So, the big weekend finally came and went for D.A........Moving time. At first, I wasn't too thrilled at the prospect of trying to find a new place to live smack dab at the end of the year during the holiday. Now, however, I'm greatly relieved that my roommate and I have left the ghetto when we did. Going 5 weeks without a working furnace sealed the deal for the both of us. A lesson learned saved us further trouble down the road. Don't rent from friends. DON'T DO IT. They weren't my friends beforehand so I really didn't have anything to lose, other than thousands of dollars in rent paid.
On the other hand, this weekend didn't go quite as planned. The moving out part took a lot longer than I was hoping. We finally left the abyss four hours after we were supposed to be out. When picking up the rental truck and getting some last minute items, we were nearly accosted by Hispanic day laborers loitering around the SODO Home Depot. Three guys opened the passenger door. I thought that we were getting carjacked. The slumlords also tried to bring people in to replace the carpet on 11 hours notice. My roommate, Kent, said fuck no. An altercation ensued, and I spoke up when I should not have. In the end, though, they lost that battle.
We don't think we'll hear the last from the slumlords, but they have nothing on me. I never signed anything so they can't come after me for anything. I am out of $7,700 in rent, with nothing to show for it, other than an empty wallet, a couple scars on my head from my assault in February, and hours lost due to stress and/or dread faced over not wanting to go home late at night. I can't get those $$$ back, but I am greatly relieved to know that I may never have to set foot in Rainier Beach ever again unless absolutely necessary. I am not a spiteful person so I don't expect anything other than making sure that Kent doesn't get screwed over in closing costs by those bastards. If you're going to manager a piece of property, get the fucking sense to know what your legal obligations are before you decide to become landlords. Studies show that rocket science is not required for property management.
Yesterday, we survived the move into our new apartment in Capital Hill with huge sighs of relief. The new apartment is in complete disarray, but that is to be expected on the first night of the move. We could not have completed the move without the assistance of several people: Jonathan (our extremely nice and much better organized LANDlord - note the lack of the word SLUM); Dave, Michelle, and cute little Abby (Kent's brother-in-law, sister, and niece); Joanne (Kent's friend who helped store a few things overnight); and Kendra (Kent's friend who supplied us some boxes courtesy of her local liquor store). Abby was so cute and very well-behaved as she carried small items into the new apartment. She called me Uncle Matt and told me she loved me, which about brought me to tears. She is so cute!
With our new location, huge bucketloads of stress are lifted from our shoulders. Kent is in walking distance to school. I don't have to take the bus if I don't have to (which means that I will never really take a bus), unless I'm unusually lazy one day. I can walk just about everywhere that I need to go. That makes me a happy boy. I am the type of person that wants to get from A to B without interference and too much stress. I don't want to be stalled by stupid people that never have change ready, certain people who confuse themselves for TuPac Shakur rapping loudly on the bus, spontaneous AWWF Smackdowns involving canes and walking sticks, muggings in February, and horrible cellphone on the bus etiquette to prevent me from trouble-free travelling.
So, here's to a great and less-stressful year in 2006. Finally, I'd like to bid adieu to Rainier Beach and dipshit slumlords! Good riddance.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment