Holy moly

It's raining again and although my landlord (why do they always have horrible hairpieces?) came out and "fixed' the roof on Thursday, guess what?

My ceiling is still leaking.

God only knows how many more weeks before I have a whole and sound apartment again. I am seriously wondering if I should call the attorney general to ask if there is anything else I can do to get my ceiling fixed. The guy at the health department seemed generally unconcerned about the fact that I have a big hole in the ceiling, although I explained it makes heating my place an expensive proposition. He said - in a somewhat chipper voice, like I should be happy about this or something - "It's really no worse than living in an old house with drafty windows and doors!" Little does he know I have those too. It's amazing how unfulfilled I feel despite the bracing drafts from the windows, door, and hole in the ceiling. What is wrong with me anyhow?

Public health guy told me a hole in my ceiling was generally not something the state's public health department was concerned about. Structural issues would be more building code related, he said. The health department guy said this is really more a matter of energy efficiency. "As long as the apartment can be heated to 65 degrees" apparently holes in the ceiling are a-ok with them. It doesn't matter if heating it to 65 degrees means I may as well just empty my savings account onto the floor and light it on fire...

So even though on the health department website it says "The Health District enforces the Landlord Tenant Act as it relates to rental housing," residents seeking remedy through this resource should understand that the "fuck the poor" exclusion means the health department doesn't need to enforce all of the law - like the parts about the landlord having to fix shit (including holes in the ceiling) or the tenant not needing to live in a place that is damaged.

Rrrrrg.

I did get the public health guy to say "critter" during our phone call. He said something like "Our only concern with a hole such as that one would be the possibility of an entry point for wildlife...or...animals...rodents..." "Critters might get in?" I offered helpfully. "Yes, we would be concerned that, er, uh, critters might gain entry to the unit..."
He sounded confused when he said it. Like he didn't mean to say it but just couldn't help himself. I enjoyed the sense of having accomplished a wee bit of Jedi mind trick-like lexical priming immensely. But it was short lived amusement.

I can't believe that I have no options but to choose between freezing and paying to heat my now rather more "inefficient" apartment. Not to mention the aggravation of the continuing water coming in, tarps and buckets in two rooms, mold, and the general nastiness that falls down from the hole in the living room ceiling. But from what I'm being told, no one can tell my landlord he has to get this all fixed, fixed right, and fixed soon. This is why I'm contemplating the AG. He's Mr. Public Interest here in CT. Maybe his office would be able to point me toward a resource that is actually HELPFUL to the general public, not just rich folks like my landlord.

This kind of shit makes me feel all sorts of unhappy.

I'm freezing my ass off. Back to my friend's apartment where there is no computer or cable, but at least it's warmable and my cat is there. I got the new Neil Gaiman book yesterday and read most of it last night. I'll finish it in about a half hour I expect. Then what? Buffy re-runs and painting until I fall asleep annoyed and uncomfortable on my friend's sofa. When I am rich, I am going to do strange philanthropic shit like set up awards for people who want to sue their landlords for being lazy cheap dickheads. I'm also going to fund a scholarship for women who don't take shit and a grant for the development of middle school cirriculum which focuses on discussion and development of moral reasoning skills and critical thinking.

For now, it's off to the sofa with me.