Ultimatum

I generally hate having to give an ultimatum. But she left me no choice.
It was a week of drama at my place. Things are more settled now. I'm out, at a cafe, typing on my teeny laptop. Finally, able to write what happened. It's impossible to type on the silicon keyboard I have at home. I sssssooooo dislike typing slow.

Right... back to the drama.... This will be a rather long spiel. It would have to go to months ago, where it all began... dum dum dum *omnious music sounds in the background*.

As some of you might well know, I live in a place that has a lovely big garden, a number of fruit trees, lots of wild ducks and native birds roam about. And that I live with a greenie. Someone who overly indulges in her 2 cats, is 50 but claims she's in her 40's, has failing eyesight, yet doesn't want to get glasses cos she might seem old.

The whole flatting thing with her was quite uncomfortable for the first few months, but since she was away quite a bit, it seemed like I forgot how she was like. And now that she's back from her latest trip... boy did I remember.

We had spoken months before about me getting a pet. I wanted a cat, she was reluctant cos she had 2 of her own. And of course, they had priority. Wouldn't want to agitate the cats would we? So okay. That's fine. Then she suggested the idea of a dog. I didn't even consider it cos well I thought she wouldn't go for it. That was weeks ago. Between that and last Friday, we had casual discussions about dogs, where it would stay etc. To say I was excited, is kinda mild.

So last week, I found a perfect dog. A) Good with cats (ie doesn't think they're food) B) Very obedient, and great with commands. So told her about said dog, on Sunday. Said how big she (the dog, Bess) was, how great she is etc. And flatmate said oh that's fine. To me, that was the go-ahead. So I emailed Bess' owner. And everything pretty much was a go. But (being the uberly considerate being that I am... yeah yeah I do have my moments) I thought it would be wise to call said flatmate and discuss when I could bring her in etc.

So... this is when the whole drama began.... she started by asking loads of questions, that if the dog didn't get along with the cats could I return her etc. And other intrusive questions, which I felt weren't her right to ask anyway. Cos the dog was going to be my responsibility not hers. Pretty much everything she said had the connotation that she didn't think I knew what I was doing. 'have you considered the financial responsibilities, have you considered this and that'. 'Oh... well I'll have to think about this. This is a lot to take in. And I'll have to check with the landlord etc'.

That last bit pretty much stunned me to silence. To me, the fact that she wasn't sure if it was okay with the landlord to have a dog here, was something she should have known and mentioned. She's the leaseholder. She should have known better. If she wasn't sure about it, she had weeks to say 'oh hang on, let me check with the landlord'. But did she? Nope.

I had a morning talk with her a day or 2 after that. Telling her that I was upset. Why didn't she ask the landlord first? That she should know better cos she's the leaseholder. I wanted a 15-20 mins discussion, it said it became a 45 mins talk about her feelings. How she felt about it. And I'm going 'what the f***?!'. So I set down an ultimatum. Check with the landlord. If it's okay, but the dog doesn't get along well with the cats, I'll move. If the landlord says no, I'll move. Told her to call the landlord and text me the same day.

Did I get a text? Nope. When I texted her in the afternoon, no reply. Next day, called the house phone. No one picked up. Okay no one's in. Called her mobile, didn't answer. Sent a text. Got a reply back. Asking if I was free, cos she wants to speak to me face-to-face. I texted back, "a simple yes or no would be suffice for now. details can be discussed later'. After that, zero contact from her. Not answering my calls nor texts. To me, that was a pretty straightforward 'F*** you' from her.

I'm a pretty logical, sensible person. Why am I pissed about this?
Here are the reasons:
- she as the leaseholder should know whether the owner allowed dogs or not. Even if she didn't know, she should have checked. Which she didn't. And she had weeks to do so.
- She assumed that our conversations about dogs were just offhand conversations. She doesn't realize that we were talking about the same topic (dog in house). And when I pointed it out to her, she didn't own up to her mistake.
- She pretty much said yes, and when I called to confirm, she turned around and said 'wait but...'. Reneging on what she said earlier. That it was okay for Bess to live here.
- By not answering my texts and calls, she's just saying she doesn't respect me as a person. A 'f*** you' to my face.

