I’ve gone back and forth trying to decide if I wanted to post this piece. I wrote it while I was not in a very charitable mood. I was struggling to move beyond my anger and upset. But I’ve had a lot of people asking about why I was so upset this week and I think I have finally managed to find the humor in the situation. So… keeping in mind the spirit with which it was written please take this with a grain of salt and excuse and lingering sharpness….

I originally thought I got very luck with my apartment in Bordeaux. I have a decent amount of space – I managed to sleep two extra people this weekend – and I am close to school. Hell, it is even furnished and I have access to washer. My rent is a little pricy for Bordeaux and I am a little further from the tram than I would like but all in all I was happy.

As I got settled into life in Bordeaux and my routine little instances began popping up. My landlord constantly commenting on the fact that my window to the street was open. Then there were the comments that I was up late and should be mindful of not leaving lights on for too long. It slowly began to escalate. Passive aggressive notes about the lights and laundry. Her entering my room to close the window in a rain storm. I was a little bothered but figured she was just trying to be attentive.

I chatted with my roommate who said that yes she has always been a little nosy and involved but that she was manageable. But unfortunately things escalated even more with the now infamous fridge incident (that ended with a lot of food being thrown away) and repeated summons for little chats . Clearly we can sense a pattern here.

Then friends came to visit for the weekend. I won’t bore you with a ton of details but she was upset and asked my friends to pay for spending the weekend with me. Needless to say I didn’t take kindly to that and we fought.

Then about 11 pm on Sunday night I realized that none of the outlets in my room were working. I had power – the lights were on. But my computer wasn’t charging. Queue the panic attack. I thought there was something wrong with my computer. But then I tried a different charger and a different plug. Next my cell phone – same problem. Ok how about the hairdryer? Nope.

Again, I turned to my roommate. Poor girl. Sorry for disturbing you so late on a Sunday night L. But everything was working in her room. So we trouped down into the garage – where the breaker for all of the sockets in my room had “blown”. But strangely enough it was the only one in the house that was having a problem…. hmmm….

So this morning, I found myself tiptoeing through the entry and trying not to make too much noise. But I find myself plotting, scheming and yes, searching for a new apartment. (I’m a little worried about not having a guarantor in France, but there has to be someone who would be willing to let me pay them 😀 ) Keep your fingers crossed that I can find a furnished studio where I can live on my own. In the mean time, its the avoidance game or failing that the “find new ways to provoke the cray cray” game.