- on my move-in day, i got to the house and saw how much they hadn't done after swearing it'd all be done by monday 2/14. i ran to calm down, got back and found them working (late, again...surprise). i then proceeded to get in a shouting match with realtor Jerry about how they're liars that ended with me storming out mid-conversation. i was afraid i'd hit him if i didn't leave. where was i supposed to go, home? luckily he was gone when i got back a half hour later.
- the floors and a toilet are still disgustingly stained. this was all supposed to be cleaned before we moved in. and again after we could legally live here. and again by 2/14. and again by 2/16, definitely by that weekend. i gave up and cleaned it myself. nope, it's stained really badly. sweet "new house" stains. there's also still a pile of stuff in the garage.
- it took us less than a week to get tv and internet set up. appropriately, 5 days after comcast set up our internet, they came and cut our cable at the telephone pole in the alley. seriously? 5 days? yes. 5. days.
- last weekend, i went out hard. the next day, i got really sick from food poisoning. i'm sure it was super funny for the lady at the store to see me run away from the register to throw up. i kept it up the rest of the night and didn't feel good until last wednesday. the bright side: at least i had my own bed to go be sick in. how much would it suck to be sick and homeless?
- our "brand new" dryer broke. it was the 4th time we've ever used it when the cement mixer sound came to a halt and it refused to spin anymore. the repair guy was supposed to be here by noon, but it's 2pm and he just called to say he's on his way.
- rent is due today for the 2nd time. let me reiterate, i've lived here for 15 days and i'm already paying rent, again. maybe i should take their approach and promise it, then pay next month.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
home'd
it's been a little while, and i figure i should at least update this thing. today marks 2 full weeks of having lived in the house that i've paid to live in for over a month already. yes, on tuesday, feb 15, i got to move in. a few fun points of the events that have taken place on/after that day...
Thursday, February 24, 2011
free fry day
because i love chick fil a almost as much as i love taco bell (but taco bell never does any sweet free food days), i feel like i have to keep whoring myself out for them. sure it's only fries, but it's also another excuse to go eat there.
"On Friday, March 4, 2011, from 2 to 4pm get one free medium order of Waffle Potato Fries™ when you mention you're there to try the new Heinz Dip & Squeeze."
link.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
an end to homelessness?
Day 20: tues feb 8 was another surprise. we're done with homelessness! i found out around 3pm that we can now legally occupy 925 s ellwood ave. great super news right? wrong. there's a huge difference between a place being "legally occupiable" and "rent ready". the inspector's approval meant the pipes had been changed. what this didn't cover was the quality of the house.
the closets were full of construction supplies still. the garage was packed several feet high with rubbish (yeah, i know what i said, but that seems more appropriate than garbage). the floors were filthy. the carpet had stains from drips after they stained the hand railing. the floors were warped. one shower was hooked up backwards, so hot was cold and vice versa. the other bathroom was filthy to the point that nobody wants to use it. several holes had been cut in the drywall and then glued back in place sloppily. the steps to the cellar were collapsing. their was still no mailbox (seriously?). their were so many weeds by the stoop that it had become the designated neighborhood dog crap spot. the toilet was leaking into the floor vent, then dripping into the middle of the living room. the deck door was still blocked by an impromptu drywall job because the deck stairs need to be replaced. the house had several minor things that needed fixing, to which the realtor kept saying that we could just take care of it and take it out of next month's rent. i didn't realize we signed up to move into a DIY house. how does that work?
i refused to stay in the house in this condition. homelessness continues.
the closets were full of construction supplies still. the garage was packed several feet high with rubbish (yeah, i know what i said, but that seems more appropriate than garbage). the floors were filthy. the carpet had stains from drips after they stained the hand railing. the floors were warped. one shower was hooked up backwards, so hot was cold and vice versa. the other bathroom was filthy to the point that nobody wants to use it. several holes had been cut in the drywall and then glued back in place sloppily. the steps to the cellar were collapsing. their was still no mailbox (seriously?). their were so many weeds by the stoop that it had become the designated neighborhood dog crap spot. the toilet was leaking into the floor vent, then dripping into the middle of the living room. the deck door was still blocked by an impromptu drywall job because the deck stairs need to be replaced. the house had several minor things that needed fixing, to which the realtor kept saying that we could just take care of it and take it out of next month's rent. i didn't realize we signed up to move into a DIY house. how does that work?
i refused to stay in the house in this condition. homelessness continues.
