05.20.07
Weekend Wrapup
Kat came up to visit me in my new Milwaukee place this weekend. She got to my place before me, due to some sort of mysterious traffic attack. We were both greeted to an apartment building with no electricity. It’s a good thing that it’s summery, so we were able to spend time walking around outside and going places, neutralizing the effect of the outage.
I’m even more enthralled with my neighborhood now - I can walk to everything that I would need or want in an environment. There are parks, shops, restaurants, bars, theaters, and a hospital, so I’m covered for just about anything, including bike repair.
I eventually got fed up with the power outage, since all the other buildings on the block were lit up and we were sitting around in the dark. I called the power company, and they told me that the service was turned off. They couldn’t say why, since I didn’t own the place, but I finally got through to my landlord (five hours after the first message that I left him) and he did whatever it was he had to do to get the power back.
Yesterday I was talking with a girl who lives in my building and found out that the power bill had been delinquent for something on the order of months (!!) and that our property was listed as a commercial entity for some reason. It is illegal in Wisconsin to cut the power to a residence without some kind of court proceeding, but not for businesses. I’m ready to go toe-to-toe with my Aunt Sue about bad landlords now. I haven’t had to get a restraining order against mine like she did, but I think I’m pulling ahead in the irresponsibility department. I’ve had a landlord fall through my ceiling, leave my roof half-finished, and fail to pay the power bill now. Top it.
It’s been fantastic having Kat here for the weekend. I’ve had a great time showing here all the reasons I like living in Milwaukee. There’s something great about watching someone else discover something you love and love it, too.