29. Apartment and Roommate Tales - Part 1
I have had a lot of apartments (9 in total) and roommates (11 in total) over the years. I think of myself as a very reserved roommate who doesn't really like to have a lot of people around (and if I do invite people it's usually an equally quiet partner or a small group for an evening dinner party that happens once in a blue moon). I lived with a lot of interesting characters (wow, if I've had so many roommates, maybe I'm the bad seed?). I'm starting out of order because I think it would be kind of funny to.
I'm tapping into my "journey of self-reflection" because I should really think back to what happened in my life. Now that I'm back home for a little bit during this "transition period" of my life, I think I want to think back on the interesting people that I've lived with that were not family.
Apartment No. 7
I was having a bit of a rough time a couple years ago. This place I am referencing was the 7th apartment in my entire life (I will refer to this apartment as #7 from here on out). Frankly, I was going through such a hard time and fighting my anxieties and depression while living in such a broken-down place. #7 was not well-maintained at all. I had a broken toilet, a broken sink, mold growing in the walls, etc. My apartment was on the 3rd floor and it was often dark since I actually lived right next door to a police department- its buildings and big fences would block my view of the eastern side of the street. I thought it wasn't such a big deal at all because I was never there. I would often work and spend the day outside and then retire around 8PM. I just didn't really like staying at home (versus when I was in the US, I'm such a homebody).
My boyfriend at the time saw how much I hated being at home. I would always insist we walk around and go promenade around the walkway by the sea, all so I could avoid going back into dreary #7. He encouraged me to seek out another place because I would complain about the rent and the broken appliances so often. I was getting kind of desperate trying to find a better place than my run-down studio. Actually, I missed cooking a lot. I had such a tiny kitchen in #7. I also had a really unbalanced sliding door into the wet room bathroom. It was kind of, haphazardly put together to be honest.
I jumped at the chance at this Facebook advertisement that featured Apartment No. 8.
(Now you're asking, why didn't I inspect it before I moved into this apartment? I DID. I asked about the pipes, the bathroom, the water, the ventilation, EVERYTHING. They showed me dates of when the maintenance inspections were and I thought it was fine! I'm just a poor unlucky sap that had crappy infrastructure in my damn apartment?!)
Apartment No. 8
It was a very quick roommate screening process for me. I think that the girls in Apt. No. 8 were kind of desperate for someone to fill this space. There were 3 rooms in this apartment, 2 bathrooms. The girl that interviewed me was actually leaving to go back home in France and I was going to take her spot. She was a very cool girl from Montpelier who only had a couple months of internship. I think that they were trying to find someone that wasn't such a stick in the mud, was actually nice, and was a reasonable roommate. I guess I fulfilled their criteria because not even an hour has passed and I got a message from the other roommates and was immediately added into a WhatsApp group message right as I sent in my deposit. I didn't really think that I appeared desperate at all, but I leapt at the opportunity to move into a better place.
I moved in right away. It was a delightful space, still very small, but spacious. My room was much smaller than my previous apartment, but at least I have an unbroken bathroom and a bigger kitchen. I felt super cozy.
I met Roommate No. 9 & 10 here. I met #9 first. #9 was from England. She was a quiet girl, and I got on with her really well. I couldn't help but notice that there was some turmoil between her and #10 for some reason? I could sense this right when I moved in.
#10 was in holiday visiting her family in the south of France (not related to the girl I replaced at all.). I only heard stories and whispers from the other roommates and the weekly cleaner that came in. I liked the cleaner a lot. She was from Manila and was very warm to me because I was also pinay. I would try to speak some Tagalog to her from when I was a child and she thought my effort was great.
While eating breakfast one day, I asked the other girls what #10 was like. Everyone kinda stopped what they were doing for the moment, took a gander at me, and said, "Oh, you'll see.".
God, I thought it was the most cryptic response ever. I even asked the cleaner what was up. Same response from her. It was an immediate red flag to me, but I kind of ignored it because I didn't want to jeopardize my stay and try to find another apartment (again!).
#10 came back from France and I was immediately flooded with criticisms. #9 and I didn't clean enough and that we were putting a lot of work on our cleaner. The thing is, we both left the place fairly clean- with a dish or two in the sink, but I didn't realize that it had to be spotless. I thought it was an unreasonable request, but my British roommate left it be and rolled her eyes. I didn't speak up and just promised to do better in cleaning.
Basically, (#10) French roommate took me aside and said that there were some rules that I had to know- the white IKEA kitchen table had to be CLEARED. I only was allowed 1 (one) cabinet and 1 (one) shelf in the refrigerator to store my foodstuffs and ingredients. I couldn't use the Keurig until I asked and paid her for a pod (~$1.30USD/~1.28Euro). It was kind of strict? I went on with it as I didn't seem to mind at first.
I asked my British roommate about these rules and it looked like she was itching to say something.
#9 and I would go on runs. It was our New Years resolution to be more active. We would do runs in the evening together and it was very fun actually. We opened up to each other a bit more every time we went on our exercise together. While on our run, she would basically vent about our French roommate. There were experiences with #10 from previous tenants that rubbed her the wrong way. During each run, I was looking forward to the foreboding tales she would tell.
"Yeah K, they would go on screaming matches with each other. She is kinda... underhanded. The other girl moved out after her last straw. I couldn't believe it."
She stopped to catch her breath and I looked back at her. We were running along the seashore.
"If it weren't for you, I would have moved out months ago. You make the place very pleasant."
I was super touched and was honestly glad to hear a compliment from her. She was often very honest and she would say "for fuck's sake!" a lot. I haven't had the full wrath of #10 just yet, but I am not looking forward to it.
I got all the writing out for this part. I'll continue it later. I'll probably polish this up a little bit.
~ a milquetoast roommate,
<3 K