Archive for July, 2008
Pissed off.
Let’s count the ways things are going wrong these days, shall we?
(FEEL FREE TO IGNORE THIS POST, AS I’M GOING TO DO A BIT OF WHINING. AS IS MY RIGHT, AS IT IS MY BLOG. AND I’M IRRITATED. AND FRUSTRATED. AND TIRED. AND UNSETTLED. AND …)
Did you know that, unless it is stipulated in your lease, your landlord does not have to provide ANY NOTICE to enter your apartment at his whim if you live and rent in the state of North Carolina?
I didn’t.
Apparently my lease (which I should never have signed) gives my landlord the right to enter my apartment without notice during “reasonable hours” for purposes other than emergencies, including “inspecting the premises” to determine if I am complying with the terms of my lease.
I thought, mistakenly, that there was a statute in North Carolina that says a landlord must provide 24 hours notice to enter a residence, if the tenant is not at home.
Apparently not.
I was getting ready to go to bed a little early tonight, as I am seriously sleep deprived these days, and more than a little touchy, and noticed that there was a coax cable running under the dog pillow that sits partially in my bedroom closet. And my first thought was…was that there before? I don’t think I remember that being there before?
The cable runs all the way from a jack outside my closet door to my television on the other side of the room. Then I notice that the location (I think???) of the jack that my TV was hooked up to is capped off.
Then I wonder if I’m misremembering…
Then I definitely recall the cable guy cutting me a fairly short piece of coax for my bedroom. Which means that, um, that coax cable was definitely not running from the other side of the room, through my closet, behind my bed, behind my chest of drawers and to my TV.
I come in the living room and see that the old cable jack there has also been capped off and a new one installed behind my entertainment center.
Again, wondering if I’m misremembering things, I go to the front bedroom and see a jack that I know wasn’t there before…
So, I put on my clothes, get my dogs, and go outside to see if they’ve removed the coax that used to run around my building, which would indicate that I am not, in fact, losing my mind but that they really did ENTER MY APARTMENT WHEN I WAS NOT HOME AND WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE to run coax and install new cable jacks.
And, lo and behold, the coax that ran on the outside of my building has been removed and a new box covering up the cables has been attached to the back of the building…
I don’t think I have any legal grounds, but I do think I’ll call a lawyer and find out tomorrow. Because, um, how difficult would it have been to notify me that they were going to enter my apartment? They have my phone number. I’ve been out of town for a couple of days, so I’m not sure when they did this, but I know it was this week, and I suspect it may have been today, though I got home late last night and wasn’t very observant then…
What bothers me the most is someone entering my apartment when my animals are out and could potentially get out the door. What if Penny darted outside as someone was coming in and holding open the door because they didn’t know any better? What about Neville?
Before I moved out of my last apartment (same landlord, building next door), I had the experience of being home sick from work and my landlord knocking on my door and, my being in my nightgown and in bed, not answering the door, and him and several men WALKING IN MY APARTMENT when I failed to answer the door.
Seems that should be illegal. Seems it shouldn’t have to be spelled out in a rental agreement to be illegal.
What if I had been doing something private, more private than sleeping? What if I had been walking from the bathroom to my bedroom nude, as I seldom close the bathroom door when I shower, as I don’t have a roommate and have no reason to close the door?
What about my right to privacy?
Seems there should be a law. Why isn’t there a law??? How can it be legal for me to pay rent for a place to live and have no right to privacy in my apartment? It makes me uncomfortable, and, frankly, violated, to know that there were people in my apartment when I wasn’t here, and, not only was I not notified in advance, but I was not notified after the fact either. No note, no nothing.
I left my iPod out on my chest of drawers. I don’t have any expensive jewelry anymore, save the one opal and diamond ring that was rescued from my burned jewelry box after the fire, and it has more sentimental value than monetary value. But I didn’t know I needed to hide things, on the off chance that someone entering my apartment might have sticky fingers. And I wouldn’t even know what had happened if I hadn’t noticed something awry.
I had bras hanging in my bedroom, drying after I took them out of the wash. I’d prefer that strangers not be walking around in my apartment when my underwear is out for them to see. I’d prefer that strangers not be walking around in my apartment period, especially without my knowledge.
If there isn’t a law, I may have a new project to tackle. In my copious free time.
I feel sick now. Sick and anxious. Am I wrong to be so bothered by this?
What I wouldn’t give to own my own home. At least then I’d have some legal right to privacy. I should have paid closer attention to that lease. As if it would have made a difference – I needed a place to live, and I needed it right then.
Ugh.
2 comments July 31, 2008
Rest in Peace, Randy Pausch
Beloved CMU computer science professor Randy Pausch died last night. He’d been battling pancreatic cancer for quite a while and had surpassed the estimated number of months they told him he had to live when he was diagnosed.
Randy leaves behind a lovely wife, Jai Glasgow Pausch, and three beautiful children, Logan, Dylan and Chloe.
