Going to Move

I think there must be something about me that makes people feel it's OK to walk all over me and wait for me to thank them. The apartment managers have not been able to do anything significant regarding the smoke issue, but it's something else today that has just set me off.

Last week I had an electrical problem: the light in my entryway blew up. Not just went out, but sparked, popped, crackled, smoked and exploded. I haven't turned that switch back on since. I made a personal visit to the apartment office on the following Monday, letting them know it wasn't just a burned out lightbulb, and that I'd like them to check the wiring so I can avoid exploding glass over my head in the future. (I said it much more pleasantly to the secretary.)

I waited all week for ANYONE to show up. Nothing. So this morning I called, spoke with someone and reminded them that I had requested this work order on Monday. She said she'd send one of the guys out right away. This was around noon when I called. It's 6:20 now, and not a single person approached my building. I called the office again and left a somewhat heated message, but still was polite yet clearly annoyed at the delay. I appreciate that these guys have a lot of work to do, but I'd like my lights to be functional. It's the only entry light I have and it gets dark in my little cave of an apartment.

Secondly, my parents are coming tomorrow and when my dad says "Gee, it's dark in here, let's have some light!" he will automatically begin flipping switches and see that one doesn't work. What I'm worried about is that 1) there will be more fireworks and result in a fire, and 2) barring additional electrical smoke and fire, my dad will take it upon himself to "fix" it. This can only result in two things: 1) dad gets shocked/hurt/cut by glass/falls off the stepladder/breaks something and gets hurt by what he broke and manages to fix the problem and then exclaim about the poor quality of the wiring, or 2) all of #1 but the light still doesn't get fixed and now I have blood on my kitchen towels to stop whatever started bleeding. It's amazing to me how easily this man can hurt himself!

So given that the office doesn't care too much about my constant inhalation of second hand smoke, and clearly my continued vision health is not a priority, I have decided definitively that when my lease is up I will look for a new place (perhaps one that stipulates a no-smoking policy in the lease). Not sure I am ready to buy yet. There's really nothing keeping me here in town, other than a job I really love and friends, and some family. I'm not close to my family so that's not a big deal, and through the magic of technology I can still be friends with someone half a world away. And wherever I move I can make new friends. I'd miss certain people a lot, sure, and of course I'd miss my job and students. But there are other jobs, other friends to be made, etc etc etc.  Who am I kdding? I'll probably stick around here another few years before making any major changes in where I live, if I ever do. I should have taken up the opportunity in London when it was offered. I feel stupid.