Saturday, August 16, 2008

Sleeping with the Enemy...


PEOPLE! I need to write a best seller on my experiences here. You cannot believe I am house-hunting.... AGAIN!!!!! Really, I think I deserve a medal for this or what do you guys think???
I mean REALLY I thought the search was over. I was soooooo comfortable here and had already started buying little furniture and all...

UNTIL...
my landlady comes home Thursday evening and tells me just out of the blue "I'm sorry but this just is not working" and gave me a month's notice. To say I was shocked was an understatement. I have NEVER had cause to think I had issues with the lady. I mean, of course there was the bedbug issue which I thought had been resolved.

Oh yes.... the bedbug issue.... lemme quickly gist you about that. But first, don't think I live in filth. Bedbugs are attracted to human blood not waste or filth.

Anywayz, when I moved in here I had issues sleeping at night because I always woke up with itchy insect bites - and I still have the scars to prove it. Really strange since I never even saw a cockroach in the flat I moved out of in February. I complained to her but she claimed she never had such problems... UNTIL...
the bugs got into her room!

And the complaints began, accusing me of bringing bedbugs into her flat.
Imagine that! Of course I felt bad so I coughed up 700 bucks to get the place fumigated. After 2 treatments, the bugs still didn't leave because the treatments obviously don't work on the eggs. But hey, they no longer disturbed me since I treated my bed every night with insecticide. In fact I slept soundly! But she kept on complaining that she couldn't live her life spraying insecticides all the time.

But the whining continued every morning till I just got fed up
and called the guy who stayed here before I moved in. Imagine my relief when he told me that that was the reason he moved out! Meaning the problem was there BEFORE I moved in. Of course I told my landlady what the guy said and she denied it, claimed the guy only complained about mosquitoes. HA! The guy told me he thought the insects were fleas from the pets.

We never spoke about it again and she never complained about the bugs to me again and things went back to normal before I left... or so I thought. This episode obviously marked the beginning of the end of my stay here!


I got back from Lagos and noticed she was acting strange. I told my mum and my sister about it but they advised I just act normal that maybe she was going through some issues. But despite her attitude I still spoke to her (though not as much as before) and just last week I was telling my mother that things were back to normal... until that fateful Thursday!


I asked her why she was kicking me out and initially she said nothing. Then to my surprise, she said it was because I was always on the phone. WHAT?! BULLCRAP!!! Complaining about me being on MY CELL PHONE??? I mean this is a lady who's in front of the TV till like 12am and I'm always in my room. There is NO WAY she can hear me above the noise of the TV. In fact, I should be the one complaining about the noise from the TV. I told her surely this could not be the reason. She said, "well and lots of other things". I asked which other things but she couldn't give me an answer. I asked why she never told me about these "lots of other things", still silence.... and then "you have a month to find somewhere else". How cold!


BUT seeing that God loves me sooo much, I have found a place already!!!!!! In 2 days I found a place! I mean it's not my usual style but hey I am eager to get out of here! The chic seems nice but hey, after what I've been through in CPT, I'm pretty much prepared for anything now. Only problem is I have to buy furniture which I'm not too happy with, so I'm still searching. In fact I had promised myself I would not stay with the owner of a flat ever again but to be honest, I'm not keen on staying by myself either. Not in this society that has the "it's all about ME" mentality.


I really do not understand these people. It beats me how someone can be so old (yes she's 20 years older than I am) yet be so immature. How can you live with someone you have issues with and not discuss it with them. For Pete's sake, you sleep in the next room every night! I bet her office peeps convinced her that asking me to leave was the best way because I'm sure she would have discussed it with them, after all they were instrumental in her dealings with the previous tenant.

I pride myself on being the perfect tenant, and my ex estate agent can confirm this. I am extremely clean (and yes I do say so myself), I don't drink, don't smoke, don't have wild parties, respect other people's privacy and pay my rent on time, sometimes even before the due dates. I make an effort to talk to my flatmate, always concerned about them and always offering to help when I can. For Pete's sake, I tried to sell this lady's fur coats for her, placed ads on gumtree for her advertising her make-up skills, bought her pets food with MY money and lots of other things I don't need to tell you.

YET she stabs me in the back all the while smiling at me and speaking sweetly. For Pete's sake, just 2 weeks ago, she moved a large piece of furniture from my room without my asking her to and got the place ready for my reading table. So really I cannot fathom how such a sweet person (because she really is one... let me rephrase... seems like one) could do such a thing. I had praised her so much, my school wanted to put her on their list for future students. Goodness, what a strange person!


I tell you, right now, I CANNOT WAIT to be out of here... in fact no need to take up the full month's notice. I'll be out in 2 weeks by God's grace. I wish Tenades was still here. We viewed the place together. She will be stunned!


But hey people... what can I say, I feel like a nomad. Gosh the stress of packing, moving, settling down again... groan.... I am sooooo not looking forward to it! But I know God will continue to watch out for me as He has done in the past because He loves me!

Enjoy your weekend!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

My lady, it is a sweet and sour world we live in. But one thing is for sure... I don't think he's taken you that far to leave you alone. Guess what, you just can't give up now. I dare to say that there's something to be learned and at the end of the day, it will be for your own good. Keep the faith and don't feel sad... Such is the way of the world, but be of good cheer for you will always have a good laugh at the end of the day.

Heartbeat said...

ouch...

i had to move only once and i know how unplesant that was. i feel your pain. hope u get somewhere nice this time around.

T.Williams-A said...

Thx a lot for your concern. I tell you it is not easy. I have moved 3 times this year already. But I choose to think of the blessing hidden behind every disappointment.

I know God has something in store for me. So I'm not worried...

poeticallytinted said...

Awwwww.... pele oh! You know the story of my ex-landlady and I. lol. This sounded just like that. Though mine was a bit more nightmarish. But you know the part where they smile at you and then stab you in the back? That's like the standard way to kick a tenant out as it appears in some kind of unwritten code.
I'm glad you found a new place. Hang in there, it'll soon be over. BIG HUG!!!!!! :)

Anonymous said...

That was very entertaining...
you could write a book on your flat advenutures... makes for interesting reading.The unbelievable part is that it;s true.. shame man... x
I've had a few nightmare renting experiences of my own.
it's always a scary experience sharing with someone whether you are moving in with them or whether they are moving in with you.
lucky I"M not difficult.
;-)
In fact i sound like the polar opposite of mrs scary pants.
I'm sure we're gonna have a lot of fun...
xxx

Anonymous said...

Thats a real Judas of a landlady for real!Thank God you possess the strength and faith to ignore life's trivial matters that only come to pass!I really feel for you though but I am sure glad you got yourself another place in no time at all.Believe me I am almost as shocked as you were to learn that that innocent-looking and seemingly-mature old lady would turn out to be such a serpent and display such naivety as to not even discuss with you her grievances!Anyways, thats life and its in the past now and as they say, "When you lose, don't lose the lesson!".I bet there is something to be learnt from all this somehow!