Roommmates are FUN! (Or, "What Did I Do to Deserve This?")

[taxguykarl]

Jester,
You have a lot more patience than me. MM would be long gone if it were my call. You mean he does nothing around the residence?!

[mandaliz8704]

Wow, that really sucks. I have to ask though... is the amount of money that he owes you something he can realistically come up with and continue to pay his share at the same time? I know It's not cheap to live where you live, so I can guess it's probably not just a couple hundred bucks we're talking about.

Anyway, I hope everything works out and you can still go to Phoenix.

[RootedPhoenix]

So yeah, I am going to allow him the chance to make this right. One of two things is going to happen. Either I'll get my money, or he is going to be homeless and miserable and known throughout town as a deadbeat fuckwad who can't get his shit together even when given every opportunity to do so.

That statement makes me hope fervently that this guy really does get it together. I can see how he is being allowed a very big chance to set things right. I hope he sees it too, because that alternative does not sound good, and I know I wouldn't want it.

I hope you get to go to Phoenix too. You seem really excited about it. Going home is fun stuff.

[Mr. Rager!]

What makes you think I kept my cool? Shit, I thought I was going to wake up Mr. Anti-Social when I lit into Music Man. I was rather shocked I didn't. The only way I kept my cool was by not using any of my many knives on the fucker.

Not throwing him out was not about keeping my cool. I want my fucking money, and I think I have a much better shot of getting it this way than that way.

Apparently our tempers are very different. I lost my cool yesterday and ended up with a Boxer's Fracture. I guess no one really wants to see me horribly pissed. Typing with a cast sucks. I have no use of my left hand picky and ring finger...

[mandaliz8704]

Boxer's fracture? You do know that walls don't move, right? That sucks, I'm sorry. Take it easy with your busted up paw.

[Mr. Rager!]

Boxer's fracture? You do know that walls don't move, right? That sucks, I'm sorry. Take it easy with your busted up paw.

I'm a second degree black belt. I was hoping it would at least give a little. I looked at the wood on the side of the house, it did crack.

[Jester]

You have a lot more patience than me. MM would be long gone if it were my call. You mean he does nothing around the residence?!

Well, yes and no. He has been a bit of a lazy tool regarding the kitchen, but then again, so have myself and Mr. Anti-Social. We are three bachelors living in an apartment, and while not everything fits the stereotype, some things do. Like, say, the laziness, the allowing dishes to stack up, and allowing the garbage to pile up, with none of us lifting a finger to change the situation until it's getting silly. So has he done little around the residence? Yes. But so have we. To his credit, when I told him he WOULD be cleaning the kitchen, that very night damn it, he did...better than I would have imagined.

I have to ask though... is the amount of money that he owes you something he can realistically come up with and continue to pay his share at the same time? I know It's not cheap to live where you live, so I can guess it's probably not just a couple hundred bucks we're talking about.

Realistically, can he come up with the full back amount within the month? Probably not.
Realistically, if I am a patient guy, and work with him, can he come up with the full back amount within a reasonable time? Yes.
Realistically, can he pay me back enough of the back amount plus his current share to ennable the trip to Phoenix? Yes.

This is where I give a little update. We sat down today and talked about a few things. I told him some things that were not negotiable. Specifically, that the April bills and the May rent need to be paid on time, and he needed to make a concerted effort, not just through music gigs, to work his ass off to get me paid off. If he did not do this, if he bailed on me, if he didn't meet his deadlines, and/or if this shit costs me the Phoenix trip, he has reached the end of the road, and I will toss him and his shit into the street, dumpster, whatever....and he will STILL owe me the money in question. AND that I will collect. I also made it clear that if that happened, I would make it a personal mission of mine to let everyone know that he was a deadbeat fuckwad who couldn't and/or wouldn't pay his shit on time, and renting any part of a domicile to him was like throwing money into the harbor. He knows my penchant for vindictiveness, he knows how many people on this island I know, and how many people many of those people know, and knows that threat is not an idle one. And remember, this is a small town where word gets around quickly, and I am not only well-known, but generally do enjoy a good reputation for honesty, even from those who are, shall we say, not overly fond of me.

