Because It's Hot

In July I made a post asking you guys to vote for me for Good Earth Tea's Tea Tag Contest. Then, with your help, I won! But it's been MONTHS and I haven't seen anything. I filled out the paperwork, emailed a picture of my driver's licence, and waited....and waited....

So I emailed them again, I called, I tweeted, and at long last:

   I have my tea!

I'm not going to lie, it felt pretty thug walking into the store grabbing 12 boxes of tea, going to the register to give my "Free Tea!" coupons, and walking out with what should have been something like a $35 bill scott free. 

I love tea. Especially in the winter, after a long day at the mountain, right before bed. 

Lessons from Living Alone

Packed the car super tight.

As of May 21, 2012, I am the proud renter of my very first apartment! It's a two floor, one bedroom place of amazing. It has a washer AND drier, and a dish washer. And the best part?

NO (CRAZY) ROOMMATES!!!!!!!!!!!! Except Baxter, of course. 

(And the drier is a huge perk. I've been without one since late November.)

So on this adventure, I've started learning some life lessons already. I'm here to impart some wisdom upon all of my lovely followers:

Considering I have nowhere else to put my clothes...
This isn't so bad

Life Lesson #1-Put everything that you can away the moment you move in, maybe even as you bring boxes in. The longer the mess stays...the longer the mess wants to stay.

Life Lesson #2-Wash your dishes before you move. I am currently rocking a sink full of dirtiness, and well, like Life Lesson 1...it's probably going to stay there for awhile. Even though I have a dishwasher, because I don't have money for the fancy liquid.

Life Lesson #3-Make a list of things you need. Prior to this, I've lived by myself for spurts, but usually the place had been fully furnished, or at least had most typical things. Usually the times I'd lived alone, I'd also lived with someone so I received left over toilet paper, dish soap, aluminum foil, etc as they moved out. Here, there is no microwave, no strainer for wet dishes, no light in the bedroom, no dressers. Also, no pizza pans...which out of everything may be the most problematic.

You can't even tell it's inflateable!

Life Lesson #4-Two fully inflated air-mattresses stacked on top of each other is a dream come true. I would have slept really well last night, but  didn't close the bedroom window, and it turns out the train goes by at midnight, and semi-trucks pass all night. Tonight, I'll be closing my window.

Life Lesson #5-With the two-fully inflated air-mattresses, make sure you have blankets that fit the bed. (Mine are currently in storage. Oops)

Life Lesson #6-If you spit on the floor, you're going to have to be the one to clean it (I learned this one today)

Life Lesson #7-It can get lonely, so make sure you have things to do. Coloring books, blogs, novels to edit, books to read, people to text and harass at all hours of the night, running shoes, a dog to play with when you're bored. Oh, and twitter. Need the twitter, always. Also, if you don't own a TV (yea, that's right, I'm old school) an iPod helps cure the quiet.

Life Lesson #8-If Wifi is not included, try to pirate it from your neighbors :)

Life Lesson #9-You can do anything now; walk around naked, towel walk, sleep naked, make stupid faces, have dance parties. There is no one to impress, no one to tell you to put clothes back on. It's rather liberating. (Don't worry guys, naked-ness freaks me out. Clothes stay on, though I am prone to wearing a sports bra for a shirt. Here, my sister won't yell at me :) )

Life Lesson #10-Make it yours. Does my bedroom really need a punching bag stand in it? Probably not, but is it there? You betcha. If you look in the second picture I posted, you can see my Board of Inspiration hanging up already. I also have a closet that's full of CDs. Another closet that's full of shoes--left side is active shoes (skate shoes, running shoes, Vibrams, etc), right side is dress shoes (including the hooker boots).

Overall, I'm stoked about this arrangement. I have to drive close to an hour every day to work, but for $400/month, I'm pretty excited.

Living Situations

I blogged recently about hating the place I'm living in. Well, sadly, things haven't gotten better, and while I typically try not to air my dirty laundry on the internet, I feel like you guys may enjoy this interaction...because I sure do.

Note: The way this is turning out is really sad, because when I moved in, though they said fully furnished, and it was in fact not (it's lacking a drier, and closet space...and lots of other stuff), I thought it would be a grand adventure. I thought that maybe, after the awfulness in North Carolina, I'd found a refuge. I'd been really, really happy when I moved in...though the housekeeper always sketched me out.

