Insanity...

So for the past like 3 months I've been having a crazy crazy life. First, March and April: Weekend 2 of March Rami here for his spring break, me in both Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando for my spring "break" a week later, then Dallas to visit Meg, then back to Orlando for a pre-passover celebration, then back to Fort Lauderdale for something with Rami's fam, then finally finally a weekend at home to sleep and do laundry.

Dallas- Was awesome! And also not awesome! First of all, drove 5 hours to get there. Took me like 2 of those hours fighting Houston rush hour traffic... twice. First the space center traffic into the city, then the city traffic to the suburb north of the city. But it was so so awesome to see Meg. And her aunt who we stayed with was so sweet and welcoming and it was awesome. BUT... fuck dallas. Don't even remember all the ridiculous reasons why Dallas sucks since it was a long time ago and alot of shit has happened since but the basics are: poor Meg (literally and figuratively, heh) got a ticket for turning right on red which you're apparently not allowed to do in Dallas. Then my insurance had expired like a week before (oops) and he threatened to impound my car... another stupid dallas law. STUPID. Meg and I decided we dont wanna go back to that evil, horrible place. STUPID.

Before I left for Orlando the weekend before Passover, I told the office at my apartment about the big crack in the bathtub. Again. This time they finally did something, which was to schedule people for that monday morning to come to my apartment and resurface the tub. I was told not to come home for 8 hours because of the fumes and I didnt. They resurfaced the tub but then the whole apartment smelled and it was sticky for days afterwards. And, a few days later it started to crack again. Whatever.

Also, when I paid March's rent, I hadn't yet recieved my water bill (water is submetered so I got a bill for somewhere between 5 and 10$ every month) so I paid $15 extra, figuring that it would definitely cover my water bill and then since I was gonna be away alot, I wouldn't have to worry. With that check for rent + water I included a note nobody bothered to read saying I hadn't gotten my bill so was adding $15 so it would certainly be enough. Then I got my water bill and it was for $4 so I KNOW that I had overpaid. I went into the office to mention that and the guy there said it would be fine and would carry over to next month. Next month I got a water bill of $7 so again I knew I would have money roll over. However when I got back from Fort Lauderdale after that last weekend I had a note in my door saying I owed $7. $7.70 to be exact. I called the office and explained and they said they would take care of it. Then I called back the next day and they hadn't fixed it but were like oh well you need to bring us a copy of the bills so we can see that it really was covered. So I did. And I even checked again after I dropped that in the night box that they were dealing with it. Well when I returned from a bar with coworkers on the following Friday night, my first weekend home in a looong time, I had ANOTHER note. This one threatened to bring court proceedings to evict me. Over $7.70. THAT I DIDNT EVEN OWE. Well being freaked out by this evil letter I went into the office the next day (a saturday, so of course the manager wasnt there) and got them to give me written notice that i didn't owe money. Their excuse was that they sent the note before they actually fixed it. Which was 5 days after I told them they were wrong, and 3 after I gave them the proof in the night drop. Stupid.
Plus, in the middle of all this I also got a letter saying my lease was up and I needed to either sign a new lease or give notice to leave. Well between the unhelpful morons in the office and the again cracking tub, I wasn't sure I wanted to renew but I also didn't feel like moving. Its alot of work, alot of money, and besides, where would I go? Another apartment complex where the same thing would happen all over again.
Well, then, my decision was made for me. The following week I was working late hours studying for a big work test on all software functions and software protections in my entire system, a huuuge amount of material. Wednesday I returned home from work about 6:30 and I inserted my key into my door. The lock was kinda sticky so I could tell from how easily the key turned that the door was unlocked. This is it, I figured, someone from the apartment complex is in here waiting to tell me I'm evicted because those morons still don't realize I already paid them. So I opened the door (maybe not the smartest thing but I really thought it was those idiots). This is when I saw that my laptop (normally on the couch) was gone. Turning my head, I could see the door frame wood was split top to bottom. Someone had broken open my door!!!
Freaking out, I ran back to my car, got in, locked the door and call the cops. And Rami. And my mom. And finally (probably not that long after) the cop came. They cleared the apartment, dusted for fingerprints, and took my statement. I found out from the apartment repairman that someone else in the apartment complex was broken into. The total taken: My laptop, my big pretty tv, my gun (broken out of the safe I kept it in, in the drawer I hid that in), and my laptop case (presumably for carrying the laptop). And my ability to sleep for a really long time.
From the way only certain things were missing and nothing else appeared touched. I wondered if it was the tub repairman. I had just come back from a weekend away, I hadn't hidden my laptop... and how exactly would you hide a 32 inch television? And the gun was always hidden. They certainly could have seen the laptop and TV and opened a few drawers until they found the safe. Then knowing that I worked all day and the apartment was unattended, they could have planned to come back for those few things only 3 weeks later. I will never know. And my stuff will never be found. Its gone now.

After dealing with the police, I threw some clothes in a suitcase and left. Katie took me in for a few nights and I got a guy I know from work to go back to the apartment with me the next night so I could sort through some things (and in my haste to get out, I had forgotten underwear the night before)... I was afraid to return alone. Weirdly, this has given me a more intense fear of the dark even though the robbery happened in broad daylight.
My mom came that sunday (she was busy saturday night) and I took off work on Monday to go hunting for a new place to live. I found that place and 5 days later, on the first of the month, I signed the lease. That night was the last I slept in my old apartment, save once. I didn't have time to book movers that quickly so I bought an air mattress and I moved over all my work clothes, some other clothes, my little bedroom tv (19 in rear projection.... lame!), my tivo, and some dishes, food and stuff that weekend. I lived here like a squatter for a while.

The weekend after that I went back to Ft Lauderdale for Rami's bar removal surgery. That was a terrible, awful experience. Poor kid was in surgery for hours, and then in such pain they had to keep him on morphine overnight (so he had to stay) and... I guess I know I really love him now because I couldn't really eat or sleep, thinking about him in the hospital. Ugh... awful. And with all that, I couldn't get it together to move the following weekend, so I used that to empty all my drawers and pack everything up in boxes. Also, I got an alarm system installed. A real, monitored one so I would be able to sleep at night and not worry during the day. It helps, but I wouldn't say I'm worry free.
Then hired movers for the following weekend to move my big furniture (CR-V is wonderful, but not that big), took Friday morning off to do the move then headed to work for a class in the afternoon. Rami came that thursday night so he was with me to meet the movers. We did actually stay in the old apartment that night cuz the movers were coming early that morning and I was glad I had him with me cuz that place still freaks me out. Then my parents came in Friday night and we had a good weekend. They helped me finish moving out the last little bit, and my dad and rami put light kits on the fans (how weird that they were just fans without built in lights) and a blackout pull down window shade in the bedroom. Mom helped me too, setting up the home entertainment system with my new TV and some cool cabinet stuff for my kitchen.
That weekend we also went to Astros game, Melting pot for dinner, and I took them on a JSC tour which was all awesome.
This weekend, I went and bought a little DIY bookcase to keep my printer and some other stuff on. It looks real cute in my living room. And I checked out of the old place for good. Whatever they decide to charge me for (like the fingerprint dust that would never come off), at least I don't have to live there again. I still have a bunch of boxes to unpack but its feeling like home a little more every day. So far the management seems alot more useful and reasonable. The gate broke and was fixed a couple days later. Unlike at the old place where the gate broke and was never fixed. So I guess its turning out to be a good choice.

And thats my story. Crazy life, isn't it?