Day 21: wed feb 9 started with getting an email from ryan sent to both realtors in which he finally let loose on them, listing all these issues and letting them know we're looking at other places to live. apparently they didn't realize how upset we were until this email, because they supposedly signed a paper saying all these issues would be addressed by monday, feb 14. they got a few things done today that gave us hope, but in the meantime, the couch-hopping continues. back to jen's basement...
nashville disaster
so as if there wasn't enough chaos in my life, being homeless, jobless, and temporarily carless, i've also become teamless. yes, my titans are trying to clean house. first, they announced that they'd be letting vince young go. it was no secret that either VY or fisher would have to go, that they wouldn't manage to coexist next season. of course, since i wanted to see vince get a chance under a new coach who would give him a little more of a chance and be a little less biased against him, bud adams announced that he'd be keeping fisher bc they'd be paying him more.
by the time i was finally coping with this decision, the titans made another announcement: jeff fisher would be leaving the titans as well. after having to fire a few assistant coaches, bud adams made it clear that fisher's son would not be allowed to come aboard the coaching staff. weather or not this was the entire reason fisher and the titans parted ways in unclear, but it was now apparent that the titans would no longer be led by "Coach .500".
the next week, the titans announced that they would former titans offensive line coach mike munchak would be the new head coach. he then immediately fired cancer victim and offensive coordinator mike heimerdinger, along with two other assistant coaches. not so super.
on the one hand, i get the idea of wanting to clean house and give munchak a fresh start with whomever he wants helping out, but holy crap, where are we gonna get all these coaches from? one thing is definite: this draft is gonna be pretty big for my titans. still, i'm not looking forward to the 2011 season at all.
couch-surfing
Day 2: fri jan 21 - i stayed at meljun's house thursday night so that i could give melissa a ride to the airport friday morning at 6:20am and use her car for the weekend. i went straight back to the old house and loaded her car with stuff, then went to the new (ellwood) house to unload and start moving things around so that you could actually walk through. ryan showed up around 9ish as we continued to shuffle crap around, make a couple more trips from the old house over, and clean the old house. our grill and a couple bikes are still occupying the garage at 3903 fleet st (thanks pat for letting us leave it there in the meantime), but we finished moving everything else after a 2nd 12 hour day. ryan and i went to alyssa's to watch some tv before i went to sleep on meljun's couch again.
Day 3: sat jan 22 had been a day i was excited about for a while, bc it was the maryland indoor invite. i had been excited to race college kids and hoped to have someone push me in the mile and 3k, but now i was just exhausted from the move. tristram gave me a ride down, then i raced in the 2nd heat in both and won both heats pretty easily. when i got back to baltimore that night, i was too tired for anything other than sleeping on meljun's couch, again.
Day 4: sun jan 23 was spend at the store, just me and stacie. joy. ryan picked me up, i watched football w brennan to see his excitement, then the late game at pat's, where i stayed so i could get a ride from pete to the store the next morning.
Day 5: mon jan 24 was my first interview of the week. i brought my suit to the store, then borrowed pete's car to drive out to belcamp in the middle of the day. itwent well was super. i stayed on alyssa's couch that night.
Day 6: tues jan 25 started with ryan driving me out to cockeysville for another interview, in which the company seemed to have no clue what was going on. then, i got my car back! being homeless and living out of a backpack is way easier when you have a trunk to keep that backpack in and supplement how much room you have for crap. i stayed at jen's this night, and it snowed. not a crazy amount, but enough.
Day 7: wed jan 26 i got to drive myself to the store, which was super exciting for me. meg had the day off bc she was starting at the MAC, and i spent the whole day labeling about 250 shoes that arrived. lots of snow meant we closed early. i left my car at panera and stayed at alyssa's again.
