It can never happen at an opportune time. Here I am, midway between standing and sitting when I hear the knob turn. Shit. In both senses. I was going to use the bathroom, but okay there's this too. It's been a day since my call. I know he never came home yet because my note is still on his door. More on that later.
I have to hear his reactions, infer them from the weight of his steps. Sounds strange, I know, but trust me - you'd be surprised how much you can learn from the sound of feet.
I can tell at first there's a brief relief - the living room has power! That'll teach him, I knew my complaint would get thro-- ah the hall light is out. My room is dark. What's this? A note.
He has to shuffle to the bathroom to find the light to read by. Believe me, I tried to shut that one off too. It would have made a hell of a point - unfortunately the genius who wired this place made my room and the shitter connected in the same breaker. Maybe I'll just shut that one off when I leave for work.
The steps have stopped. Actually, all sound has stopped. Have you ever heard the sound of thought? It's eerie - there's no shuffling, breathing. I even hear the sound of the notecard being flipped over. shff. It's maybe two minutes. Then I hear the electric razor. Ah, well. I guess I was expecting him to look for the breaker, but really this may be a better introspection into the mind of such an individual. What their priorities are.
He shaves. Stops. Shaves. Stops. The sound of metal scraping carpet. I'm guessing that's the hall lamp.
I haven't even left the room yet. But I'm guessing he's tried to connect a lamp to the wall socket in the bathroom and then reeeeeeach it into his room. From experience I can tell it isn't long enough, and I know he knows how shitty it would look for me to see that. He leaves.
But the bathroom light is still on.
Foreshadowing, maybe. We will see.
I know I'd be interested to see what kind of notes YOU guys leave for your roommates, so I've copied verbatim my note to him. It was wedged in his doorframe for the last day. Except for the names of certain individuals it's all there. I think it's important to show that I'm not writing one thing HERE for you to read, and then being a complete ass-hat in real life, thereby undermining the point of /r/badroomates.
"I hate confrontation, but you have to put your foot down over what matters to you.
If I miss a payment, I lose power. Internet. Get kicked out of an apartment. They have deadlines and terms. I may not be a business but I do hold you to the same terms expected of me. I've been honest with you every step of the way about costs and conditions of living, down to the insects and carpet stains. I do value your communication, and how we can live our own lives. I just didn't expect I'd have to spell out "you get things when you pay for them. -->(flip card over)
I called _____, our leasing agent, about the complaint. They didn't know about the payments. Officially, because A/C and the refrigerator are running, this is a "roommate dispute" and they will not mediate.
I get if this is about money, really. But I don't empathize with my pocketbook. I work six out of seven days a week and I don't fancy adding hours to that to cover a bill which lets somebody not paying get full use of something legally I am accountable for, for free. I wish money worked the way you're asking for it to, but it doesn't in my experience.
I don't ever conflict with anything else you do, and I tell you if it does. Sorry if this seems sudden. But I need to send a message about how MY money works."
Submitted May 01, 2015 at 08:26AM by Atylonisus http://ift.tt/1JdqIKt badroommates
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