(no subject)
Figured it was about time that I made an entry about the last few days.... not the happiest or best but I've always been an optimist and always try to see things as a learning curve.
Friday I got a call from the girl who has moved into my parents' unit. Brett has been doing work to get the unit looking a little nicer. After nearly 9 years occupation - by me for four years, Kent for three years and Brett and I for an extra year and a bit, it was looking tired. Brett hadn't had the chance to finish the work so when she got there Friday morning, the place was a mess with carpet pulled up, the concrete floors exposed and power tools everywhere. So we agreed to meet her after work at 6.30pm and clean up everything.
I got there about 5pm and was totally horrified at the state of my parents' house. The young boy next door has been 'caretaking' and I use the term lightly. The place was filthy. The mailbox had not been emptied since the previous week and the garbage bin had not been put out. A tree at the front entrance had been pulled down. The mother of the son said that it looked rotten but Brett, having been a landscape gardener during uni, knows what a rotten tree looks like. This tree had been jumped on and broken at the root. The main bedroom had all the linen removed from the cupboard and bed and was lying in a mess on the floor. The room also had a 'smell' about it - the kind of smell that comes from more than one person sleeping in the room. Move to the formal lounge and dining rooms and my mum's precious cutlery, china and crockery is everywhere. Glasses on her antique coffee table without coasters, leaving marks on it that can't be removed without professional assistance. Her $2000 lamp with a tear in it. Onto the kitchen and by this time I am crying because my parents have worked so f*cking hard for everything they own, only to have it trashed in a matter of two weeks. There is squashed food on the floor, piles of filthy, stinking dishes. The cupboards have been completely eaten bare. My wedding cake, which we had been saving for the birth of our first child - eaten. Finally onto the family room and the couches are stained with drink. There is food on the floor. Both spare bedrooms have been used and the linen is in a mess. Once again, that all too familiar smell is there.
Took me an hour to clean up everything and I am still so f*cking angry. This boy's family we have known for nearly 15 years. And this is how he treats our house. This is a million dollar home with close to a million dollars worth of antiques and furniture in it. Have some goddamn respect for what isn't yours... I remember when I sometimes used their holiday house in Sorrento. I would clean everything before I left and yet the dad had the nerve to ask me for 50c for a phone call that I made. I wonder how he will feel when I hand him a bill for $1000 worth of damage that his scrubber son and his mates have caused.
The mother obviously felt guilty because, once she saw my car in the drive, she rushed over to help. I couldn't help but hide my disgust for the state of the place. The carpet will need professional cleaning as will all the furniture. I am tempted to leave some of the furniture as is because I know my mum won't believe that this kid is capable of such damage.
What a lesson I have learnt. He won't step foot in our place again unless he is let in. What a disastrous experience.
By the time we finished cleaning and got the unit ready, it was already 9.30pm and too late to get to Kate's party, so I was doubly pissed off.
The rest of the weekend has been spent cleaning up their house some more and doing some homework.
I hope everyone has had a better weekend than I have just had!
Friday I got a call from the girl who has moved into my parents' unit. Brett has been doing work to get the unit looking a little nicer. After nearly 9 years occupation - by me for four years, Kent for three years and Brett and I for an extra year and a bit, it was looking tired. Brett hadn't had the chance to finish the work so when she got there Friday morning, the place was a mess with carpet pulled up, the concrete floors exposed and power tools everywhere. So we agreed to meet her after work at 6.30pm and clean up everything.
I got there about 5pm and was totally horrified at the state of my parents' house. The young boy next door has been 'caretaking' and I use the term lightly. The place was filthy. The mailbox had not been emptied since the previous week and the garbage bin had not been put out. A tree at the front entrance had been pulled down. The mother of the son said that it looked rotten but Brett, having been a landscape gardener during uni, knows what a rotten tree looks like. This tree had been jumped on and broken at the root. The main bedroom had all the linen removed from the cupboard and bed and was lying in a mess on the floor. The room also had a 'smell' about it - the kind of smell that comes from more than one person sleeping in the room. Move to the formal lounge and dining rooms and my mum's precious cutlery, china and crockery is everywhere. Glasses on her antique coffee table without coasters, leaving marks on it that can't be removed without professional assistance. Her $2000 lamp with a tear in it. Onto the kitchen and by this time I am crying because my parents have worked so f*cking hard for everything they own, only to have it trashed in a matter of two weeks. There is squashed food on the floor, piles of filthy, stinking dishes. The cupboards have been completely eaten bare. My wedding cake, which we had been saving for the birth of our first child - eaten. Finally onto the family room and the couches are stained with drink. There is food on the floor. Both spare bedrooms have been used and the linen is in a mess. Once again, that all too familiar smell is there.
Took me an hour to clean up everything and I am still so f*cking angry. This boy's family we have known for nearly 15 years. And this is how he treats our house. This is a million dollar home with close to a million dollars worth of antiques and furniture in it. Have some goddamn respect for what isn't yours... I remember when I sometimes used their holiday house in Sorrento. I would clean everything before I left and yet the dad had the nerve to ask me for 50c for a phone call that I made. I wonder how he will feel when I hand him a bill for $1000 worth of damage that his scrubber son and his mates have caused.
The mother obviously felt guilty because, once she saw my car in the drive, she rushed over to help. I couldn't help but hide my disgust for the state of the place. The carpet will need professional cleaning as will all the furniture. I am tempted to leave some of the furniture as is because I know my mum won't believe that this kid is capable of such damage.
What a lesson I have learnt. He won't step foot in our place again unless he is let in. What a disastrous experience.
By the time we finished cleaning and got the unit ready, it was already 9.30pm and too late to get to Kate's party, so I was doubly pissed off.
The rest of the weekend has been spent cleaning up their house some more and doing some homework.
I hope everyone has had a better weekend than I have just had!