On that same day, I sent her a text, saying that since she wasn't answering my calls etc, and was incapable of answering a very simple question, here's my notice. Got a note by my door when I got back that day. Saying that she understands that I'm upset, that she would prefer speaking to me face to face, that the landlord would come down on Sunday afternoon to talk to me.

Did I write a scathing note back? Yes I did. Capitalized words, double underlined some.

I mean come on. What's the point of the landlord coming down? Yes or No would have been enough. I don't need her to waste my time with all her 'feelings' bullshit. She just wants someone around so she doesn't have to pay for the rent herself. It's a household where she rules, things are done her way. She's more intrusive, more naggy than my mother. Questions my judgement all the damn time. Heck, even my mother knows better than that.

So enough is enough. I found a new place today. It's smaller and more expensive, but the owner is away during the week and back on weekends only. I'll have the place to myself. It's dog friendly, she doesn't mind that Bess will be in the house etc. So now, I'm busying packing. Getting the keys to the new place tomorrow morning. Shall move in from Mon-thurs. Will seriously need to repack my things. Since it's small. But it's good. Need to get rid of a lot of stuff anyway.

So that's it.... for now. Move this coming week. Getting my dog, Bess, on Friday. Settling her in over the weekend. And after that, hopefully it will be calm.
Tis a long blurb, but tis better to get it off my chest. And perhaps garner some sympathy. LOL

A Breather....

Phew... A breather at last...

The past few days have been deliriously (such a delicious word, thought I'd pop that in) hectic.
The trade fair seems to be pretty slow. My business partner is there schmoozing, whilst I'm stuck in the office. Attempting to work. You see... trying to work when you're alone... after months of working alongside somewhere, who's always there to joke around... well it gets pretty boring alone. Even tried blasting the comedy channel (www.socialcrime.com .. it's on itunes comedy list.. awesome standup comedy stuff) on high, to keep me awake and alert. Did that help? Not much. So did I manage to get any work done? Some...

I suppose it didn't quite help that I had 2 pet male mice to keep an eye on. This morning just as I was about to leave, I did a quick check on the mice. And when I saw the male mice... seemingly frozen... I cursed (okay I said F***!) they seemed halfdead (happened once before to another male mice... sad to say.. he didn't survive). Popped them into an empty tissue box and brought them along to work with me. Put in a little food, hoping that it would revive them.

Perhaps it was the fresh air or the cocooning gentle sway of the bus as it weaved around tight corners on thin roads, like an expert seamstress sewing. By the time I arrived at work, they had miraculously revived. Body was warm, fur was slick against their bodies (it gets puffy and weird, like they were electrocuted, when they're half-dead), and their noses were twitching. I took that as a good sign.

Their cages are now sparkling clean. Fresh bedding (toilet rolls... well it's cheap), fresh food, and new companions. I've connected the 2 small Habitrail Ovo Domes together. So Dawn, Eve, Singe and Burnt will now live happily ever after. And produce nice black (yeah I'm such a racist) babies. Well Dawn doesn't seem that happy, but I'm sure it'll all work out.

It's 10pm. Weather's crappy. Cold, windy with forecast of gale winds tomorrow. Oh joy... power cuts for the day... And it's spring too! It's supposed to be sunny, birds chirping, ducklings waddling, sun shining, flowers blooming and all that sort of shiny, idealized crap. But is it? Nope. Gloom, doom, silent and toe-numbing cold (ain't got socks on).

Suppose I'd better tuck me, my cuppa Oolong tea [found out that it's good for digestion (I have such a delicate tummy), and that it suppresses appetite. Diet Bonus!] So need to lose some weight. When it's warmer, it's off for long walks in the sun, swimming (if the water isn't freezing), and perhaps a lil taichi. But for now, it's under the duvet, with 2 hot water bottles to keep the blood in my toes circulating, a hot cuppa and a good book (reading the diamond approach by almaas at the mo... it's deep.. profoundly, thought provokingly deep... it's good!).