Day 8: thurs jan 27 i ran from panera, did some hills, then picked up pete and went back to the store. roads were already clean in the city, still nasty in the county. ryan took off for miami for the weekend w/o any trouble. i crashed at jen's.
Day 9: fri jan 28 was very random. i was checking email when tristram made a "last chance" comment about driving to and from millrose games in nyc that day. so, i randomly drove up to mcdonough, ran there, then we took off for millrose, where pete had an extra free ticket for me. super! i got back to the city around 2:30, and learned it's easy to find parking in south baltimore that late. i went back to jen's, and apparently got in so late/left early enough that she never knew i was there.
Day 10: sat jan 29 started early w a workout in carroll park before hitting the store. pat and i then had a romantic dinner in the square before drinking 40's at meljun's w tom, patty, pat, brennan, melissa, and arjun, while watching mega python vs gatoroid (a must-see). another night on meljun's couch, this time drunk again (just like the good ol' days).
Day 11: sun jan 30 started kinda rough w a hung over long run from meljun's. i spent most of the day bumming around w them, napping, watching tv, climbing, finally buying some food. i crashed on meljun's couch again.
Day 12: mon jan 31 after work, fed hill runners, and dinner, i ended up back at jen's. i think.
Day 13: tues feb 1 was when i flipped. i woke up this morning ok with the whole situation, and was fine with it most of the day. i met up w ryan and chatted about his miami weekend over lunch and had a super-productive day looking for jobs. then quickly flipped and got super pissed when i realized that it's already february, and i'm supposed to have a freaking house already. i started looking for new housing options, trying to figure out a back-up plan, then stayed at juhie's.
Day 14: wed feb 2 was kinda all over the place, not much to report house-wise. stayed at jen's again.
Day 15: thurs feb 3 ended at alyssa's to try to catch up on some shows, then stayed on her couch again.
Day 16: fri feb 4 was supposed to be the deadline for the latest we would move in. started with a nice run from the store before work. supposedly, the inspector came and gave the house the ok, and we were just waiting until monday for the paperwork to say we could move in. however, i stopped by the house and saw a "disapproved" notice on the back door, dated 2/4/2011. super. that night, i drank alone and got laundry done (finally) before somehow ending up as a DD for meg and her roommates in towson. stayed on her couch.
Day 17: sat feb 5 ran from meg's, hit the store for a busy and super day at the store. i stayed w pat in a full-house that night as the mcloughlin clan was in full effect.
Day 18: sun feb 6 started w a long run before viewing another house as a back-up plan. watched the super bowl at jen's, then hit her basement for the night.
Day 19: mon feb 7 was when we were supposedly going to get the ok to move into the house. apparently the city inspector gave the home owner the certificate of occupancy, but nobody else could live there yet. allegedly, tomorrow we'll be good. i climbed w tom and patty and stayed at their place in columbia.
Day 3: sat jan 22 had been a day i was excited about for a while, bc it was the maryland indoor invite. i had been excited to race college kids and hoped to have someone push me in the mile and 3k, but now i was just exhausted from the move. tristram gave me a ride down, then i raced in the 2nd heat in both and won both heats pretty easily. when i got back to baltimore that night, i was too tired for anything other than sleeping on meljun's couch, again.
Day 4: sun jan 23 was spend at the store, just me and stacie. joy. ryan picked me up, i watched football w brennan to see his excitement, then the late game at pat's, where i stayed so i could get a ride from pete to the store the next morning.
Day 5: mon jan 24 was my first interview of the week. i brought my suit to the store, then borrowed pete's car to drive out to belcamp in the middle of the day. it
Day 6: tues jan 25 started with ryan driving me out to cockeysville for another interview, in which the company seemed to have no clue what was going on. then, i got my car back! being homeless and living out of a backpack is way easier when you have a trunk to keep that backpack in and supplement how much room you have for crap. i stayed at jen's this night, and it snowed. not a crazy amount, but enough.
