I have just signed another agreement with another landlord. Cross fingers, i should be able to stay there until my MSc ends. I don't really want to be moving from house to house across London, grin, even though i feel like i am becoming an expert on London by now.
In fact, I can be a tour guide to Cambridge now (well, sort of, some parts anyway!), as well as some bits of North London, because of these frequent moves.
Let me tell you more about my new landlord. Er, he seems like a gentle person, he lives with his partner o the ground floor, and there are two staircases to the house. therefore, once you enter the same door, one staircase is for the tenants, the other for him.
I apparently share the top floor with this other guy, and downstairs two girls with whom i'll share the kitchen.
that's fine. the house, as i spoke to the tenants and landlord isn't a party house. Everyone cleans up after himself/herself---look i stayed with 3 boys in Germany in an appartment! believe, me, i don't want to be cleaning up plates all the time!---and the last thing i want to do is live with party animals who party at home. I'm fine with partying OUTSIDE but not in the house, as it should be a sanctuary of quiet.
I'm not jumping over the moon yet, the past few months have been, shall we say, weird. So thank goodness it's a one month notice contract, but which at least gives me some peace for the time being as i have gazillion of assignments at the moment. the best situation is really finding a group of student-friends to share a flat with, but i don't have the luxury of time now, so never mind.
If i am happy at my new location, you are welcome to bunk over :).
So for now, rushing my million deadlines. I have to put up with my current landlady who has just said that she has a friend coming over and the latest nonsense is that i have to stay out of the kitchen from 6ish onwards, which i think is just nuts, i can't even go down to get stuff out of the fridge. she goes on like a broken tape recorder every morning when she discovers I'm going to be indoors, look i go to sch 4 days and some days, i just need to clear my work in my room! and she whines on and one, it's ridiculous. nothing in our verbal or written agreement states that i can't stay in my room to clear my work and she knows i have tons of work to catch up on.
Never mind, things will become better i am sure :) Eventually. It's partly because i came so late, all the decent landlords would have been snapped up already, so i'm left with the leftovers!
Next year, I hope this blog will be filled with happy and interesting posts on different parts of UK and i hope to be regaling everyone with tales of leisure activities :)
take care, all!
Friday 30 November 2007
Thursday 22 November 2007
These few months have just been... weird. Accommodation woes
A quick update.
Yes, i'm settling well into UCL. i love the classes, am terribly sad i missed half a semester, since UCL ends teaching effectively in March (it's a scam for my money! no i don't mean the tutors are bad or lazy, i mean the structure of teaching and examination in ucl is designed to cut down on teaching!) i'm terribly late on ALL my assignments, and some are due in 2-3 weeks time which scares me badly, but well, i just have to get through things one thing at a time. I have even more pressing woes at the moment.
A new problem, though not entirely unanticipated, cropped up.
In my desperation and haste to move out of C, remember, i had to kick myself out of C quickly, i spent relatively quickly looking for accommodation. I found a landlady who seemed a little eccentric and rather blur i thought from first impressions, but nothing terribly alarming so i grabbed that and happily moved in last Monday.
Tuesday was when all the nonsense started. I was trying to defrost my frozen vegetables and left it in the microwave oven---which i used for 5 minutes---and went upstairs to do my things. She came back, and started saying, do you know how extravagant it is to cook vegetables in the microwave... why can't you use the gas? in exasperation...
i looked at her in confusion and said i used it only for 5 minutes to defrost the vegs. she calmed down a bit, but i was like. woah! that was an over-reaction, but decided maybe she had a bad day.
she also asked me various things about myself,and so i just ended up telling her that yes, my mum used to make me clean he floor everyday but we decided after a while it wasn't tenable so we got a househelp. she has a househelp too.
i have been telling her my room is freezing and she isnists that curtains will do the trick and she'll put them up during the weekend.
the next day, she told me something rather personal about herself, and the weekend was when the high drama started
on saturday, she went into my room a couple of times to measure the curtains and also was a little bit of the diva when i used the washing machine. we were in the house, but i was mostly in my room doing work, except when i came downstairs to the kitchen to fix myself food. it was during one of thse times we had to share the kitchen that she again asked me various questions, like whether i liked cats, why i didn't have a cat, so i just told her that my mum objected to cats being in the house as she felt they would dirty the house...she also said, i'm not as bad as your mum, right? i don't expect you to clean he house? i was like, wait a minute (this is ridiculous!). i said, courteously, in a neutral but firm tone, no, but you aren't my mother. that is dfferent. she said oh but we are housesharing and most times pp share the cleaning (i.e. bills etc ). i kept quiet, but alarm bells went off, as really, housesharing means we share everything in the house excpt the rooms. not quite what we hvae here---i am restricted to my room, some hours in the kitchen.
meanwhile, the contract which i asked for close to 2weeks ago, finally materialized with a lot more conditions that weren't stated beforehand.
