Going on my 10th year in Denver this year... a scarey thought all on its own. And with the exception of a 6 month tour of duty in Moore back in 2000, I am finally leaving the west side of town. While this ultimately spells good things for my lady and I, the circumstances surrounding it could be much better.
Back in October, I had the fun task of living in a hotel for a week with 3 cats, two of which were in heat, as a result of a broken pipe under the bathroom that sent water beneath the carpets in the hallway, bathroom, kitchen, and dining areas. After a week out, we returned.
The current managment at the time still had work to do. The cabinets under the kitchen sink were severely damaged. They replaced the cabinet in the bathroom, but a leaky drain prevented us from using it right away as the water would drip into the cabinet. The floors in the kitchen and bathroom were replaced, but not adequetly sealed resulting in an ant infestation. Lastly, and most importantly, scalding hot water was leaking at more than a drip's rate from the bathtub faucet.
At first, the former management kept us in the loop as to when the rest of these issues would be taken care of. After about a week or so, we began to get the cold shoulder. A week or so after that, a new company overtook the property and the old management was gone. We figure that resulted in them blowing us off.
Within the first week, my lady and I both advised the new management of the continuing problems. They informed us that in the transfer, the former company took everything, including records. They said it would be a couple weeks or so as they were trying to collect the ever-growing list of apartment problems being brought up by other tenants.
After a month, our patience began to grown thin and I was sending letters to the office bi-weekly reminding them of our bathtub problem which was getting worse. Everytime we would use the shower, the water flow increased to a point where the water was noisy 24/7 and we had to improvise using a shirt wrapped around the faucet to keep the noise level to a point where we were not going crazy with the running water sound.
After New Year's, we began to get excuses. The new company had been here for nearly 2 months by this point and we felt more than enough time had passed. I began to hint at legal action, and between the water waste, bad living conditions, and my eager investigators over at the news station, there was enough to throw in.
Finally last week, our bathtub was silenced. However, management showed up at my apartment later that evening to inform my lady and I that the leak would likely return as the fix was temporary. In the midst of going over the problems with the property, we were advised to "get out as quickly as possible" as things were going to get worse.
So we did just that... two days later, we had signed the lease on a spacious 1 bed/1 bath apartment in Westminster, the north side, and we're due to move in the weekend of Feb. 8-10. Its definitely more upscale that the ghetto we're in now, and certainly well within our price range.
Obviously we gave ourselves a quick two weeks to pack and move. Amazingly, we made some good headway over the weekend admist my lady dealing with the passing of her Grandpa Thursday. It certainly has been a very overwhelming last few days in terms of everything we've had thrust upon us.
With all the stress taken on, its hopeful that by the time we resettle, it'll be worth it. We're taking the chance up north in the event she gets accepted and can afford to do her Bachelor's at Naropa University in Boulder. The commute, mostly via bus, would be much easier from up there as opposed to the 45 plus minutes from here in Lakewood.
The move for me puts me closer to a lot of friends, both up north and in Boulder. After my folks left, many of my friends locally followed suit to pursue post-college careers. After I ended my 10 year stint driving pizzas, my reasons for being on the west side were few enough to consider making the change. Now that the opportunity as arisen, we have elected it to be the time to do so. And of course, being near E-470 makes for a very quick escape to chase the eastern Plains as opposed to fighting my way across town. I can be at or very near to DIA within 15 minutes.
We're hopeful she gets accepted to school up there as she's getting shafted with the commute back to Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood initially. Hopefully by summer, she'll be commuting to a park 'n' ride a few miles away and taking an express bus to Boulder.
A lot of uncertainty before us, and we're hopeful this results in good things. Most people who know me know how badly I want out of this city. I'm hoping the change of scenary will ease me a bit as I finish school this year.
So that's my soapbox story. Will be attending the chaser convention from Westminster this year! Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
Ciao!