I never had the opportunity to meet Randy, unfortunately, but his story touched me as it touched so many people. I felt a bit of a connection because his wife used to work in my department at UNC and he had collaborated with some of the researchers in my department as well. The people who knew and worked with him considered him more than a collaborator, though – he was a friend.
The woman who used to work in my position at UNC is pretty good friends with Jai (from their time working together in my department), and Jai, Randy and the kids had visited her and her family not too long before Randy was diagnosed.
I can’t imagine what this must be like for Jai, and I wish her, her children and the rest of their family and friends peace through this difficult time.
If you aren’t familiar with Randy (and, um, who isn’t? but just in case), here are a couple of links. They are probably pretty heavily trafficked today, but, if you can get to them, they are well worth your time to watch and/or listen or read. Well worth your time. He was truly inspirational.
ABC’s Diane Sawyer interviews Randy
“The Last Lecture” on CMU’s web site
“The Last Lecture” book web site
Rest in Peace, Randy Pausch.
1 comment July 25, 2008
Because people need another reason to be afraid of mental illness…
This article was linked to another about college admissions on the US News & World Report web site:
Should I Mention Depression on My College Application? Colleges scrutinize applications from troubled students more closely
The headline here oversimplifies the subject matter of the article, which is the fear among college admissions officers that another VT shooter will slip through the admissions process. A reasonable fear, one might argue.
But since when does depressed=homicidal? I’m sorry, but I think that the vast majority of depressed individuals are more suicidal than homicidal! If the desire is to kill other people, perhaps there’s another issue larger than depression going on. Granted, I’m no psychiatrist (yet), but my personal experience with depression, both my own and that of people I’ve known, is that it is more of an inward-focused illness rather than an outward-focused illness, which is part of the problem.
Should colleges stop worrying about students with mental illness? Should they ignore it? No, absolutely not. But denying admission to someone with a mental illness, especially one as common as depression, is not the way to deal with the problem either. Yes, there are mental illnesses that make it nearly impossible for the person with the illness to function in society, but those are not the norm, they are the exception. Mental illness is widespread and runs the gamut from mild to severe, and the vast majority of those with some form of mental illness are able to be productive members of society, even if they require a little assistance to get there.
Would the better option be to deny those with mental illness the right to get an education and become self-supporting? Would it be better to deny those with mental illness to the right to pursue their own dreams and seek out their own happiness? Jeesh.
Let’s keep the mentally ill from having rights anywhere near those of “normal” people (ha!) and see how that improves life for everyone. I’m certain that preventing people from having the chance to become productive members of society will eliminate the possibility of future bombings and shooting rampages and the like. Absolutely.
But not on this planet.
1 comment July 22, 2008
Lost weekend
I had so many things in mind I wanted to get done this weekend. I was going to clean up the apartment, play with my new sewing machine, finish up a crochet project that is almost finished anyway, take the kittens to an adoption event today, etc. etc. etc.
Instead, I slept. Pretty much all weekend.
Woke up this morning with a kink in my neck that kept me from moving my head to the right. Then Casey decided he didn’t want to cooperate in the getting ready to go to the adoption event and darted out of his room past me when I went to refill his water dish and hid under my bed. I couldn’t get to him, nor did I have the energy to try.
So, I went back to bed.
I really don’t have time for lost weekends, and I wish I knew how to avoid them, but I don’t. It’s now almost 7 p.m. and I have to run pick up prescriptions from CVS down the road, but, other than that, I’d be just as happy to, um, go back to bed. 
This is not gonna work, folks. Not at all. It’s not that I don’t want to do other things, but when I try to wake up, I can’t seem to keep my eyes open. And the desire to sleep surpasses the desire to do pretty much anything else.
Sigh.
1 comment July 20, 2008
Well, damn.
Was supposed to get my BiPAP machine today (Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure). Had an appointment this afternoon at 4 p.m. in Durham (about 30 mins from my place with moderate traffic) to get the machine, mask, etc. At almost 4, as I’m about 5 minutes away, I get a phone call from the sleep center saying that there’s a problem – Blue Cross Blue Shield won’t approve the BiPAP, so the only way I can get one right now is to pay up front.
The machines run at over $1000. Needless to say, that ain’t gonna happen.
I told the woman I was almost there anyway, and she apologized for waiting so late – didn’t realize that it was almost 4 p.m. She had called my doctor about the problem but hadn’t been able to get up with him yet. Said she would try paging him. I paged him as well.
Anyway, the gist of it is, Dr. L is going to try to get approval for a BiPAP, but, frankly, I don’t have much hope, and I’m not sure it’s worth it anyway.
I’m a bit irritated that I ended up driving all the way to Durham and back for no reason, given how much gas is these days.
And even though I don’t really expect the CPAP/BiPAP to help me all that much, I was somewhat eager to try and see for sure. Now I have no idea when I might get the machine, if I get the machine. I’m tired. Tired of dealing with all this shit.
2 comments July 18, 2008
Magic Mormon Underwear
Okay…this is freaking hilarious. No, really. Check it out! (No offense meant to my dear Mormon family members, but, um, I’m sorry…it’s still pretty funny.)
1 comment July 17, 2008
