This icon has never been more appropriate.
This is going to be sort of a...rant. Fair warning, yes?
The Back-story: My roommate, Erica, is excellent. As I've mentioned before, when she moved in on May 19 she had just started dating (literally JUST--like that week) Michelle. E & M are both excellent and I'm very happy for them.
The Issue at Hand: Michelle was living in Ridgewood, Queens, but her lease expired on July 1. Before then, she was spending several nights here each week (around 4-6, sometimes even 7 nights each week). When her lease expired, she didn't have a new apartment to move into because the girl she wants to live with won't be moving here until August 1--assuming that she gets a job in NYC--and Michelle couldn't afford the rent on her own. So, she made an educated decision to be "homeless" for the month of July. Originally, she was going to live in her car, but then she totaled said car and thus became REALLY homeless. She moved most of her stuff into a friend's basement in BedStuy, and planned to crash with a friend from work, her friend in BedStuy, and us. Now, don't get me wrong, I was MORE than willing to have her stay with us--she's my roommate's girlfriend, she's a really great person, and she cooks REALLY well (LOL). However, when I said I didn't care that she'd stay here a lot, I did so assuming several things. 1) She would, at least one night each week, stay somewhere else. 2) She would be avidly looking for a new apartment. 3) She would consider herself a guest--as she's not paying any rent, utilities, etc., at ALL.
So guess what? Since July 1, she's stayed elsewhere ONE NIGHT and she's made herself PERFECTLY at home. I mean, I don't mind her being here and I don't mind her being here when I'm not, but there are little ways in which you can tell that she considers this apartment to be hers, too. 1) She got her mail forwarded here. Not only that, but she also gets things sent her in her name. 2) She's taken over the fridge. Granted, Erica doesn't cook so Michelle cooks for her, but still, she has totally taken over the fridge. 3) I had a friend come visit and stay on the couch this weekend, which I had asked Erica about over a month ago and reminded her of recently. When she got here, I told my friend to feel free to put her shower stuff in the shower and gave her an extra set of keys (the "guest" keys). When I said that, Michelle said, "Oh no! Another one?! How long is she staying???" Listen, first of all--she can stay as long as she wants, she's MY GUEST and this is MY APARTMENT, not yours. Second of all, that's just RUDE to say in front of her. Third of all, she continued to be a little snotty towards my friend all weekend, showing Kristen (my guest) that she was not welcome here, or at least making her mildly uncomfortable. Dude, IT'S NOT YOUR APARTMENT. 4) She uses ALL of my pots, pans, and other varied kitchen utensils without a second thought. OK, that's fine, they're there to be used. However, she used my Tiffany's beer mug that was a Christmas gift from my mom and then put it in the dishwasher, where it DOES NOT belong, thus removing the authenticity stamp and making it cloudy--AND I had specifically said that the glass doesn't go in the dishwasher days before. Then, when I commented on what had happened, ERICA apologized--the next day, it was right back in the dishwasher. Now, it's in the back of the cabinet and I insinuated strongly that it was for my use only and that it was a NICE gift that I wanted to keep NICE. (Now that I've hand washed it, it's no longer cloudy--but the authenticity sticker is, in fact, gone.) 5) All her crap is strewn about the floor in front of Erica's desk. Granted, there's not a hell of a lot of room for her stuff in Erica's room, but THEN she had the audacity to complain about the place not being clean. SERIOUSLY?!?!?!
In her favor, she did clean the entire apartment, top to bottom, the weekend of July 4th. She also invites me to share the food she cooks whenever I'm around.
In the end, I like Michelle a lot and I'm glad that Erica is dating someone with her personality, generally. However, living with a couple fucking SUCKS and Michelle NEEDS to find an apartment of her own. Also, I wouldn't be opposed to her throwing in some money for rent this month, or at least chipping in for some cleaning supplies. That said, I really don't think she's going to be out by the end of the month (MY BIRTHDAY) and I also don't think that she'll throw in any money, at all. Oh, and also--last night I brought my mom back to my apartment after dinner and Michelle was sitting around topless. Granted, she's got a bad sunburn, but seriously, I told them that she'd be coming over, and even if she hadn't been--I LIVE HERE, TOO!!!
