Adventures in Renting

So, on a Thursday in July, I came home from work and noticed that my A/C wasn't working any more. Now, keep in mind, this was the NEW A/C unit that that installed the end of June. It barely lasted a month. It was blowing air, but it was hot. I quickly sent off a note to my apartment complex to put in a work order. I hoped that they would get to it Friday, but when I got back it was still warm. No word through the weekend (which, thank heavens, was a rainy weekend which kept temperatures down, otherwise I might have moved back into my parents house for a bit), so on Monday I contacted them again to see what was up. They said that the repair man was at my apartment now, and he should be fixing it.


The remainder of this story can be told by the notes that I found on my door each night, from the repair man.


MONDAY:

I determined the problem with your AC is on the roof, but I cannot go up there in the rain and lightning. I will put it first place for the morning. Thanks, Brian


TUESDAY:

Your AC was out of refrigerant, which should not have happened with the new unit. I re-filled it and it is now working good, but please let me know if it happens again, and I will do my best to solve it quickly. Thank you, Brian


Update: I came back @ 2:00, the refrigerant has all leaked out again. . . I will contact our specialist and let you know what we decide. I am sorry for the delays. -Brian


WEDNESDAY:

I have found the leak and am going to get parts. I have to go to Orem, and am not sure if it will be in stock or have to be ordered. Please know I am doing my best to solve this for you. Thanks, Brian


At this point I felt the need to leave a note for HIM, telling him that I understood and appreciated all that he was doing to help with my conundrum. I wanted to leave cookies to suck up to him and make him feel better about himself, but I was worried he might think that I spit in them, so I just made sure the note was extra nice.


THURSDAY:

A/C is working now. I need to fix a pipe, and your furnace door that I broke. I will be back in the morning. You may use the A/C. Some water may drip inside the closet, but it's not a big deal and I will have it solved.
Thanks, Brian


FRIDAY:

Everything should be working right. If something should go wrong please feel free to call the emergency line and I will do my best to solve it. (please don't tell others I said your A/C will count as an emergency, I usually don't count them as such) - Thanks. Thank you for your patience while I fixed it. -Brian

- We added all new oils to your A/C with all the modern gadgets - it should be the best in the complex now.

Note, on the front of all these notes is a printed page with an option to check whether the work was completed or not. He had a huge circle around "work completed" with a big smiley face. I think he was just as glad to stop coming to my apartment as I was to finally have my air conditioner working.

Happy August!

So, while I was gathering the pictures for last week's post, I saw this one from my family's trip up in Vancouver:

Two years ago exactly, my hair was that short. I was astounded by how long its grown since then, and I tried to find a picture of how long it is now to compare. I discovered that I haven't really had pictures taken of me in months (unless you count the work photo they took when I started here, which I still haven't seen. . .), except by my sister Sarah. And in each of those photos, I am generally wearing a hat or have my hair in a ponytail, since there are always little kids present and I have learned from years of aunt-hood never to have my hair down when playing with toddlers. So, the only picture I found to show how long my hair has gotten was from our recent family outing to the zoo (courtesy of Sarah's blog):

Not one of my more flattering pictures, but the kids sure were entertained. And you get the idea of how long my hair is now. I wanted to get a picture of me getting eaten by a dinosaur (its Zoorassic Park this year at the Hogle Zoo, which means there are moving dinosaur statues scattered through the park), but I thought that would be crossing the line into being silly.

Memories

So, I went to see Harry Potter yesterday (because what celebrates the pioneers quite like watching a movie about wizards and magic. . .), and they had a trailer for whatever new Twilight movie is coming out. I wanted to gag and run out of the theatre, but I also didn't want to miss Harry Potter starting, so I had to sit there, enduring pure torture. It made me think of the beautiful time two years ago when my roommate Emma, my sister Jenni and I burned a copy of Twilight. Since Emma is moving home soon, I thought I would pay tribute to her through reminiscing of that fun time in the summer of 2009.

So, we first decided to rip the book apart, then we stabbed it. Apparently this was in keeping with vampire lore (in the Twilight series, because lets face it, Twilight vampires are different than every other kind) on the appropriate way to kill a vampire. I really didn't intend for that to happen, it was just really cathartic ripping the book apart.

We then set it ablaze in our parking lot - I think if I wasn't morally opposed to burning books, I might make a habit of it. It was a really beautiful sight. . .