Sunday, she spent HOURS puting up the rods and the curtains after she went out for a few hours in mid-morning and early afternoon. i too went out i offered to help which she refused. i thought that was strange. and besides, i really wasn't comfy with the idea she was in my room for so long without me being around. i started to get a sense she sort of looks too much at my stuff and i don't like it so i decided to do my work in my room as she did the curtains--which aren't complete up to now. she kept sayingi should go out.
Monday was kaboom time! i was in the upstairs toilet at 6.45 when i heard a knock. i came out to discover a client of hers... she does psychotherapy on mon-wed 5-8 at her house. at 8pm, she went ballistic. she said, you CHOOSE to use the toilet at the time when the woman needs it, for the first time, she was not able to go to the toilet! and so on. i stared at her in bewilderment and said, in the verbal and writtena greement you said not to make loud noises near your consultation area during those hours but nothng about the toilet!
then she ranted and raved, it went on to kitchen use. i was cooking and freezing about 3 -4 tupperwares. she went, and when do you expect to cook ? i thought you'll be eating in the university! i said, no way! it's too expensive! most postgraduates bring food to school! she went, ao you plan to cook the whole of sun and mon? i said, no i usually cook for an hour (that includes chopping up, frying ) and washing up for 1/2 hr, and i usually freeze enough for 3-4 meals! that means i cook at most twice a week. she said, no! what if i am around? i said, but i yesterday i used the kitchen when you weren't around! she yelled! how do you know how long i will be away for? i could have stepped out for a while! then i was like, but i asked you before i moved in whether there were kitchen or toilet restrictions and you said, none at all!
now her fridge has 4 shelves. i used the middle one and i asked before if i could use that smallest middle shelf to put my stuff and i checked her freezer it was okayish so i thought i'll use up a quarter. most landlords i speak to always will say, ok this will yr shelf as the tenant.
she went ballistic and said, no, i can't give you so much space, most of teh stuff aren't mine --i was like (what? hello1 i used only 1 shelf! the rest of the stuff was entirely heres! i wouldn've have ben so bold as to use half the fridge even especially when our relationship is not of equals sharing a flat but of tenant and landlord!)
then she said, and you are rude ! english people are polite and tactful! you aren't! i was like huh? you said your mum thinks cats are dirty! i went, but but you asked me why i can't keep cats at home! i didn;t say yr cat was dirty, nor did i say your home was dirty! how is that rude at all? she said, well, you should have censored the truth. what if your mum visits you? what do i do with the cat? i was like, erm, but if anyone visits me, they'll have to live with the cat? none of us are going to ill treat the cat at all!
so suddenly, i found myself with toilet and kitchen restrictments, screamed at, and the screaming went on.
and this was totally weird, when her stupid milk carton broke in the morning, which i discovered and i moped up the mess too! she knew as she left the damn thing before leaving for work. i cleared it!
she then went on.. you don't respectmy privacy! you are in the room and house too much! you told me you are in school on mon-wed! i said, no tues-thurs! but yes, you are in the huse on fri, sat, sun! that's too much! i'm used t living alone! i said, but most landlords if they wanted to restrict the number of hours tenants are to be in the house will make it clear they prefer someone who works 9-5 and who is never in! i warne dyou i have alot of deadlines and will have to spend a lot of time catching up with work in my room! she jus said! well, just go out and socialise! if you aren't, go back to singapore! why come to the uk if you are to stay in yr room, you skype don't you?---she heard me when i was talking to a friend regarding a essay coz she was in my room for hours!---and i was like, but i have to clear my work first! after that then will i start socialising! everyone i meet classmates, tutors, everyone is saying focus on yr work first1 you ahve too much to catch up on! even when pp want to invite me for drinks they'll go , erm, catch up first! i as weakly trying to explain to her and she went screaming on and on. i don't even know how you study! ( i was like, hello! it's my business!)
i said, do you want me to move out? i sense you aren't comfortable with me... she went, i'm the pyschotherapist! no one tell sme how i feel! and even if you run from this house, if you are going to coop yourself up, you'll never get out and socialise! you are too shy and afraid of the outside world!
nuts.
really nuts.
she went off to the supermarket after yelling at me, and then she came back. suddenly, she was polite and subdued. slightly sarcastic.
tuesday evening after her client went off i told her quietly that i wanted to terminate, however, i hope our undesrstanding coincide, that we both end on the 16 th dec, as i ust realise with her things can be ambiguous..
i am trying to look for another place now, but my budget is limited, and i an't find dog's kennel---too depressing---or filthy housemates or whatever. not good, when i have a gadzillion deadlines.
so anyway, yes, i'm alright, but you'd undersatnd the long silence now i guess.
when i find another accommodation, i'll let everyone know then. she says wearily.
