Laura Seabrook's Ramblings

I found some stuff in a space underneath some kitchen cupboards on the weekend - some clothes pegs, a cake tin and a a pot.

Now here's the thing - I can remember having a strange conversation with Kevin (and later Michelle) about clothes pegs. It didn't make sense at the time but Kevin accused me of hiding clothes pegs in the work shed. In fact i normally kept my metal basket of clothes pegs in the shed because a) it was close to the rotary clothes line, and b) it kept them from disappearing in the grass or being destroyed by UV rays. And when they left Michelle went in to look for pegs and asked me about them.

Now the bag of pegs is a style that was available in Coles last year. I remember buyng a bag. I guess that K & M did as well and somehow they ended up under the cupboards. That means they must have assumed I pinched them. Whatever next?

The cake base looks like one I bought for Kevin's birthday. I remember him looking for it but I had no idea where it was. Also in the same space were several forks and spoons, old take-away containers, and an empty bag of spice. Maybe these things fell off when they were making food. I know they seldom cleaned up after themselves, and more than once I found pots on the floor for the pups to eat from.

Who knows. This is no longer an issue (thankfully).

Was not happy when I woke up today. In fact, I was extremely angry, which continued for most of the morning. Initially this was over what I'm betting will be a rip-off deal with Kevin. The agreement was that they would get the red curtains that I bought to hid a partition provided that a) they did some washing up in the dish washer and b) Kevin fixed the bathroom door. The upset was that they took the curtains only after the first. Kevin has yet to do the second. What's the problem with the door? This:

They put Bella the pup in the bathroom for some reason and the above is the dame she did trying to get out. Kevin has agreed to replace the backing and repair the door. But - once they've moved out, how likely is that? Hence I was upset that they'd already taken the curtains. But wait - things developed! I tried going on the net to check film sessions, but no net connection. How come? This is why:

The above is the end of the new LAN cable I added a couple of days ago.  That, and both the ingoing ADSL phone cable (and a regular phone cable going to the back rooms) were severed! At first I thought Kevin had cut them - the phone cables looked neat enough, but looking at the above you can see that it's been chewed, most likely by a rat. Pretty strange that it happened today. I was going out anyway because the stress was getting to me, but now in addition to seeing a film I had another reason - getting a replacement phone cable.

There were other complications as well. A couple of days ago I'd swapped a LAN cable cutter for Kevin's cables which we'd been using until now. The cutter cuts the ends of LAN cables clean, and helps put a plug on. This means that unless I get such a tool (again) and do that, the above cable ($20 for  20m) is useless. Cheaper just to be a new cable. Anyway, I got away to Glendale Supercentre.

I was going to run myself ragged looking for those but decided to see a film first. I caught YOGI BEAR (in 2D) and loved it. Yogi and Booboo  (voiced by Dan Ackroyd and Justin Timberlake) were favourite sof mine as a kid, and they've captured the flavour of the cartoons quite well for a live/3D action film. Had a bit of lunch (probably ate the wrong thing (a works burger from KFC), because I later had the runs, and then shopped around. It transpired that Bunnings had the cheapest stuff - $10.50 for a 10m phone cable, and (had I bought it) $17 for a 15m LAN cable. I also bought some PVC pipe for $3.  Came out of Bunnings and my bus home arrived in under 5 minutes. I had though of visiting a friend, but to me that was a sign saying GO HOME.

I did. They'd loaded up almost everything with the help from Michelle's family when I got there, including my trolley, which was taken off and left behind after I mentioned that. I had thought the dogs would be with me until tomorrow but they took them as well. Just as well, considering that I'd pounded on them a few times in the last week. There is still a lot of stuff to clean up and crap to remove, which will be a long process. My immediate problem was reconnecting to the net. I removed the damaged cables and enlarged the holl in the wall where they'd been chewed until I could fit the PVC pipe through. Sawed off a short bit of that and inserted it through the wall (the idea is that rats will have to get through that before getting to the cables). After a lot of fiddling I got everything connected again. What a bother!

Went to the chip shop  while walking Bobby, and got a real works burger for dinner. Watched a bit of TV and read a bit on the sofa in the backyard, had a bath, and here I am writing this. Been a long long day, but the bulk of this is over.

