Friday, February 24, 2012

5 for 5

5 Things I Really Dislike About Renting

  1. The noise.  It's the parking lot.  The tow-truck driver.  The highway.  The airport.  The Air Products factory.  (<--- which is releasing clouds or steam or something under really high pressure this morning to the tune of a shrill whistle.  Imagine a tea kettle at full steam.  Right by your ear.  For 3 hours.)  Then there's the kids.  All the screaming.  All the knocking on my door wondering if I have snack.  Wondering if I can play.  Yeah.  They want me to play.  Not Koley.  Me!  I mean I'm fun.  But I'm 27.  And pregnant.  I'm laying off the monkey bars for awhile.  Then there's the dag gum scooters that sometimes run into my door.  Ride in traffic!
    There was an article in my Oprah magazine this month about noise and how damaging it can be to your physical and mental health.  I may have taken it quite seriously.  Earplugs please.
  2. Hard water.  Not only is my hair straw-like, brittle, and unable to style... my shower curtain is turning orange and all my cups are so foggy you can't see through them.  Sorta gross.
  3. The upstairs faucet on my side of the bathroom... if you turn it on cold- it'll run cold for about the space of time it takes you to reach the faucet.  Then, it's luke warm. And every night (EVERY NIGHT) I forget.  I bend over to rinse after brushing my teeth and get a balmy luke warm mouthful of water.  Blecckh.  I can just imagine those weird white floaty things that are always in warm water gushing into my mouth. 
  4. The faucet in the guest bathroom downstairs... if you turn it to warm (like half a millimeter to the warm side) to wash your hands...  It will scald your skin off.  I've heard many a guest scream in surprise.  And horror.  I should put a warning post-it on the mirror.
  5. Wind blows through the cracks around the front door.
  6. I really miss getting the mail in my pajamas without a bra on.

5 Things I Really Like About Renting

  1. Ken comes home every night.  You just can't beat that.  Kole gets so excited.  He watches from the window starting at five to 6 and waits.  Waits for Dad to come home.  And boy is it mayhem when Ken gets here!  Giggling.  Chasing.  Growling.  Wrestling.  Boy stuff.  Mom takes a break.
  2. I do like having a box to walk to in order to get the mail.  It feels very "Housewives." 
  3. When something is broken (kitchen cabinet, toilet, closet door, blinds) it cost absolutely nothing to fix.  Just call the manager and they send Manuel over at 5:15.  Love it.
  4. My neighbor and I tape messages up to each other on our kitchen windows during the day.  It makes me feel like I'm 7 and I like it. (Maybe that's why those kids always want to play with me.)
  5. I'm getting to know people.  They know me.  I'm making friends.  After 6 long months.  I feel comfortable here.


5 comments:

Julia Marcum said...

At first I was confused as to why Ken coming home every night was a perk to renting. Hahahaha. A stretch. Definitely a perk to being in Utah. I want to hear more about these window notes! It sounds very "Now and Then."

vicks27 said...

We're renters, and we HATE the noise and the little kids. Those little devils steal stuff from us and ask for treats every day! You're lucky to have a landlord who does repairs...

Anonymous said...

UGH, I hate renting, but there are some perks. I agree about not having to pay anything for breaking stuff!:) Also, about the water in the bathroom downstairs, check your water heater. It should be at 120 degrees or lower to be a safe temp. My in-laws had the same problem in their house in the downstairs when they first moved in. I mentioned it and my fil FINALLY changed it! Yay!

And that's really funny that kids ask you to play:) hehe I'm glad you're settling in!:)

DoublClik said...

I gotta chime in on this because we rent too. Our downfalls are a little different. We do have annoying kids who choose to come to our front door, music on their cell phone and use our jeep as a reflector to see themselves dancing. Neighborhood kids also play soccer in the street and we cannot sit for a minute imagining a ball going through our windshield. Then theres the stray dogs who tackle, fight, howl, bark from roof tops and gang rape in broad daylight. Beggars ring our bell about twice a week. Different people, different stories. Its frustrating, uncomfortable and i always feel like a bad person, whether i give them money or not. And to top it off we live in whistle blowing distance of railroad tracks! Yay!

maybe this is just the pits of living in a ghetto now that i think of it...

Juli said...

Renting was great in the I don't have to fix it kind of way for me. But I moved 19 times in 13 years and when I got divorced, I decided to buy so the boys would have a more permanent place to call home.

I have a box at the end of the street for the mail. My neighbors and I get each others kids off the bus. We all comment on each others home projects. After almost 8 years, it's also finally comfortable here. :)