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.