Life Changes & New Home

A number of things have happened on the personal front in the last little while. Beyond the gender fuckery, my three year long relationship came to an end. Actually “ending” isn’t so much the right term as “evolved into a state of awesome friendship.” My other relationship also came to a close.

As part of that whole shebang, I moved into a new place two Saturdays ago. A big shout out goes to the friends that helped me move and clean!

And this place really needed that cleaning.

The oven had trays in it full of food with so much mould that it was eating at the metal. The entire unit reeked. The bathroom was just filthy. Vents were clogged with a thick layer of dirt. So too was each window screen. Some how, every single wall, cabinet interior, and appliance was peppered with stains and/or marks. It was clear that the previous tenant had never bothered to clean the apartment during their own stay.

This place also needed some fixing up.

Covers for electrical sockets and light switches were broken or missing. The sockets themselves weren’t installed properly. Internet was delivered through a broken surface mount box exposing its lose wiring. The rod on which the toilet paper roll rests was missing. The towel rack was loose. The laminate on a kitchen cabinet door was peeling off. The crisper in the fridge had huge cracks. The floor reducer between the two rooms was just broken off wood at the ends and laid loosely on the ground. The top of the window sill was pulling away from the wall exposing the insulation beneath. Power was shoddily delivered across rooms using an extension cord.

That said, the place had and has lots going for it.

The apartment’s location is as close to perfect as you can get in this town for an urban-dweller. Rent is dirt cheap and includes hydro. But it’s not just that. There are beautiful brick and stone walls, and a tunnel! The tunnel is sealed off, but it would have previously led to the building next door. It’s now my pantry. Nice French doors separate the living space from the bedroom. There’s a really good washing machine and dryer next to my unit that accepts debit/credit. The unit itself is also well insulated from neighbours sound-wise, though the pipes running through the apartment are constantly buzzing.

Plus this building has Herman the cat.

What this place needed was just a bit of work.

That started before I moved in. I removed the food in the oven and aerated the place for a few days. My ex-now-best-friend began to paint the rooms. Then on move day, friends helped clean things like the bathtub and surrounding tiles. We also got rid of the shoddy bookshelves that had been installed against the walls. BFF applied bolt cutters to the padlocks that had prevented me from opening up my windows. Over the following days, I just started to clean.

It took me two days to clean the bathroom, three for the kitchen, and the rest has been an ongoing process. I got rid of the broken tall mirror and the extension cable that delivered power across the room. I threw away the oversized curtains that become no more than dust collectors. I replaced all the covers for the electrical sockets. I contacted the ISP to replace the broken surface mount box. I used a mending plate and fixed the window sill. I tightened the bathroom towel rack. I got a replacement rod for the toilet paper dispenser. I glued the loose cabinet cover back on.

I did some painting. I perked up the bathroom with a bright shower curtain and some new wares. I procured a new table set and shelving. I installed wall lighting and mirrors for decoration. I put up all the art I had.

Now, the place looks pretty damn nice. There’s still work to do: the floor reducer needs to be replaced, there’s more painting in my future, as well as a dehumidifier. But it feels like a home.

You might wonder where the landlord was in all of this.

I kind of gave up on day one. They were unresponsive via email leading up to my getting the place, and meeting them in person on the official move day did not inspire any further confidence.

They passed me a wad with a dozen keys and stated that they hadn’t checked the apartment but they were sure it was fine. They made it clear that if any appliance malfunctioned, I’d have to jump through hoops to get it looked at. When I asked which of these keys was for the front door of the building; they said that I’d have to figure it out and promptly left me at the entrance.

Meanwhile, you walk by a bunch of construction materials on the way to my apartment, still untouched since my first visit over a month ago. A note beside the washer/dryer is dated 2008.

So yeah, I’m on my own. But that’s okay! As far as I’m concerned, that these landlords have zero interest in their buildings means that I have greater flexibility on what I can do with it. That’s actually really liberating.

The pictures of the new place are found below.