Yes, i'm settling well into UCL. i love the classes, am terribly sad i missed half a semester, since UCL ends teaching effectively in March (it's a scam for my money! no i don't mean the tutors are bad or lazy, i mean the structure of teaching and examination in ucl is designed to cut down on teaching!) i'm terribly late on ALL my assignments, and some are due in 2-3 weeks time which scares me badly, but well, i just have to get through things one thing at a time. I have even more pressing woes at the moment.
A new problem, though not entirely unanticipated, cropped up.
In my desperation and haste to move out of C, remember, i had to kick myself out of C quickly, i spent relatively quickly looking for accommodation. I found a landlady who seemed a little eccentric and rather blur i thought from first impressions, but nothing terribly alarming so i grabbed that and happily moved in last Monday.
Tuesday was when all the nonsense started. I was trying to defrost my frozen vegetables and left it in the microwave oven---which i used for 5 minutes---and went upstairs to do my things. She came back, and started saying, do you know how extravagant it is to cook vegetables in the microwave... why can't you use the gas? in exasperation...
i looked at her in confusion and said i used it only for 5 minutes to defrost the vegs. she calmed down a bit, but i was like. woah! that was an over-reaction, but decided maybe she had a bad day.
she also asked me various things about myself,and so i just ended up telling her that yes, my mum used to make me clean he floor everyday but we decided after a while it wasn't tenable so we got a househelp. she has a househelp too.
i have been telling her my room is freezing and she isnists that curtains will do the trick and she'll put them up during the weekend.
the next day, she told me something rather personal about herself, and the weekend was when the high drama started
on saturday, she went into my room a couple of times to measure the curtains and also was a little bit of the diva when i used the washing machine. we were in the house, but i was mostly in my room doing work, except when i came downstairs to the kitchen to fix myself food. it was during one of thse times we had to share the kitchen that she again asked me various questions, like whether i liked cats, why i didn't have a cat, so i just told her that my mum objected to cats being in the house as she felt they would dirty the house...she also said, i'm not as bad as your mum, right? i don't expect you to clean he house? i was like, wait a minute (this is ridiculous!). i said, courteously, in a neutral but firm tone, no, but you aren't my mother. that is dfferent. she said oh but we are housesharing and most times pp share the cleaning (i.e. bills etc ). i kept quiet, but alarm bells went off, as really, housesharing means we share everything in the house excpt the rooms. not quite what we hvae here---i am restricted to my room, some hours in the kitchen.
meanwhile, the contract which i asked for close to 2weeks ago, finally materialized with a lot more conditions that weren't stated beforehand.
Sunday, she spent HOURS puting up the rods and the curtains after she went out for a few hours in mid-morning and early afternoon. i too went out i offered to help which she refused. i thought that was strange. and besides, i really wasn't comfy with the idea she was in my room for so long without me being around. i started to get a sense she sort of looks too much at my stuff and i don't like it so i decided to do my work in my room as she did the curtains--which aren't complete up to now. she kept sayingi should go out.
Monday was kaboom time! i was in the upstairs toilet at 6.45 when i heard a knock. i came out to discover a client of hers... she does psychotherapy on mon-wed 5-8 at her house. at 8pm, she went ballistic. she said, you CHOOSE to use the toilet at the time when the woman needs it, for the first time, she was not able to go to the toilet! and so on. i stared at her in bewilderment and said, in the verbal and writtena greement you said not to make loud noises near your consultation area during those hours but nothng about the toilet!
then she ranted and raved, it went on to kitchen use. i was cooking and freezing about 3 -4 tupperwares. she went, and when do you expect to cook ? i thought you'll be eating in the university! i said, no way! it's too expensive! most postgraduates bring food to school! she went, ao you plan to cook the whole of sun and mon? i said, no i usually cook for an hour (that includes chopping up, frying ) and washing up for 1/2 hr, and i usually freeze enough for 3-4 meals! that means i cook at most twice a week. she said, no! what if i am around? i said, but i yesterday i used the kitchen when you weren't around! she yelled! how do you know how long i will be away for? i could have stepped out for a while! then i was like, but i asked you before i moved in whether there were kitchen or toilet restrictions and you said, none at all!
