiling my journal and samples for my fibre art class, in preparation for Tuesday's final review. I took out the wrapped piece of sweetness, deftly removed the wrapper and broke off a piece of chocolate without looking. Practiced fingers knew just what to do without hesitation or mistake. A moment later, my mouth was filled with ants. I looked down, they were scrambling down my arms as well. I will have you know that the very reason that I broke my elbow was in a crazed attempt to eradicate ants from my bathroom in high places where I had to climb precariously on the tub faucet and soap dish to reach (I'm short). I fell. The ants won. Yesterday I found them climbing up the towel rack, and all over our hanging bath towels. Dead skin cells for dinner? Now they are taking over my purse to find my sacred stash of hidden chocolate. I am outraged. I am moving. I don't know where or how soon I can make it happen, but it is without question. Read on and hear why, if the ants aren't enough.
Bell Real Estate is the crappiest property management company that I have ever dealt with. They don't care. When I ask them to fix something, they don't. They then charge me for the hourly rate that the maintenance person who "looks at", but doesn't fix the problem charges them. My basement was flooding the other night, and I called to inform the landlord that water was pouring in near a main pipe that goes up to my kitchen sink. They made me sign a disclaimer when I moved in, that it was a "wet basement" and not for storage, so I was sure to let the guy on call know that I wasn't sure if it was coming from the pipe, or if it was just rain water coming from the hole around the pipe. When he offered to send the plumber out to check it out, I told him I didn't necessarily want that, because I was afraid of being charged, and was just wanting to notify them of a possible pipe leak that they should examine themselves before calling the plumber. They decided to send the plumber. He declared that it was indeed rain water pouring in at the rate of a gallon per minute. The landlord decided that this is something that they should not fix, because it is a "wet basement" of course. This is a little more extreme than I expected when signing the wet basement disclaimer. I was picturing dampness and mild leakage.A few days later I got a $162.oo bill in the mail from the landlord, for the plumber who came out to check the situation. They did that when I asked for someone to unplug my repeatedly clogging toilet. They said it was my fault because they had to remove "hard stool". Never mind their admittance that the main sewage line is clogged with years of roots that they refuse to clean out because they don't want the cost. Hard stool? Who cares what the texture is? It's a toilet. It's for poop. My debt with them is growing, and I have to wade in the basement in rubber boots in order to do laundry. I must mention that this place has no weatherization and my current electric bills are running nearly $400 monthly. I am careful with my power usage, and this place is only 900 or so square feet. The windows are not sealed and cold air flows in, while warm air flows out. It's only slightly more efficient than heating a screened in porch. It just isn't right, and I am racking up bills that I can't pay, between the utilities and the charges for plumbing and other repair people. Renters seem unprotected by the laws, and I have no recourse. I don't know where I am moving or how I will afford to do so, but I have decided. I am giving a thirty day notice and bailing on this hell hole ASAP.
Enough ranting. More pleasant blogging soon to come!

2 comments:

Wind said...

Way to kick it mama! Right in their ant filled pants!
May you soon be in a mama casa divine!!!!

Jenn said...

Wow, that is SOOOO not cool what they are doing to you! I hope you find a landlord like mine (or better) ASAP! They sometimes fix things for me (and never charge)...and here I was complaining that they didn't fix all the things that need it (like paint majorly peeling off the windowsills, which they said they would take care of but haven't), etc. So, do you know yet where you'll be moving? Maybe you can have a chat w/ current renters/owners before agreeing to anything! Love you & hope it works out soon.
P.S. Ants taste revolting, don't they?!? (Not that I know from intentionally tasting them, that's for sure!)
P.P.S.I love your writing...whether it's good news or bad, you express it so colorfully & poetically, I can just imagine it right there in front of me. :)