|
current |
2001-09-13 - 10:14 p.m. I haven't posted because I really just didn't know what to say. I have been feeling in sort of a shock and blur but at the same time going about my life as if it didn't happen. Yet morbidly checking the internet on breaks at work and watching TV coverage nonstop. I want to stop thinking about it but it seems awful to stop thinking about it. I have to say this: when Justin called me at 7:30 AM and told me to watch the coverage on TV(I'm on west coast time) I started praying and I am not a religious person. I cried the most when Barbara Walters and Peter Jennings showed pictures of people and told their stories and how their families are hoping they will locate them. I am not really down with the way the media is handling it though because I feel like they are concentrating too much on this "Attack on AMERICA" business and not just focusing on the loss of lives. I feel so awful about the whole thing. How are the kids handling it? you might ask. They are fine. I think it is in their minds but they don't want to really talk about it or think about it. Which is fine with me because I don't want to talk or think about it much. When any mention it the others emphasize that we are in hicktown USA and no one would bother doing something like that here. I don't know. I never know what to do with the kids when something happens that you think maybe you should talk about. I don't know. Aside from that, the night before this whole mess happened there was a traffic accident here. This new family in the area that just moved here three weeks ago was hit by an empty oil tanker truck (as well as another van being involved). This was a family with three kids, two of which go to the middle school here and one to the elementary school. One of the boys who was in middle school died while the other two were injured. The middle school is right down the road from us and has the same name as the high school. That on top of everything has been really sad, even though I don't know the family, because they just got here and you don't know if they have family or anything and I heard they were kind of poor. Anyway the middle school faculty set up bringing them dinners and there was a donation fund set up for funeral expenses so at least I was able to contribute in a small way to people in need. The drama with where I live has excalated to a new high. I am going to have to move. The noisy neighbors moved three nights ago. Before they went they made some complaints to someone about the apartments here. As it turns out, our landlord guy is a real jerk. I heard a few things from a kid that is in my class that we would all have to move out because the landlord is not supposed to have apartments here and there are code violations. Well, I come home today and find a notice on my door that is from the City. It says that our sewage is going directly into the slough or something and that we are not supposed to use our toilets. If this situation is not rectified they will turn off our water. I tried calling the guy but I got home too late so had to leave a message for him. GREAT!!!!!! I had actually tried to call our landlord for the past few days because the downstairs neighbors' smoke alarm sounds low on batteries and is chirping. It is driving me insane. They don't live there so I can't stop it. Also, when they left the kicked in the slats on the railing. There are big holes in the railing over the deck and it is a huge drop. If either of the little girl neighbors were near there it would be dangerous, and it is right where they live. So I called him. Guess whose phone appears to be unplugged? I tried calling four more times tonight. I haven't seen him since two weeks ago. So anyway, hopefully they will have pity on us and not shut our water off. I noticed that there was a card from the city police for the landlord as well, so it is not just me trying to get ahold of him. I talked to the little girl neighbors mom and she is freaking out. She is a single mom of 24 with two little girls and this is her first apartment. Like me, she paid first and last months rent +500 deposit. She did this like two months ago or something so it is even more recent that she has put out tons of money (at least mine wasn't recent). She didn't pay this months rent because she thought something was going to happen like this. But she has been calling friends nonstop for someplace to stay and no one can take them in. She doesn't get child support either. I feel way more sorry for her than myself and I am hoping she can hold it together for them because she was visibly freaking out in front of her kids. At this point I am pretty sure I am not going to get my money back. Luckily I have some money saved up, but this couldn't have come at a worse time since we may be going on strike soon and I sort of need that money as back up. But as soon as I heard she hadn't paid this months rent, I went and put a stop payment on my check (US BANK are fee Nazis who charge for everything--that was $20!) and thank goodness he hadn't cashed it yet. Our landlord has a tendency to go off for long periods of time but never before has he had his phone disconnected like this. Even if he doesn't know, I can justify stop payment and moving because I couldn't get ahold of him. Plus my lease is up anyway and I am not obligated. I think I may try to go to small claims court for the rest of my money. Anyway, I was planning on going to visit my cousin this weekend but instead she is coming here (she is such a wonderful person in a time of need) and she is helping me look for a new place to live. If worst comes to worst I can stay with Justin for awhile but it would be an hour commute (however the two new guy teachers both commute so I could car pool if needed). I guess I will find out tomorrow when they will be shutting the water off or whatnot. I just can't believe I am supposed to suddenly without warning not use the toilet! I have no neighbors other than the woman and her kids and they can't use their's either. So I just went to the bathroom and hoped nothing would explode. I'm sure this has been going on for quite some time anyway. It just grosses me out to think perhaps it could back up or something into my other water? I haven't used any water since I found out. But I have to take a shower tomorrow of course. YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can any landlord please be more of a jerk? I can't believe he took advantage of a single mother with two children, and me and the others. I HATE HIM! I just have to be thankful that things aren't worse for me. I can move if I find a place and I do have people who can help me out. I hope that the woman downstairs will be able to figure something out. Anyway, school is still going well, the kids are still pretty much angels. I finally got my schedule worked out. We switched my prep. period to sixth period and now got a bunch of seniors in there so my other senior classes are smaller. Thank goodness. Hopefully all will go well. I am being very hard this year with the seniors--last year I felt like I wasn't as challenging as I should have been. They already have a Beowulftest tomorrow. I feel excited to see how it goes. Hopefully they will get it and do well after the huge deal they made about how when I read it with them I explain it and all of that. I also have them doing this thing that I did in college and they hate it but I love it and think it will help them. Hopefully they will do a good job on that.
|