Day 7: wed jan 26 i got to drive myself to the store, which was super exciting for me. meg had the day off bc she was starting at the MAC, and i spent the whole day labeling about 250 shoes that arrived. lots of snow meant we closed early. i left my car at panera and stayed at alyssa's again.
Day 8: thurs jan 27 i ran from panera, did some hills, then picked up pete and went back to the store. roads were already clean in the city, still nasty in the county. ryan took off for miami for the weekend w/o any trouble. i crashed at jen's.
Day 9: fri jan 28 was very random. i was checking email when tristram made a "last chance" comment about driving to and from millrose games in nyc that day. so, i randomly drove up to mcdonough, ran there, then we took off for millrose, where pete had an extra free ticket for me. super! i got back to the city around 2:30, and learned it's easy to find parking in south baltimore that late. i went back to jen's, and apparently got in so late/left early enough that she never knew i was there.
Day 10: sat jan 29 started early w a workout in carroll park before hitting the store. pat and i then had a romantic dinner in the square before drinking 40's at meljun's w tom, patty, pat, brennan, melissa, and arjun, while watching mega python vs gatoroid (a must-see). another night on meljun's couch, this time drunk again (just like the good ol' days).
Day 11: sun jan 30 started kinda rough w a hung over long run from meljun's. i spent most of the day bumming around w them, napping, watching tv, climbing, finally buying some food. i crashed on meljun's couch again.
Day 12: mon jan 31 after work, fed hill runners, and dinner, i ended up back at jen's. i think.
Day 13: tues feb 1 was when i flipped. i woke up this morning ok with the whole situation, and was fine with it most of the day. i met up w ryan and chatted about his miami weekend over lunch and had a super-productive day looking for jobs. then quickly flipped and got super pissed when i realized that it's already february, and i'm supposed to have a freaking house already. i started looking for new housing options, trying to figure out a back-up plan, then stayed at juhie's.
Day 14: wed feb 2 was kinda all over the place, not much to report house-wise. stayed at jen's again.
Day 15: thurs feb 3 ended at alyssa's to try to catch up on some shows, then stayed on her couch again.
Day 16: fri feb 4 was supposed to be the deadline for the latest we would move in. started with a nice run from the store before work. supposedly, the inspector came and gave the house the ok, and we were just waiting until monday for the paperwork to say we could move in. however, i stopped by the house and saw a "disapproved" notice on the back door, dated 2/4/2011. super. that night, i drank alone and got laundry done (finally) before somehow ending up as a DD for meg and her roommates in towson. stayed on her couch.
Day 17: sat feb 5 ran from meg's, hit the store for a busy and super day at the store. i stayed w pat in a full-house that night as the mcloughlin clan was in full effect.
Day 18: sun feb 6 started w a long run before viewing another house as a back-up plan. watched the super bowl at jen's, then hit her basement for the night.
Day 19: mon feb 7 was when we were supposedly going to get the ok to move into the house. apparently the city inspector gave the home owner the certificate of occupancy, but nobody else could live there yet. allegedly, tomorrow we'll be good. i climbed w tom and patty and stayed at their place in columbia.
super mega-cheap megabus trips
i'm not sure how long this deal is good for, but megabus is having a sale on multi-day trips where you can still get seats for $1. enter promo code "WOW200K".
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
free breakfast february
every thursday in february, you can stop by a baltimore-area chick-fil-a and get a free pre-selected breakfast item.
homeless day
thursday, january 20 finally arrived. aaaand we're now homeless. goodbye mattress, i'm not sure when i'll see you again, but i'll miss you.
i got up early, but figured i'd run later. pack/move first. after packing some stuff for a couple hours, ryan and i picked up the uhaul, then he took off to meet up w the realtor. eric (roommate #3) helped load the truck for the first trip over, and we finished loading around when ryan got back. this worked well, bc eric had to go to work, and i haven't seen him since that first loading. the move took 3 truck loads and 1car load on thursday, accompanied by several hours of continued packing. after a 12 hour day, i decided not to run. where to sleep? i'm now officially homeless, car-less, and still unemployed. super.