Here are Emma and Jenni, reveling in the flames.

Isn't it beautiful?!

Emma had to check to make sure it was really dead. . .

And then she celebrated our victory!!

Thanks for the memories, Emma. You're a dear friend, a wonderful roommate, and I will be forever grateful that we were randomly put together to survive that awful basement.

Stop the torture!

Whoever decided that it was a good idea to use "Its a Small World" as the song on an ice-cream truck deserves to be tied up, dragged into the street, and pulled behind said ice-cream truck for an entire day. Maybe then they would learn the error of their ways.

Just sayin.

The critters are after me

I know, I haven't blogged in forever. I could give an excuse how I don't have internet in my new place (which is true), but the truth is, I've gotten off the habit. If you can call my periodic updates a habit.

Well, here's the update all three of you that read this blog have been waiting for - an update on my new apartment! It's great, I love the high ceilings, love my balcony, and love how close it is to work. But, I have a few neighbors who have it out for me.

On my first Saturday living in the apartment, I enjoyed the fact that I could open up the windows and feel a wonderful breeze blowing through the apartment. I went into the living room to grab something, and there he was - a bee the size of a small child. I was amazed that he could even stay in the air! I might have freaked out, but I kept going about my business until I saw him go to the door. I quickly went and shut the other door so that he was stuck between the screen door and the real door. I tried to help him get out from between the two, but he wasn't moving, and I wasn't about to let him back in. So, I left him to himself and carried on. Later I went outside and noticed a small hive on the door, so I knocked it down and hoped that meant the end of my unfriendly neighbor.

The next morning as I left to go to church, I opened the front door (which is on the OTHER side of my apartment), and flying right at me, in full attack mode, was the bee! Now I know what you're thinking, it was probably another bee, it wasn't actually attacking me, it just was an odd coincidence. I don't believe you. It was the same bee, and he was mad and out to get me. I quickly closed the door, ran into the back room until I calmed down, then sheepishly went back to my front door, realizing how idiotic I was being, considering I belong to the more dominant species. . .

Well, last night I was going into my apartment, and I noticed a spider on the top of my door frame. I went ahead and unlocked the door, and right as I opened the door, the spider LEAPT from its spot and jumped onto my door, trying to get into my apartment. So again, I showed great maturity as I ran into the apartment and slammed the door to keep that stupid spider from getting inside.

I don’t know what is up with these critters wanting to get into my house - the AC isn't working, and its not like I have anything interesting for them to do inside. All I know is, I'm perfectly content living next to them if they stay outside, but if they want to get inside, this means war.

Age is Earned!

Two weeks ago, I went to the C-town singles ward that was newly formed, as it was exciting to see the process of a brand new ward come together and start out. Our first hour was spent mingling through forced "get to know you" activities. Which, luckily, weren't too bad considering we were in a church on a Sunday. So, a young man introduced himself to me, and asked what I do. When I told him, he asked how old I was. I was kind-of surprised that he would ask me my age right off the bat, but I'm used to dealing with awkward questions when talking with men, so I responded. "27! What?!" was his response. "I thought you were going to say 19!"

Now, I ask you, how is that a compliment? Everyone tells me "you should be grateful, you'll enjoy that when you're older." I don't believe them. I know that nobody really wants to look older than they are, but age is something we should be proud of. We have earned each one of our years, and each year represents lessons learned, challenges faced and overcome, triumphs, new friends, and amazing experiences. I want to be recognized for all of these! When somebody tells me I look 19, I think, really, I look like a teenager? What connotations come with teenagers? Being a ditz, inexperienced, unknowing, and unrealistic. If you're going to say that I look younger than my years, at least put me in my 20s. Stop saying I look like a teenager. I am in my late 20s, and while I'm still VERY young, I at least have gained more experiences than a teenager. (Sidenote: I have friends from the MPA program who try to avoid telling people they have a Masters degree, just so guys don't think they are "too old." I'm the opposite. When I mention I have a Masters degree, it's not to brag of my achievements - it's so people will stop and think, huh, maybe this girl is NOT a college freshman.")

End of rant.

Updates

So, I got a job. A real job, with grown-up pay and benefits. I can go to the dentist again! And because I have a real job, I also found an apartment with a beautiful private balcony, and tall pine trees around the complex, and a pool! I'm excited to feel like an adult again, and to have windows again :)