Friday, March 6, 2009

Straw...broken...back

I've almost had enough. I'm at the breaking point now, such that if I do not get a faculty position this year, and thus spend another year in the 'burg, I very well may move.

Now, I actually love my apartment. It's large, for a one bedroom. It has gas heat and a gas stove, and I do not pay for gas (the stove is a huge plus, because I sadly have come to really dislike electric stoves). The rent is inexpensive for its size, and I love the location. It is close to campus and the highway, while being surrounded by woods and gorges. The neighbors are largely nice, while sometimes obnoxious (but they all say "Hi" in the mornings, which is nice, without expecting to chat, which is even better). In fact, I could go on and on with things I do like about this place.

(here it comes)

But, yesterday was almost the last straw. Now, the issue I will discuss is not cleared up yet because I have yet to talk to the manager, because she was gone by the time I called yesterday, so I'm supposed to talk to her today. In full honesty, I do believe that this will ultimately require a ten-minute discussion with "Penny," and it'll be all over. But now on to the rant.

I came home to find a notice on my door which said (and this is a direct quote with all punctuation and what-not):

every Time you spill water on Floor (you will be billed -) For damages down stairs $165

Okay, I will not complain about capitalization or the usage of parentheses and dashes. But let's think about this. Spilling water on the floor causes damages downstairs? What the hell kind of damages? The only sources of this that I can think of are:

1) Someone literally flooding the floor (which I was taught at an early age to never do).
2) Pipes leaking in such a way that the water goes to the apartment below.
3) Dishwasher.

Now obviously #1 is not an issue. As for #2, do you not think that the appropriate solution would be to, oh, I don't know, fix the problem?!?!?! I'm naive, I know, but jesus christ! So alas, that's an issue that I will bring up.

As for #3, you may wonder about. Well, last summer we were told to not use the dishwasher because it caused leaking downstairs. We were told this by a maintenance man who worked on apts that were recently vacated, so he could get the ready for new tenants. Now, we waited, washing dishes by hand for a month, when I called the office to ask what was happening with this. I got an "I don't know what you're talking about" reponse, so we continued to use the dishwasher again. Then, a month later, the dishwasher broke, and I called to have it fixed, and the apartment complex replaced the appliance. Perhaps there is something going on there that they, as incompetent management, could actually take care of.

So I will discuss this with them today. Just in case I get another "don't use the dishwaser" request, I ran it last night since it was full. Sorry, downstairs neighbors.

by Topher at 8:32 AM |