now her fridge has 4 shelves. i used the middle one and i asked before if i could use that smallest middle shelf to put my stuff and i checked her freezer it was okayish so i thought i'll use up a quarter. most landlords i speak to always will say, ok this will yr shelf as the tenant.
she went ballistic and said, no, i can't give you so much space, most of teh stuff aren't mine --i was like (what? hello1 i used only 1 shelf! the rest of the stuff was entirely heres! i wouldn've have ben so bold as to use half the fridge even especially when our relationship is not of equals sharing a flat but of tenant and landlord!)
then she said, and you are rude ! english people are polite and tactful! you aren't! i was like huh? you said your mum thinks cats are dirty! i went, but but you asked me why i can't keep cats at home! i didn;t say yr cat was dirty, nor did i say your home was dirty! how is that rude at all? she said, well, you should have censored the truth. what if your mum visits you? what do i do with the cat? i was like, erm, but if anyone visits me, they'll have to live with the cat? none of us are going to ill treat the cat at all!
so suddenly, i found myself with toilet and kitchen restrictments, screamed at, and the screaming went on.
and this was totally weird, when her stupid milk carton broke in the morning, which i discovered and i moped up the mess too! she knew as she left the damn thing before leaving for work. i cleared it!
she then went on.. you don't respectmy privacy! you are in the room and house too much! you told me you are in school on mon-wed! i said, no tues-thurs! but yes, you are in the huse on fri, sat, sun! that's too much! i'm used t living alone! i said, but most landlords if they wanted to restrict the number of hours tenants are to be in the house will make it clear they prefer someone who works 9-5 and who is never in! i warne dyou i have alot of deadlines and will have to spend a lot of time catching up with work in my room! she jus said! well, just go out and socialise! if you aren't, go back to singapore! why come to the uk if you are to stay in yr room, you skype don't you?---she heard me when i was talking to a friend regarding a essay coz she was in my room for hours!---and i was like, but i have to clear my work first! after that then will i start socialising! everyone i meet classmates, tutors, everyone is saying focus on yr work first1 you ahve too much to catch up on! even when pp want to invite me for drinks they'll go , erm, catch up first! i as weakly trying to explain to her and she went screaming on and on. i don't even know how you study! ( i was like, hello! it's my business!)
i said, do you want me to move out? i sense you aren't comfortable with me... she went, i'm the pyschotherapist! no one tell sme how i feel! and even if you run from this house, if you are going to coop yourself up, you'll never get out and socialise! you are too shy and afraid of the outside world!
nuts.
really nuts.
she went off to the supermarket after yelling at me, and then she came back. suddenly, she was polite and subdued. slightly sarcastic.
tuesday evening after her client went off i told her quietly that i wanted to terminate, however, i hope our undesrstanding coincide, that we both end on the 16 th dec, as i ust realise with her things can be ambiguous..
i am trying to look for another place now, but my budget is limited, and i an't find dog's kennel---too depressing---or filthy housemates or whatever. not good, when i have a gadzillion deadlines.
so anyway, yes, i'm alright, but you'd undersatnd the long silence now i guess.
when i find another accommodation, i'll let everyone know then. she says wearily.
Tuesday 6 November 2007
Announcement
I have transferred from C. to another university.
Yes, i know it comes as a shock, but well, the course syllabus at the other university suits me better and I figured it was better to discover it .now, lose half a term at the other university than to wait till the bitter end.
I'm alright but I would appreciate it if I am not asked or if the topic is raised at the moment, as my email boxes have been flooded, and I am trying frantically shift, get new accommodation, sign on for my modules when i am half a term late and so on at the moment. Am also very exhausted.
When I am more settled in my new university, course, etc I'll post again. For now, just up to my neck with the hassle of relocation and my email boxes are frightfully full!
Hope everyone is well!
Yes, i know it comes as a shock, but well, the course syllabus at the other university suits me better and I figured it was better to discover it .now, lose half a term at the other university than to wait till the bitter end.
I'm alright but I would appreciate it if I am not asked or if the topic is raised at the moment, as my email boxes have been flooded, and I am trying frantically shift, get new accommodation, sign on for my modules when i am half a term late and so on at the moment. Am also very exhausted.
When I am more settled in my new university, course, etc I'll post again. For now, just up to my neck with the hassle of relocation and my email boxes are frightfully full!
Hope everyone is well!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)