House of Nerds: Ranty McRant Rant
Okay, so after this I'm going to post a review/squee about Doctor Who Live, which I went to see last night. But for right now, I'm going to throw an itty, bitty hissy fit about something.
It may not be rational, or even particularly sensible, and I may say things that later I think about and disagree with. But I'm just going to vent for a little bit, mmkay? Don't mind me.
So I'm rediscovering the delights of living with people you didn't choose again.
Last year is was B, who was very messy and never really cleaned anything (not that I saw, anyway). But I was anticipating something like that upon moving in - new house, new city, new uni, new people, there's no guarrentee that you're all going to get along. Fine.
This year... I moved in with Jess and Adam and swoot_of_ealdor, because we're all massive nerds. Adam, swoot and me are all second years, and Jess is a third year. We're all theatre or English lit students, we all go to drama soc and all bar Jess of us go to MPS and Sci-Fi. So far, so matching. And we had a pretty happy August/September living together as a four. I mean, there were issues. Sophie tended to be the one cleaning the kitchen all the time. But then we pulled it together a bit (around the time our new housemate moved in) and since then it seemed to be going pretty well. The house was in a reasonable state (okay, it's pretty dusty, but we don't own a duster and no one but me seems to care, so when I get around to it I shall get one and do that), especially compared to what some of us lived with last year.
So far, so good.
There's been a little problem this week, though: the heating.
When our lovely landlord, Ash, explained to me how the heating worked, he pointed out the amount of heat (which was set to around eight or nine on a scale of I think one to ten) and explained that because of it being an old house, and thereby drafty and not very well insulated, the heating normally needed to be this high, otherwise it was pretty much ineffectual. Fair enough. No one except me fiddles with the heating anyway, so I just left it. The only thing I change occasionally is the timer for when it's on and when it's off. I mostly change that to when it suits me and seems to suit everyone else, and I know that certainly swoot, Jess and Adam would tell me if there was a problem and it needed to be different.
But our new housemate keeps turning it down.
I normally just turn it back up again, if I'm honest. The first couple of times I thought someone had just knocked it. After that I realised someone kept turning it down. I didn't think it was Jess, Adam or Swoot, because I know they pretty much ignore the heating. So it had to be our new person (C).
Not wanting to single anyone out, I left a polite (and kind of silly) note by the heat controls, explaining what Ash had told me and asking for the heating to be left up. I go back downstairs twenty minutes later to get a biscuit (biscuits are good) and the note had been taken down. Enter puzzlement.
There was a distraction for a bit, because I was nattering to Soph and Adam and Soph's boyfriend Ben on the stairs. But then they were gone, and having already asked Soph and Adam if they'd taken the note down (no), I decided to ask C, who was cooking in the kitchen.
Guess who blew up in my face?
I didn't need to leave a note, I should have just talked to her, I can't expect to have everything the way I like it, I'm only one person out of five, she has to open her window, don't I know that it's not even winter yet, it snows here (no, really?), what am I going to do then, huh, I should eat more (yeah, personal comments. Thanks) and by the way this house is always messy, she's always having to clear up after everyone, it's appalling... etc.
*reels*
Firstly, was not expecting that. I mean, I explained the note and I think she gets that that's a misunderstanding. The note isn't meant to be rude, it's meant to allow whoever it is to deal with the issue without anyone confronting anyone else and getting all cross. And shouty. And cross. And did I mention shouty?
I also tried to explain that the rest of us probably had different standards to her, and that it's not us being deliberately obnoxious. We're all used to worse than this, so "the state it's in now" doesn't really register. (Honestly, I don't think it's that bad. The bathrooms get a little scuzzy, that's a fair point, but everywhere else is pretty reasonable. But then maybe that's just me.)
I got another rant after I pointed out that maybe if she sees a mess or something that she doesn't want to clear up, perhaps she could point it out to one of us and we'll deal with it. Because it's not her responsibility to nag everyone, we're all adults, we should be clearing up.
I'm not saying she's entirely wrong. But yeesh, did she need to jump me for it? I felt like turning her earlier argument on its head and pointing out that if she's only one person out of five she can't expect everyone else to maintain her standards. I didn't. I just went upstairs and thought it, really really loudly.
I also got annoyed by the way she acted like she was the only one who does any cleaning/responsible things around the house. A statement that I know is bull. Maybe she's doing more than us, I can't judge that from how little I leave my room (lol), but I know that Sophie cleans the kitchen, Adam takes out the bins and the recycling, and I hoover (and I will dust soon, because it's driving me mental). Jess is a bit of a messy person, but she's getting used to keeping her mess in her room and not leaving it around the kitchen, so the rest of us have nothing to complain about.
Final couple of points? Personal comments are not a good way to go when you're arguing. I lose respect for you very quickly. I didn't say anything about it (couldn't get a word in edgeways, and in all honesty I do want us to get along - living with someone you hate is not fun) but seriously? Yes, I'm skinny. No, I don't weigh very much. No, I don't eat much either, and the latter is probably the cause of the former. But you know what? My mum, who is several stone heavier than me (and the same height), also can't handle being chilly. She also relies on the heating because she gets cold very easily, and doesn't retain much heat. So to summarise: Yes, maybe the fact that I'm chillier than you is partly because of my weight. But it certainly isn't just that, and you have no business to make that judgement either way. Go boil your head.
Finally: I'm aware that you find the full on heating a bit hot. However, it is possible - and pretty simple - to turn off the radiator in individual rooms. Therefore, the main heating is on, and we're only heating the rooms that want/need it. But guess what? You can't have the main heating off and only one radiator on. It doesn't work that way around. So why don't you just turn off the radiator in your room, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, the hall, the living room. Fine. I'll spend more time in my room, with the heating up so that I'm not wearing three layers and still shivering when I'm at my computer.
*breathes*
Okay.
I'm done.
Sorry for the rant; but sometimes I just need to vent.
I've said I'll organise a house meeting so that she doesn't just yell at me we can all discuss this together, so hopefully (fingers crossed) we can sort it out.
Right. On to happier times!
H