i got up early, but figured i'd run later. pack/move first. after packing some stuff for a couple hours, ryan and i picked up the uhaul, then he took off to meet up w the realtor. eric (roommate #3) helped load the truck for the first trip over, and we finished loading around when ryan got back. this worked well, bc eric had to go to work, and i haven't seen him since that first loading. the move took 3 truck loads and 1car load on thursday, accompanied by several hours of continued packing. after a 12 hour day, i decided not to run. where to sleep? i'm now officially homeless, car-less, and still unemployed. super.
pre-homelessness.
we discovered the house on fleet st was going to sell the same week as celtic soltice. this meant i was home long enough to sleep each night. the realtor told us we had until saturday, jan 15 to gtfo. with the holidays around the corner, i didn't start looking for a place until i returned from TN, and ryan was stuck in the NJ snowtastrophy that hit at the same time, delaying his return to charm city. still, we stayed awesome and found a super house that we fit our bill perfectly. it was in canton (bonus points for being in brewer's hill) right next to blue hill tavern. it fit our budget. it fit our timeline. it was a 6 month lease. super sweet, right? WRONG.
mon, jan 10 (homeless day minus 10)- i take my car to dundalk for some body work to be done after a slight oopsies from driving back from phunt run jan 2 (see also: the time cheese's hood flipped up while driving down I-95, like in Tommy Boy). this proves to be not-so-super, as they tell me that it'll take until jan 28 to finish repairs.
also the same day that ryan turns in our rental applications for 936 S Conkling St (the super sweet house that was our answer). that night, i discover the Conkling House Owner (CHO) changed her mind and the house won't be ready until jan 28. and we might not get it, bc some other people are interested. wtf, right?
tues, jan 11 (HDay -9) - i talk to CHO, and somehow by the time 11pm roles around, she's convinced that they can rent to us for a year lease if we pay 6 months up front. eff you conkling, i'm hoppin' on the train to homelessville before i do that! ryan and i also look at several more houses today with Realtor Roxanne before finding super sweet house 2, aka 925 S Ellwood Ave. again, super sweet location (3 blocks from pickled parrot, walt's inn, and the square, and pat's). super view from the rooftop deck. a few awkwardities, but we'll get to that later. done. we want it.
later this night, we discover that ellwood house lost its certificate of occupancy (who does that???), and that they still need to do a little work (cleaning out the garage, removing more junk, undoing a failed attempt at a half-bath...), but the house should be ready by early next week. after jan 15. not-so-super news. i hit the whiskey for the duration of the night.
wed jan 12 (HDay -8) - good news! pat, the new fleet st house owner, will let us stick around for another week and pay him rent. also good news, the city is gonna inspect the elwood house, hopefully setting us up for a move-in date of thursday, jan 20. remember that date.
fri jan 14 (HDay -6) - the city inspector supposedly came and everything looked good. he couldn't sign off on anything bc there was a power outage, so he has to come backmonday (MLK day) tuesday to make sure the smoke detectors work. sounds super. also good news, bc new owner pat is renting his current place soon and said we gotta get out jan 20.
sat jan 15 (HDay -5) - upon returning from a workout in columbia followed by tom and patty's annual anniversary race in which i edged out arjun for a narrow win, ryan and i arrive at the house and find that the garage door won't open. no worries, i'll run inside and push the button. interesting, the stove clock is out. now the garage won't open from inside either. ruh-roh. BGE cut our power, DirecTV cuts satellite, Verizon cuts our internet. power comes back a few hours later, but we have no more tv/internet.
tues jan 18 (HDay -2) - we get word that roxanne is coming tomorrow morning for us to sign a lease to move in thursday, jan 20. i stand by my "i'll believe it when we sign papers and have keys in hand".
wed jan 19 (HDay -1) - we sign the lease! supposedly the inspector just made it over today. i go to work excited to be almost done w all this.
