The home front

I had planned a Sunday Selections, but instead you can read my little venting rant, or not. 

I took on one tenant last year and it was great. Phyllis is smart, artistic, a good instinctive cook, funny, well groomed, helpful, adaptable and observant of how I did things at home. Then his friend who quickly became his loving partner arrived, staying occasionally, then more frequently. I put limits on how often he could stay initially, but once Phyllis returned to see his family in India in late November, things changed.

I don't know if it was a misunderstanding or not, but the day Phyllis left, I asked Kosov if he wanted to stay. In my mind I meant that one night, but I wasn't so specific in what I said. Kosov just stayed on, without paying rent, with Phyllis paying $20 a week for storage.

Since Phyllis returned from India, he has been paying his usual rent, but Kosov is not paying. He was still paying rent where he was supposed to live until his lease expired now. From Monday the rent will increase by half to cover both of them. 

Truth be told, Kosov could stay here for nothing. He is a very sincere person, whereas Phyllis instinctively knows the ways of the world and how to work situations. I think he now knows this old queen has been around the traps and is not stupid enough to be manipulated, unless it suits me. 

I guess I mentioned my damaged spare bedroom wall, caused by the friend of Phyllis, Miss Capital City of Peru, by spinning on my old spinny desk chair before it went out for roadside collection. A couple of weeks ago, Phyllis confessed to that me he thinks he damaged the wall. Hmm, I was immediately suspicious, and rightly so.

Sure enough, about five days later I received a message from Miss Capital City of Peru to ask if she could stay for a couple of nights when she returned to Australia. I replied, ah yes, Phyllis set me up for this. Yes, you can stay two nights. 

Sometimes Phyllis and Kosov do my head in with their noise, mostly when they are cooking. The range hood fan is on, music is coming from Phyllis' phone, with another phone on speaker while one of them is talking on the phone to relative, and between each other, they switch and mix up Tamil and English talk. This is fortunately brief and I can tolerate that. Often it is food being cooked for me too. 

Miss Capital City of Peru asked me tonight if she could stay, paying rent, until the 20th of this month, two weeks in total. I said, I am sorry but no. I am very sorry and it is nothing against you personally, but the answer is no. 

A third person living here would do my head in. I would be overwhelmed.

She took it with good grace, ok Andrew. Phyllis just told me I should ask.

I am not a fucking half way house for stray overseas students. 

Tonight I gave Phyllis another lecture, for putting me in the position of seeming like an arsehole for not letting Miss Capital City of Peru to stay. The weather is not so cold now, should she have to sleep on the streets. 

There will be no more overnight student guests. 

In other news, I have a new great nephew, albeit a bit distant. Born to the daughter of the husband of my brother's ex wife. Surely the family must stop growing soon. It costs me a bomb at Christmas and birthdays.

Ex Sis in Law has just moved home, and I will visit her later today.