Genius is living the hard-knock life.
By hard-knock life, I don't mean he is singing his heart out with a bunch of ragamuffiny lovable orphans scrubbing a brownstone under the thumb of Miss Hannigan, waiting for Daddy Warbucks to adopt him. No. He is learning what it's like to be out in the real world. Even if the real world is in the guise of university housing.
Genius is renting a house with three other guys. He is back from his summer of Garmin, having moved into the house on Saturday. While they were all off honoring summer commitments, the house they took possession of on July 1st was doing its best to thwart their efforts toward self-sufficiency. The basement flooded due to a frozen air conditioner coil. Mold took hold. And Genius made a trip there to have it abated.
Saturday, Genius found mold in the freezer. Yeah. The freezer. Part of his very own Frig. He scammed a gallon of vinegar from me to clean it.
"You know, bleach would probably kill mold."
"Yes. But bleach would probably kill us if we ate it. I've been researching this on the internet, and vinegar does the same thing without killing us."
Yesterday morning, BEFORE 8:00 A.M., Genius reported that he went to clean the freezer, but also found mold in the freezer vent. Which he cannot clean clean enough. So he called the university housing office entity that one must go through to rent such abodes, and told them of the mold problem. Even though they had bent over backwards for him with the coil flood, they informed him that they could not clean a freezer for him. That must be done by the residents. Even though it's not a normal freezer cleaning. Then they said they COULD send someone, but it would cost at least $50.
That's split four ways, you know. So it would cost Genius $12.50 to not eat mold for three years. So he paid in advance, and was told someone would be there that day. Didn't happen. Now he's beside himself with anger at those money-grubbing liars. Not his words. I'm glad he didn't tell me his words for them.
When I last consulted with Genius, innocently asking at 8:30 p.m. if he was cooling food, he informed me of his day wasted waiting, hoping, starving, ready to let in the cleaning crew. That never arrived.
He plans to go to the housing office when they open at 9:00 a.m. and stay there berating them until a crew is on the way to his house. Genius is not one for idle threats. I hope there is enough money in his college fund for bail.
It's a hard-knock life.
Send us the address so we can contribute to his bail.
ReplyDeleteHow about I send you MY address? I assure you all the money will go to Genius, and nary a cent to scratch-off tickets, gas station chicken, or 44 oz. Diet Cokes.
DeletePerhaps he could threaten them with his famous mother-writer. If they don't resolve this mold problem to his satisfaction, his mom will write a story portraying them in a less-than-positive light...
ReplyDeleteLet's just get him a T-shirt that says, "Do my bidding, or you will end up on my mom's blog." I am expecting a windfall any day now to pay for the printing...
DeleteI'm sure they will arrive sometime between 10 and 4...unless they call.
ReplyDeleteOur would-be villain is now chillin' his provisions in his mold-free Frig. They showed up the next day. But keep that bail money comin'. Just in case a toilet overflows or a light burns out.
Deleteaw his first brush of real life dealing with house problems. we ordered a fridge from Sears that never came. That was our worst customer service problem.
ReplyDeleteWell. I hope you're not still waiting on your Frig. We paid for ours and scheduled a delivery by Lowe's. As you might recall, my Frig II arrived with two vampire/snakebite indentations in the door. And my sweet baboo took a $100 store credit rather than make them come back with another door.
DeleteI am bitter five or six times a day when I see those dents. Hick has not helped his future with that decision. Of course the store credit went to one of his projects, and is long gone.
I understand Kickstarter is good at raising money for worthy causes.
ReplyDeleteThat would require a modicum of effort on my part. Whereas sitting on my duff encouraging donations to be sent to me does not.
Delete