I can see how he is being allowed a very big chance to set things right. I hope he sees it too...

I do believe he does. I pride myself on (usually) being able to read people pretty well (not counting romance--that's different!), and he seems to me to be genuinely contrite and genuinely trying.

One example is the aforementioned cleaned kitchen.
Another is that, despite not having many gigs, he put his ass in gear and went out and find various jobs, projects, ways to make money, etc. He knows (since I made it abundantly clear) that he gets no more second chances.
A third is this: I mentioned that if I were one to take advantage, I would make him clean the bathroom that I share with Mr. Anti-Social, aka "The Swamp." While several of my friends think I should do just that, I think it is unfair due to the fact that Music Man doesn't use that bathroom. Well, tonight during our discussion, I mentioned this as the joke I view it to be, and he said he had actually thought about doing just that, just to prove he was serious about all this. Anyone who thinks he was yanking my chain is entitled to their opinion, but they didn't see the sincerity I saw....and they haven't seen The Swamp.
And finally, he actually gave me some money tonight. Not a lot ($50), but a start. And I told him that THAT money is going towards The Debt, but from this point forward, money he gives me will go towards April bills and May rent, and anything beyond that will once again be applied to The Debt.

Apparently our tempers are very different. I guess no one really wants to see me horribly pissed.

Anyone who has doesn't want to see me horribly pissed either. But that is not because they have seen me get violent. Very few people have. But few who have seen me pissed doubt my ability to be violent. (I have made more than one teenage boy dating one of my nieces need to check his shorts after a very polite conversation.) Also, even fewer doubt my absolute ability to be the most vindictive bastard on the planet and make things very, very bad for them in a myriad of ways.

Anyway, I hope everything works out and you can still go to Phoenix.

I hope you get to go to Phoenix too. You seem really excited about it. Going home is fun stuff.

I hope so, too. Frankly, all things considered, so does my roommate!

[One-Fang]

Jester, I don't know your town, I don't know your people, but you're coming across very much as a PFB whiner "I'll tell all my friends not to shop there and you'll go out of business because I'm so powerful!"

Even if you are so monumentally powerful in your (obviously very small) town that you can disrupt this guy's opportunities to rent anywhere else in town, it doesn't reflect well upon yourself to brag about it.

Just some "simple, straightforward, no BS advice".

[Mr. Rager!]

Anyone who has doesn't want to see me horribly pissed either. But that is not because they have seen me get violent. Very few people have. But few who have seen me pissed doubt my ability to be violent. (I have made more than one teenage boy dating one of my nieces need to check his shorts after a very polite conversation.) Also, even fewer doubt my absolute ability to be the most vindictive bastard on the planet and make things very, very bad for them in a myriad of ways.

I got my temper from my father. My father can make anyone look like a purring kitten no matter how angry they are. That's a guarantee.

[Megg]

Jester, you live in FL, right? When did my ex-deadbeat move in with you?!?! If it really is him, save yourself the trouble and kick him out now.

Good luck, you may need it. Jail is not a fun place to be, so if you have to kill him, dispose of the evidence well.

[Jester]

Even if you are so monumentally powerful in your (obviously very small) town that you can disrupt this guy's opportunities to rent anywhere else in town, it doesn't reflect well upon yourself to brag about it.

I don't mean to come across as bragging. Really. I was just relating what my roommate knows and what would happen. If people here take it as bragging, so be it. But I am not trying to make myself out like some "if you piss me off I will take you down" asshole. I was merely saying that if this dude dicks me over, I will make it my personal mission to make sure it is rather difficult (nothing is impossible) for him to get a new place. Look, I don't know all 28,000 people in KW. Hell, more people know me than I know them. (As in, "Hi, Jester." "Who was that?" "I don't know." That kind of thing.) But we move in enough of the same circles that if it gets out to more than just my close circle of friends that the dude is a deadbeat, well, good luck finding a room.

