Here I am sitting in a coffee shop in Cap Hill; I’m having a 16-ounce hot mocha. Or I did; it’s mostly done now.
Lots has happened over the past few days; the rain has started to return as the season shifts to fall. I followed up with housing about my roommate, and now he’s being removed. I won. Or at least it appears so.
This has been an ongoing dispute for a while now. Before leaving for drydock, I made sure that apartment was spotless; I steamcleaned and everything. I came back to it being a disaster not even two months later. This led to a complaint to housing. Apparently they decided to inspect him after making him clean, which resulted in the place being cleaned up a lot for maybe a week before he started slipping into old habits again. We then got into a fight over who got to organize the kitchen after I cleaned it when he trashed it. This led to me completely disengaging from the common areas. I shifted my life to the boat and third spaces throughout the city. It sorta saved me a lot of money, but I also spent like 400 dollars on coffee over the course of a month. I only used the place to sleep and shower. I even hauled my laundry to the boat to do it there instead. Not having to pay for food was nice, though. During this time I was also validating my ability to use transit for my commute, and it turns out I enjoy it substantially more than driving. I also found a used Apollo Go at JBLM that I got for like 200 bucks. I replaced the brake paddle, and it’s good as new. This is relevant because it means I get up like an hour earlier than he does. I used that time to document the state of the apartment. Im assuming he took my withdrawal as a concession of the space to him, and that he’d get to use the place as he sees fit for the duration of our time together. I also don’t like confrontation. As a result, I got evidence of how the place looked when he was not under pressure. I took care to make sure I never took photos with him around and did not speak to him at all. For my strategy to work it had to take him somewhat by surprise. And it HAD to be decisive.
This occurred over the span of about a month. Trash being left out for multiple days, dirty dishes, general filth. The whole deal. It was all there. The tipping point was my toilet seat being left up. I *always* sit at home. After ruminating on it for like a day, I drafted a follow-up email with the backing of my chain. Now he’s likely being removed from the unit back onto his boat. He has mentioned to me how much he hates his unit; it’s unfortunate, but it’s not my job to fix him. My chief seemed more giddy about it than I was. After I got that email, I returned home and secured all my belongings in my room. * Everything*, even my Brita filter and dryer balls. The only things I didn’t were food and a water kettle I forgot about. Now I intend to remain on the ship till it’s done. I don’t want to give him the chance to confront me, as I suspect it’ll be pretty obvious what happened to those with eyes. He also sat in my parking spot for like 3 weeks. I strongarmed him into offering to pay for parking. I did this by convincing him i was gonna have his car towed even though I knew i couldnt, i used that shock to get him to agree to what I actually wanted. Which was like 150 bucks for parking. I then found something cheap and decided to drop it because 60 was insignificant, and I saw it as trying to smooth things over because I felt like an asshole. I expected him to pay because it was cheap and it’d smooth things over on both sides. Instead, he was like “ok” and didnt do shit. He then continued using my wifi with no offer to pay and got pissy about me moving his Instant Pot: “Don’t touch my shit”. But yeah. This chapter is probably coming to a close
I’m imagining it really must suck from his perspective though. Knowing your roommate must hate you after they are very conspicuously locking their door every day before leaving, not saying a word, and not being there at all. But being somewhat relieved the wifi remains paid for, and you have the unit to use for yourself and friends. Only to one day be served with orders to vacate from your command. It must feel very sudden, even though the case has been building for over a year.
I’m probably gonna take his room and try and get someone from my boat shoved in the unit instead. I can assert myself more over people from my boat than someone senior from another one, and none have a reputation for filth.
-a