So, then I fully figured out that there wasn't really any heat when the advertisement said, "Heat included." And that Wi-Fi wasn't established, when the advertisement stated, "Internet included." For a long time, I sat downstairs, on the couch (that is now inhabited by the old man), plugged into Ethernet, and then retreating to my room for the night and freezing....all night. To the point, I would cover Baxter in the blankets, too. The adventure got old, fast...especially when the old man started stealing my food, and my beer, and making people uncomfortable so they didn't want to hang out...etc...Then, when Jenny was late with rent for like, three months, and moved out in under a day...he stole her computer. THESE PEOPLE ARE CRAZY.

The house. It looked so welcoming...

**The following is a set of e-mails between me and my landlord, negating all of the lights constantly being left on, me not living at the house for two weeks, the fact I haven't been anywhere outside of my room for about a month now...etc**

Landlord:
I received your check in the mail today for the last half of March.  You are delinquent on the rent due for April.  I have to have your April check in my mailbox by Friday April 6th or you have to move out.  I give Richard Hayes permission to make sure you are moved out of the house by Saturday.

Me:

I am late with it yes, however I will have it, most likely not by the 6th and according to renting laws you have to give at least thirty days before eviction.

Thanks.

Landlord:
Sorry you have no written lease so it does not apply, don't let this get ugly you will not win.  I need your check by Friday.


Me:
Greetings Vickie,

Okay, sorry I wasn't able to type this up earlier. I just don't understand what is happening. Granted I've been late on two payments, but you've still been getting paid. I wouldn't be struggling so much if:

1) I didn't have to stay an extra week in Michigan for a funeral

2) The mix up at pay role threw everything out of wack **Okay, this one is a blatant lie, I was coming up with excuses to have my rent late, with every intention of paying it, but staying two weeks in Michigan when I'd only planned one screwed me financially...**

Other than that, the living conditions here have been sub par with Dicky still smoking in this house, drinking every day, he and his mother picking fights and locking me out of either the upstairs, or the downstairs, as well as Baxter away from his food and water. 

Other than THOSE things, there is a law that mandates that you, nor any of your subordinants may remove an AT WILL tenant, which is what I am. If you don't believe me, here is some information:

May I charge a late rent or a returned payment fee?
According to Maine regulation a rent payment is late if it is not made within 15 days from the time the payment is due.  UNDER this condition, I am not even late with payment.

How can I end a Maine lease agreement? 
Unless otherwise specified within the lease, or if a tenant is a tenant at will; (a tenant without a written lease) landlords or tenants must give 30 day advance notice prior to lease termination.  

http://www.ezlandlordforms.com/articles/maine_landlord_tenant_law_and_regulations/

While this website is the quick version of the laws, and does not have the specific laws, I can send you those links, too. This was an easier way to do so.

Therefore, if any of my belongings are removed from the house, harmed in any way, or stolen, I will call the proper authorities to have this issue resolved. Please don't make this any uglier than it has to be.

Thank you,

Lynne

With that said, I'm kind of excited. Why? Um...because I win. (Does that make me a bad person?) This house literally has been awful since I moved in. I'm frozen every night, still. There was a point where during the winter this Richard Hayes (62 year old house keeper who drinks all day and night) didn't keep the house warm enough so the pipes froze...for three days. He's stolen my food, had his mother call me crazy, they've been making life miserable.

So I'm sort of fighting to live here, more so fighting for the ability to not have my crap touched or moved and then come May 1st I have another place to live.

Boo ya.

In unrelated news, have you guys checked out the Open Mic Blog Hop?

Baby Wins

I don't think people give themselves enough credit for the things they do. In example...if you've written a novel, YOU'VE WRITTEN A FREAKING NOVEL. If you've written something, and someone says they like it, they probably do. Take the compliment. Give yourself some credit.

I'm saying this because I found out yesterday, that Suzie Townsend picked a winner for Invincible Summer, and the 100 word story contest. And I was that winner. I haven't won any other competitions (yet). Still, I was unGodly excited to read, "and the winner is...Lynn(e)". It's five easy, simple words. But it's my name. More importantly, it's my writing.

I drove to my sister's work (because my cell phone had stopped working), and ran into her office to tell her. I was excited, and I should be. When I tell people, I keep saying, "It's not that big of a deal." But it's still my writing. And I should be proud of it, even if it's a small competition. It's a baby step in the grand path I'm trying to travel. Things like this are what I'm waiting for.

Moral of this blog: Be proud of the little steps you make along the way.