I am not monumentally powerful, nor have I ever claimed or pretended to be. I AM well-known, enjoy some popularity, and have a good reputation among those who know me. Nothing more. And oftentimes, you don't need more than that.

If I came off as a puffed up asshole, my apologies. It was never my intent. Keep in mind, this guy is in to me for a decent amount, so I WAS rather pissed off when writing much of this.

I got my temper from my father. My father can make anyone look like a purring kitten no matter how angry they are. That's a guarantee.

Point noted.

[One-Fang]

Heck, I'm just pleased you aren't chewing me a new one for posting that.

I recognise the anger in the situation, and that's part of that whole PFB-whiner type effect.

The fact that he gave you *some* money is a good start. That's what bugged me about you giving him more chances all the time. If he had at least presented as if he were trying, in some small part, even a little bit here and there, it wouldn't look quite so like he was merrily taking you for a ride. Now that he has presented *something*, it helps with suggesting he's actually serious about paying the lot off, eventually.

[Jester]

Heck, I'm just pleased you aren't chewing me a new one for posting that.

To quote Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend."

See, I was at work today, feeling rather miserable (my body is fighting some annoying congestion/coughing bug), and during the slower moments, your words kept coming back to me. And frankly, I got irritated by what you said.

Relax, put that shield down. Let's go through my options together.

In the current situation, there are three possibilities. 1. MM gets his shit together, makes his require payments, and within an acceptable period, pays me back the back money. And he gets to keep his home. 2. MM doesn't get his shit together, pays me back a pittance, and I have to throw him out. 3. MM is yanking my chain and has merely thrown me a couple of bones, but is merely buying time until he finds a new place and is stringing me along while he stalls to do this. And I end up throwing him out.

In the case of 1, well, that is the end of the story, and a happy ending for all (except those who for their own sick and twisted purposes like to see me rant).

In the case of 2 or 3, well, what are my further options?

1. I can let him go, do nothing, and never see my money again.
2. I can beat the living crap out of him, leaving him bloody, bruised, scared shitless, and perhaps pressing charges.
3. I can carry through on my threat to make his life miserable and put his reputation in the toilet.

Let's look at these possibilities. 1, however much it may be the higher road, is NOT going to happen. I am not going to be taken advantage of for a significant amount of money and just let it go because "I am the better man." I AM the better man. Doesn't mean I'm a sucker that can be walked on. As for 2, while I am not one to shy away from violence where necessary or absolutely called for, I am one who is leery of doing jail time. And that leaves 3, at least the way I see it.

Look, I don't want it to come to that. But the fact that that threat is out there, stated clearly to MM, is a factor in this whole equation. The fact that he believes I am sincere in this threat and that I would very much carry through with it is also a factor. And the fact that he believes I am capable of succeeding in such an endeavor, that too is a factor. I am not known for making idle threats. And if a threat is not idle, that means you have to be willing to follow through if necessary. As they say, you don't pull a gun on someone unless you are willing to use it.

Does that make me a whiney braggart with delusions of my own importance in my town?

It just means I am willing to admit to being both willing and able to do things that not everyone is comfortable with, and that I make no apologies for that darker side of my makeup. It means that I am simply straightforward and don't waste my or anyone else's time with BS.

Yeah, I had some time at work to think about this.

[Peppergirl]

In the case of 1, well, that is the end of the story, and a happy ending for all (except those who for their own sick and twisted purposes like to see me rant).

I love ya, of course and I want you to get your money - but dayyummm do I love these stories.

Some guys are HOT when they rant.

[Jester]

I love ya, of course and I want you to get your money - but dayyummm do I love these stories.

Some guys are HOT when they rant.

Hey, hope you get to actually meet some of those guys, wherever and whoever they are.

As for me, I hope this situation has a happy ending. You'll still get rants from me, of course....just on different subjects. Which, naturally, is the way I would prefer it.