Saturday, February 7, 2009

Raindrops keep falling...

"Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" has gained a new meaning in my apartment.

Now why might this fabulous 70s song has a new connotation in my apartment. Well let me give you a little intro.
After 4 years as an apartment dweller I've become acustomed to of the fabulous accommodations in Rexburg for the poor, the single, and the hungry.

Some of my fondest recollections include:
A microwave that actually caused our radio (which was in the other room) to turn to static whenever they both were in use. It makes you wonder what else the microwave may have effected.
Toilet's that you had to flush manually each time you used them- the lever was broken and no longer connected to the plunger thingy.
Well when that first microwave broke it actually took a full month before we got another microwave- and it wasn't even new.
Meaning that the next semester that one broke.... FYI bleach and microwave ovens don't mix. Boy were the sparks flying when someone tried to use it.... and so we waited another month for a new microwave.
And then there was just the pleasure of the beds.... I swear that the state Penitentiary must have had a surplus sale on mattresses because they were aweful. Seriously flat, ugly blue stripped mattresses that basically had no padding by the time I used one. And the circa 1980s couches were actually more comfortable than our beds.
This was also a first floor apartment and our upstairs neighbors loved to have visitors over that loved to jump and kick and that were so gracious as to thus provide us with a strobe light effect in our apartment everytime they jumped and kicked over our light fixtures.

Then I moved to a new apartment-
And guess what welcomed us. A new pool in our apartment! The main water line broke and all the apartments in our building had pools in our bathrooms! Talk about deluxe accomodations.
Once that was fixed we discovered that the oven was 100 degrees hotter than the temperature on the dial.
And the fridge thought it was a freezer. Because basically anything that went in came out ice. Eggs, milk, lettuce, etc. All frozen.
And thanks to lovely Riviera it took almost a semester and a half to get both of these issues fix (and sadly I heard that it had been that way the year before too).
And the toilet's here continued to over flow like once a month... almost like clockwork.
And our living room carpet was about a step above dirt floors.... but only barely. Because they were the color of dirt, and thanks to the fact that our vaccum didn't work ever, it probably had several years build up of dirt and dust. And it was also coming apart at the seam.

My next apartment was right over the lounge... need I say more. There is nothing more annoying than listening to everyone else have a social life. :D or to the offkey pianist who decides that my bedtime is the best time to practice like all the time. And the piano room just happened to be like directly under my pillow.

And then last semester, what can I say about last semester.... well first off no kitchen when we moved in... no stove, sink or microwave. And six starving roommates. One of our roommates grandmother's did buy her a microwave, so we did eventually eat at home, and we did have a fridge on our stairway. (it was indoors, I lived in a basement apartment) but when you have to go all the way upstairs and then go back downstairs to cook it, sometimes it just wasn't worth it.
And then there was also the fact that the washer and dryer were above my bedroom. Mind you still not as bad as the piano below, but it was close. Especially when my roommate decided to do her laundry at midnight. And then the day after I sold my contract for the following semester (all of my classes this semester are in one building so I wanted to move closer) the washer actually started to leak down through our bedroom ceiling and caused a bubble to form on our ceiling.

Well my new apartment is actually about as close as I have gotten to perfect. Well as close as you can get in Rexburg. I live on the 3rd floor, no annoying upstairs neighbors and nice furnishings and newer carpet and tile.
The only flaws, a internet jack that didn't work and had a toilet that ran like all the time- But guess what they've already been fixed... Never would that have happened at Riviera.

And so I have one more complaint, and it is one I'm just going to have t deal with. The other day I stepped out of the shower, and again got the reminder that yes you are still in Rexburg housing. I was fully out of the shower and dried off and then I felt a wet plop on my shoulder. And then another one. Well I thought it was water dripping off of my hair, but then I looked down at my clothes I'd taken off and I noticed the nice wet spot that had formed on them too. So I look up, and as luck would have it, the bathroom fan released a nice big, fat drop right onto my forehead. And now every time anyone in our apartment showers, the fans in both bathrooms and in the kitchen over the stove, all decide to drip.
And thus "raindrops keep falling on my head."

Now are the drops gross, yes, but is it the worst that I've had to deal with, no, not really. And actually my roommates are extremely clean, (well by apartment standards) which if fabulous. The ability to walk through your apartment at night and now have to worry about what you might be walking into or stepping on, it's fabulous.
Will I be grateful for my own place. You better believe it, but I guess until then, I'll be grateful for what I do have. An almost perfect apartment- with a little rain.