GAHHHHHHHHH I needed to get that out. And I miss Grace. :(
The Back-story: My roommate, Erica, is excellent. As I've mentioned before, when she moved in on May 19 she had just started dating (literally JUST--like that week) Michelle. E & M are both excellent and I'm very happy for them.
The Issue at Hand: Michelle was living in Ridgewood, Queens, but her lease expired on July 1. Before then, she was spending several nights here each week (around 4-6, sometimes even 7 nights each week). When her lease expired, she didn't have a new apartment to move into because the girl she wants to live with won't be moving here until August 1--assuming that she gets a job in NYC--and Michelle couldn't afford the rent on her own. So, she made an educated decision to be "homeless" for the month of July. Originally, she was going to live in her car, but then she totaled said car and thus became REALLY homeless. She moved most of her stuff into a friend's basement in BedStuy, and planned to crash with a friend from work, her friend in BedStuy, and us. Now, don't get me wrong, I was MORE than willing to have her stay with us--she's my roommate's girlfriend, she's a really great person, and she cooks REALLY well (LOL). However, when I said I didn't care that she'd stay here a lot, I did so assuming several things. 1) She would, at least one night each week, stay somewhere else. 2) She would be avidly looking for a new apartment. 3) She would consider herself a guest--as she's not paying any rent, utilities, etc., at ALL.
So guess what? Since July 1, she's stayed elsewhere ONE NIGHT and she's made herself PERFECTLY at home. I mean, I don't mind her being here and I don't mind her being here when I'm not, but there are little ways in which you can tell that she considers this apartment to be hers, too. 1) She got her mail forwarded here. Not only that, but she also gets things sent her in her name. 2) She's taken over the fridge. Granted, Erica doesn't cook so Michelle cooks for her, but still, she has totally taken over the fridge. 3) I had a friend come visit and stay on the couch this weekend, which I had asked Erica about over a month ago and reminded her of recently. When she got here, I told my friend to feel free to put her shower stuff in the shower and gave her an extra set of keys (the "guest" keys). When I said that, Michelle said, "Oh no! Another one?! How long is she staying???" Listen, first of all--she can stay as long as she wants, she's MY GUEST and this is MY APARTMENT, not yours. Second of all, that's just RUDE to say in front of her. Third of all, she continued to be a little snotty towards my friend all weekend, showing Kristen (my guest) that she was not welcome here, or at least making her mildly uncomfortable. Dude, IT'S NOT YOUR APARTMENT. 4) She uses ALL of my pots, pans, and other varied kitchen utensils without a second thought. OK, that's fine, they're there to be used. However, she used my Tiffany's beer mug that was a Christmas gift from my mom and then put it in the dishwasher, where it DOES NOT belong, thus removing the authenticity stamp and making it cloudy--AND I had specifically said that the glass doesn't go in the dishwasher days before. Then, when I commented on what had happened, ERICA apologized--the next day, it was right back in the dishwasher. Now, it's in the back of the cabinet and I insinuated strongly that it was for my use only and that it was a NICE gift that I wanted to keep NICE. (Now that I've hand washed it, it's no longer cloudy--but the authenticity sticker is, in fact, gone.) 5) All her crap is strewn about the floor in front of Erica's desk. Granted, there's not a hell of a lot of room for her stuff in Erica's room, but THEN she had the audacity to complain about the place not being clean. SERIOUSLY?!?!?!
In her favor, she did clean the entire apartment, top to bottom, the weekend of July 4th. She also invites me to share the food she cooks whenever I'm around.
In the end, I like Michelle a lot and I'm glad that Erica is dating someone with her personality, generally. However, living with a couple fucking SUCKS and Michelle NEEDS to find an apartment of her own. Also, I wouldn't be opposed to her throwing in some money for rent this month, or at least chipping in for some cleaning supplies. That said, I really don't think she's going to be out by the end of the month (MY BIRTHDAY) and I also don't think that she'll throw in any money, at all. Oh, and also--last night I brought my mom back to my apartment after dinner and Michelle was sitting around topless. Granted, she's got a bad sunburn, but seriously, I told them that she'd be coming over, and even if she hadn't been--I LIVE HERE, TOO!!!
GAHHHHHHHHH I needed to get that out. And I miss Grace. :(