So I was admittedly a bit hesitant about the idea of Saturday's party, what with the Pleasantville clan living downstairs. But since it was happening anyways, I was more than happy to bring out the Martha in me for a bit of Nutella spreading and cheese-cutting. After all, I take the serenity prayer to heart (see Pagan version, an interesting variation on the usual “God grant me...” version, below!), and I can do some pretty fine mini-sandwiches. And despite the heavy smoke that filled the living room at a certain point, and the last-minuteness that meant I couldn’t get a hold of most of the people I would have invited, it was actually fun – met some new folks, saw some people I haven’t seen since before Guatemala, went to an anthro afterwards….

Sunday, I woke up late, to an already-clean apartment (Maria & Isaac had apparently done a Taz-like sweep through with Aynsley's help before they rushed out). Took Aynsley to the world-renowned Museum of Anthropology, where, in this uncanny accidental way that seems to be becoming more and more common, I somehow befriended Eneida and Cesar, with whom we went to dinner at La Buena Tierra and hung out for the rest of the evening. Got home to find Beatriz waiting, stating plainly: “No estoy en acuerdo que tengan fiestas aqui” - that she is not in agreement that we have parties in the house. This statement induced an unexpectedly strong reaction in the pit of my stomach.

After all, this is the first time in 3 months we’ve had anything close to a party and, together, the 3 of us are paying a lot of rent - almost double what Eneida pays for her similar 3 bedroom apartment (without a family restricting her actions). Now, it’s partly ok and understandable that we pay a premium, since we don’t have to worry about buying furniture or gas or paying water bills. But, still, if we can’t have some people over to our place once in a while in a city known for being social, there is something seriously wrong. Not to mention the fact that when I probed further to find why she was upset, she used the partial excuse that there were a lot of people using the washroom. Um, given that the inflated price we are paying is supposed to include utilities, and we were both out of town for >2 weeks over the holidays paying the same as normal, shouldn’t that make up for some extra toilet flushing over the course of 4 or so hours? It makes me upset that she is profiting so much from us and won’t even grant us basic tenant rights.

In my opinion, if you’re going to rent out a floor of your home, treat your tenants like the responsible adults they are (unless they give some reason not to) and give them the respect they deserve. Ok, done venting for now. Thanks for listening :)


Pagan Serenity Prayer

God & Goddess grant me:
The power of water, to accept with ease & grace what I cannot change.
The power of fire, for the energy & courage to change the things I can.
The power of Air, for the ability to know the difference.
And the power of Earth, for the strength to continue my path.

http://open-mind.org/Serenity.htm