ryan calls later, apparently the inspector found galvanized pipes, which have been illegal in the city since 2008. they'll have to change the pipes and have the inspector come back before we can move in. hopefully by the end of next week, probably by feb 1, definitely by feb 4. sadface. still, we gotta move all of our stuff into that house on jan 20, bc we gotta get out of fleet st. so we're moving, but can't stay or set up in the ellwood house. how does this happen?
mon, jan 10 (homeless day minus 10)- i take my car to dundalk for some body work to be done after a slight oopsies from driving back from phunt run jan 2 (see also: the time cheese's hood flipped up while driving down I-95, like in Tommy Boy). this proves to be not-so-super, as they tell me that it'll take until jan 28 to finish repairs.
also the same day that ryan turns in our rental applications for 936 S Conkling St (the super sweet house that was our answer). that night, i discover the Conkling House Owner (CHO) changed her mind and the house won't be ready until jan 28. and we might not get it, bc some other people are interested. wtf, right?
tues, jan 11 (HDay -9) - i talk to CHO, and somehow by the time 11pm roles around, she's convinced that they can rent to us for a year lease if we pay 6 months up front. eff you conkling, i'm hoppin' on the train to homelessville before i do that! ryan and i also look at several more houses today with Realtor Roxanne before finding super sweet house 2, aka 925 S Ellwood Ave. again, super sweet location (3 blocks from pickled parrot, walt's inn, and the square, and pat's). super view from the rooftop deck. a few awkwardities, but we'll get to that later. done. we want it.
later this night, we discover that ellwood house lost its certificate of occupancy (who does that???), and that they still need to do a little work (cleaning out the garage, removing more junk, undoing a failed attempt at a half-bath...), but the house should be ready by early next week. after jan 15. not-so-super news. i hit the whiskey for the duration of the night.
wed jan 12 (HDay -8) - good news! pat, the new fleet st house owner, will let us stick around for another week and pay him rent. also good news, the city is gonna inspect the elwood house, hopefully setting us up for a move-in date of thursday, jan 20. remember that date.
fri jan 14 (HDay -6) - the city inspector supposedly came and everything looked good. he couldn't sign off on anything bc there was a power outage, so he has to come back
sat jan 15 (HDay -5) - upon returning from a workout in columbia followed by tom and patty's annual anniversary race in which i edged out arjun for a narrow win, ryan and i arrive at the house and find that the garage door won't open. no worries, i'll run inside and push the button. interesting, the stove clock is out. now the garage won't open from inside either. ruh-roh. BGE cut our power, DirecTV cuts satellite, Verizon cuts our internet. power comes back a few hours later, but we have no more tv/internet.
tues jan 18 (HDay -2) - we get word that roxanne is coming tomorrow morning for us to sign a lease to move in thursday, jan 20. i stand by my "i'll believe it when we sign papers and have keys in hand".
wed jan 19 (HDay -1) - we sign the lease! supposedly the inspector just made it over today. i go to work excited to be almost done w all this.
ryan calls later, apparently the inspector found galvanized pipes, which have been illegal in the city since 2008. they'll have to change the pipes and have the inspector come back before we can move in. hopefully by the end of next week, probably by feb 1, definitely by feb 4. sadface. still, we gotta move all of our stuff into that house on jan 20, bc we gotta get out of fleet st. so we're moving, but can't stay or set up in the ellwood house. how does this happen?
what is super homeless?
2010 was the year of the tiger. it was also the first time since high school that i called the same place "home" for a full 12 months (even though i had an internal move within 3903 fleet st). the house was giant, and it was conveniently located within a block of a 24-hour royal farms, walgreens, and our produce-friendly highlandtown market. not to mention the snowball stand across the street made for terrific stoop-sitting on summer days. sadly, my time in the house was limited to one year, as brian and emily managed to finally sell the place in december.
short story long, super homeless is cheese's memoirs of the events that unfolded following "the sale", and his notes on how homelessness in baltimore can be pretty super.
short story long, super homeless is cheese's memoirs of the events that unfolded following "the sale", and his notes on how homelessness in baltimore can be pretty super.
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