I do not, as yet, have a forwarding address. Kevin has not fixed the bathroom door yet (no $$$ for materials) and over the last week Kevin and Michelle took their toilet paper to the new house, and used 15 out of the 18 toilet rolls I'd bought! Sounds trivial, but indicative of the esteem in which they hold me.

BUT THEY"RE GONE. Just me, Bobby the Dog, Ebony, Xena and Gabby (all cats) now. Who knows, Xena might even come into my back yard again.

I'm at the uni and I'm not sure what I want to do. Last night I could barely sleep and tossed and turned and when I did drop off I had extreme of physically harming Kevin.

I don't want to go home tonight. I'm not sure what I will do instead. What I "should" be doing is preparing for my research candidature. I tried that Monday but didn't get very far. I might see a counsellor here at the uni, but once again I just don't know. Maybe I don't want to do anything but just get some sleep.

We didn't meet the power bill this quarter. Or rather, I did, and Kevin unilaterally decided that he would pay his share by installments over the next two months, and that I would have to phone the power company and "arrange terms". I showed Kevin the bill a pay period ago and he said nothing of this at the time and in no way indicated that he could not meet his portion. I rankle at his (the boarder) taking the decision away from me (the home owner) and forcing this on me. So far I have paid the difference that I still owed + his first installment. Yesterday the new bill arrived demanding the difference, because I didn't phone the power company and sort it out. But a) I've been sick, really sick, and b) I haven't agreed to this anyway. Kevin claims we had a discussion over this, but discussion does not equal agreement. Right now I'd rather not phone them and let the power be disconnected on the 12th, and just not bother paying the ISP either.

Bottom line is that I don't trust Kevin. My intuition tells me that he will wrangle a way of not paying back the $300 he got me loan him (on the strength that he was going to get a $1000 stimulus payment) at New Years. When I first raised this issue he said that "he needed the money so that Michelle's car could have the air conditioning fixed" (never mind the fact that they had already installed a new stereo system in  the bloody thing) so I deferred repayment. But fucking me around with the power bill just destroys any confidence i have in him. Yes, the Rent is payed on time (plus installments for extra insurance and broadband) but it's about intent and the fact that Kevin is charming (like my last boarder) and I can be talked into things that I really don't want.

The main factor in my not booting Kevin out is that he is regular with the rent and that helps pay other bills (like the $177 land rates bill due at the end of the month). But it's not consistent. It seems that if Kevin can convince me to defer or stagger payments, he will.I am just sick of this. I feel weak and foolish and unable to make any decisions or agreements that I can expect Kevin to abide by, or even remember in the same way that I do.

I am afraid that if I go home tonight I will do something stupid or violent.



Sigh, why bother writing? Everything seems pointless or a wank, just now.

I just phoned the insurance to add Kevin and Michelle on the coverage, which supposedly was a simple matter of adding their names. However, after a long wait, the operator got back to me and said that having three unrelated people living at my home did not fit with the policy I had and that they would be cancelling it from the 24th of September!

She then kindly gave me the number of Financial Ombudsman Services where I might be referred to "something more suitable".

WHAT!!!! Fuck this - Kevin talked me into doubling my cover which increased the monthly premium from $27.88 to $59.64, and then didn't pay the difference because "his and Michelle's names were on it" (that is, they wouldn't be covered). No there's no coverage!

Kevin woke me up about 11:45pm to say that he was going to Kurri, and shortly afterwards got picked up by Michelle's mum (I think). Only awake now.

Huh?

I've had my difficulties with Kevin, but I know he loves my pets. Here he is the other day making Pegasus feel ok...

...and here he is with Bobby after the trip to the vets:

Kevin helped me in the examining room to hold Bobby while he had an injected. I was all over the place, but Kevin was level-headed. Peggy was a bit lethargic this morning, but it's been misty and cold, and we didn't go walkies. He he is with Gabby next to him...

...Gabby's always loved Peggy, and I think she knows he's been a bit sick. Moments after this Bobby and Pegasus had a bout of barking at some unseen outside menace.