Mediation

I ended up going to the Department of Tourism at city hall here. I can't remember who had suggested doing it and my landlady told me there was some place in city hall with someone named Antoinetta who I could talk to. The way she described it made it sound like where the tourist office is and she was supposed to meet me there. But when I got there and texted her, she didn't respond so I just started talking to whoever would listen.

The first 2 guys I talked to seemed a little overwhelmed and ended up calling their boss who's the chief of tourist promotion. I told him a little of my story about the crazy family. He offered to call the mother and talk to her. At first I was opposed to this because I told him the family were liars and I didn't know what they'd say. But he thought it was good to get their side of things and I agreed. The good thing was that the mother who I'd seen be so calm and collected with the police (when I called them because of their son and M1so fighting) actually showed her nutty side when talking to the tourism guy. She went on and on about how I bring all sorts of cat and dogs into the yard and they poop everywhere, and that my boyfriend threatened her son with a stick, and I invite bad people, some of them drug addicts, to the apartment and we stay up all night and drink and get loud. She also went on to say that it was confidential and very private and she wasn't going to say exactly but she wasn't quite sure what I did for work. Essentially implying that I was some sort of prostitute or table dancer (this was the tourist guy's understanding.) Wow! I had to laugh at the last part of things and I explained that I'm a photographer and photograph the nightlife here which does included strippers but my photography is not pornographic but maybe she or her sons saw the photos through my window.

Anyway, we agreed that I would move out by the end of the month as long as they'd turn the water back on. I called the landlady to find out where the heck she was and she informed me that one of the brothers had said they weren't going to turn the water on. I told her she'd better talk to him again because the mother and I had just agreed otherwise.

I meandered on home, tried calling my friend P3ter to see if I could shower at his place, but got no answer. Then I called J0nathan to see if I could shower in their hotel room and he said of course, that @lejandro should be there. But when I stopped by, no one was in the room except his parrot Seth who I could see under the door pacing back and forth and squawking. As I was leaving, @lejandro's little 14 year old brother who's staying with them (that's a whole other topic to blog about) came up the stairs. I asked him if he'd be there for awhile and if I could come back and shower if my water wasn't on. I also had to tell him that I couldn't teach him English like we had tentatively planned. He was so sweet as usual and the weird thing is that I had a little pang that made me wish I had a son like him. Part of it is that I've been feeling very alone in the world these days. And part of it is that I wish I could do something to help him because his mother doesn't seem to be stepping up to the plate in that area. It just got me thinking how I'd feel less alone if I had a child in my life and I could provide a good life for a child too. Although that's a bit unrealistic right now given my precarious financial situation and living conditions. But it was an interesting confluence of feelings and circumstances.

Fortunately when I got home, I had water so I could shower and do dishes.

I started calling about apartments today. I have 2 appointments tomorrow. I saw one place today that was a total dump and even though it was advertised as a 1 bedroom, it was really a studio. Absolutely nothing good about it and he wanted $120 more a month than what I pay now. Very depressing. But I must not lose faith. I have a month to look and I know eventually I will find something. Hmm, after seeing the place today, that other depressing place doesn't look as bad. Which is what apartment searching is all about. You have to see enough places to know what the options are so that when you find something, you know you've found something good. But it's all relative!