Tuesday, July 01, 2008

This writing business. Pencils and what-not. Over-rated, if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it.*

Sometimes I don't know why I write this thing. It's such a vanity, having a blog, thinking that people actually want to read the ramishings and ramblings of my fucked up brain. I haven't posted in a while because lately everything seems like gloom and doom.


We're going to have to move. Again. Reasons, you ask?

a. The neighbours. The couple next door have eight children between them (four full time, another four every weekend). On the weekends, my kids can't really use the back yard because it's overrun with their kids and their friends' kids. Our back yard is tiny. Eight kids plus my three is just too many kids. And because most of their children are older, my two little ones get a bit run over.

b. The neighbour's dogs. They have a bull mastiff and two boxers. The bull mastiff chewed thru the cable wires last week, leaving me with no internet and no phone for two days, until the cable company could come and fix it. All three of the dogs are left tied in the yard a lot - the bull mastiff is out there pretty much 24/7. None of the dogs is on a long enough lead and they're all bored, so they dig. And dig and dig. And they shit everywhere. It's disgusting. So the tiny back yard is made even smaller by the area off limits due to dog shit. At night, the boxers are locked in the cellar and the shit in the cellar doesn't seem to get cleaned up, so it stinks down there. Their cat got onto our side of the cellar and peed on stuff, so a bunch of my stuff now reeks of cat pee. It's lovely.

c. The landlady. Before we moved in, there were two people living here and two people on the other side. Now there are five on our side and a minimum of seven (three adults, four kids full time) and a maximum of eleven on the other side. This, naturally, increased water usage which increased her water bill. She decided to raise our rent by $100 a month and charge us $250 for the past three months of water usage. It's illegal to charge for water in this state, but if we don't pay it, she'll kick us out. She's been a pain in the ass about fixing things, too, vaguely threatening to charge us for a visit from the electrician and the plumber. I just don't trust her to not up our rent every time her bills are a bit higher than expected. She gets plenty of money for these two places and I don't feel like I need to pay more because she failed to take her increased water bills into consideration.


In other news, I started on Cymbalta and I've had a headache ever since going on it. Not a horrible one, just an annoying one that I can't seem to get rid of. So far, it's not doing much to alleviate the depression, but I've only been on it a couple of weeks. Plus, I have so much crap going on that even if it did start right away, I might not notice it. I am stressed with a capital ST.

Does anyone want to come and help me pack?


*Eeyore.

23 comments:

Whirlwind said...

Wow that stinks. Hopefully you find a place with better neighbors and a better landlady!

Unknown said...

Luck finding a better home! That stinks.

MsPicketToYou said...

i'll help you pack. though please know that my method involves hefty trash bags and a shovel.

after our last law-breaking slum lord, a miracle happened and we were able to buy a house.

hoping something similar for you.

SUEB0B said...

I'm sorry for the suckage. I envision a perfect, happy place for you to live.

Shannon said...

I would move too. It sounds like a hellhole there. I'm sorry you have to be inconvenienced though, but even if the other tenants moved out, you'd still have to live the all of the damage their pets caused.

Lara said...

i'm with you on the depression. my posts have definitely not been fun lately. wish i were closer - i'd happily help you pack. (well, not happily, 'cause i pretty much do nothing "happily" these days. but you know what i mean.)

Stomper Girl said...

Well moving SUCKS but it does sound like you'll be better off out of there. Fingers crossed that you find somewhere better.

elizasmom said...

Daaaaaaamn, that sucks. I really, really dislike sketchy landlords and fervently wish bad karma upon them all. I hope you find someplace nice with a no skeevy factor, literally shitty dogs, or bad people to space ratio. Are you staying in our town (she says, crossing fingers)?

Anonymous said...

There are people for whom Hell is too nice a place. Those that abuse animals. Those that make others' lives miserable.

I'm with others hoping you find the perfect new home. Wish you could come to Michigan.

Bernard said...

I wish I could promise to help, but life's kinda crazy right now with me. Though a lot less annoying than what you're going through.

Let me know when the date is and if I can get over there I will. I'm easta you.

Major Bedhead said...

elizasmom - I'm trying to stay in our fair city, but if not, I will only be just over the mountain, in LT's fair town.

Bernard - thanks! I probably won't make you drive all the way out here, but I certainly do appreciate the offer.

MsPrufrock said...

No fair, no fair. I'm sorry you've had this heaped on you in addition to everything else. I hope the new place, wherever it may be, is miles better.

Anonymous said...

Dood, that sucks big time, especially considering how much hope you had for the place to begin with.

It sounds like hell, being the classy middle in a sandwich with moldy loser bread. I hope you find a kick ass place and soon. And I hope the meds work pronto, as well. I just got on a new one and it seems to be helping me after only a week!

Nicole P said...

Ugh. That does not sound good at all.

Julia - you know if you really are serious about needing help - I can do that... Just let me know...

:)

Anonymous said...

Landlords aren't supposed to charge for water in Massachusetts?!
My landlords have always used the water bill as an excuse to raise my rent!

bleh said...

God, can't you complain? Sounds awful! I'd recommend moaning and whinging at them until they become more accomodating, but personally I never have the balls for confrontation, so I'd probably move too. I feel for you though, that's gotta be a pretty crap situation to find yourself in. Good luck! And who knows, maybe the place you find will be amazing beyond your wildest dreams... :)

Heidi said...

Yikes on all counts! Hope you find a new place soon!

Minnesota Nice said...

Julia, actually I'm commenting here because I can never comment on DLife, even though I'm supposedly a member.
Steel Magnolias is one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. When it came to the big screen I saw it and was thrown into a severe depression that lasted several months. Literally. Sobbing for days and nearly disfunctional. I crawled out of it by telling myself it was "just a movie" only to then come across an issue of Good Housekeeping where the mother was interviewed. Downslide again. Effing awful. I kid you not. Now, obviously, it was only a trigger, and there were lots of other things going on at the same time.........
I recently saw a copy in the $5.99 bin at Target and did not even consider buying it.......

I took Cymbalta for a year or so and do not remember why I went off of it and back to celexa. I think I worked ok for awhile but just can't recall.

Good luck in finding a new place.

Green-Eyed Momster said...

Oh Julia, I'm so sorry. I do believe this will be a good move for you though. I'm a pro mover since I've moved over 17 times in my life but I will be unable to help you since I'm working part time in a health food store and I'm liking it better than my real life that doesn't pay and the work is harder. My best advice is: If it isn't breakable; bag it! Lay sheets on the floor of a room by the closet and pack the clothes in the sheets on the hangers. It takes two people to carry them out but when you get to your new location, lay the sheets by the closets and hang your clothes in your new closet!! Voila!! Plus, your neighbors will wonder where you got all the dead bodies!! ;) Best of luck and Hugs!!

Laurie said...

Man bad neighbors suck! Hopefully your next ones will rock--in a good way!

Josie said...

If I was closer I would help you pack and look for a new place.
Bad neighbours suck. As do shitty landlords.

Stick with the meds and know we're here for you.

Kerri. said...

Dude, moving sucks. We're looking to scoot out of our apartment in the next month or so and just thinking about the packing is making my head melt.

If I'm in RI the weekend you move, I'm all over it. I offer my wimpy muscles. LMK. :)

Kelly said...

I can imagine how horrible shitty neighbors are. They could really make an experience sour. Hope those headaches go away and that Cymbalta starts doing right by your neurotransmitters!