Sunday, November 02, 2008

Landlord diaries

We got stinkman out of here yesterday. We roused him at ten in the morning and learned that he had slept through the last two days and had prepared nothing for his departure. His face is all hollowed out now, like a terminal patient and just perfect for this Halloween season. We had him bag up his things and then put them in the garage (since he discovered that his car had been towed and therefore had no arrangements for moving his things). This took him several hours. He spent an hour alone counting all his pills on the bathroom counter. Thousands of pills. Whilst we cleaned, we were able to piece together his ailment. Drugs. Specifically Demerol. There were vials of that with syringes in many locations. There was an extermely large knife under the bed. I dubbed it the paranoia knife.

The bottle of bipolar medication was full and it was the only pill he left behind. It was sad, because he was robust and alive when he came here a year and a half ago. And now a shell surrounded by pornos (you should have seen the piles of those dvds!) and drugs. This is the danger of being young and not really having to work. Just look at the young celebrities. Responsibilities keep us from overindulgence. You can quote me on that.

We had our housecleaner come over to help and I washed all the fabrics and dishes. Our dishwasher broke down *of course* when I loaded it with all his unwashed dishes. I had pushed the "extra hot" button, which I'd never done before and ten minutes later the machine was dead. So I did them all by hand. I don't know how stink impregnates glass and china, but it does. Anything plasticky, I threw away.

Each day I cry half as much as the day before. I'm lucky today though, I get to go see my schnauzer friend at MIL's house today. Tigars. We love each other and I'm going to have to break the news about sara to him.

18 comments:

Java said...

Wow. This guy has some big problems. What a shame. I like your statement that responsibilities keep us from overindulgence.

Have you been able to get the stink out of the apartment? Good luck.

Enjoy your schnauzer buddy. Go ahead and cry when you need to. (((((Torn)))))

Patricia said...

How sad that a person can slip away into almost nothing in such a short time.

The cleaning sounds horrid. Is your dishwasher broken for good? That makes it even worse.

Enjoy Tigars. He'll be sad to learn about Sara but I'll bet it reinforces for him the love you have for Sara. That means everything.

Anonymous said...

I thought stinkman was long gone. It is a shame how an addiction can ruin a life.
I see a Pug or Westie or both in your future.
I saw where the President of France called Sarah Palin but it was a Canadian Radio star instead. She didn't know the difference.
The hot water and very dirty dishes probably clogged up the works. If so, it needs a cup of Muriatic Acid ran through it. Wear rubber gloves and avoid contact with skin or eyes. Run the Dishwasher empty except for the Muriatic Acid. Then run again empty before using. I hope this works for it will save you a lot of money from a repair man who will do the same thing. ed

Summer said...

How sad for stinky man. I hope he goes home to his parents and they can detox him. Good thing he moved before he ODed in your residence.

You will now notice that everyone seems to have a dog, they're everywhere. It will even be hard to see Tiger but it will get better.

CoffeeDog said...

I hope your day with Tigar gives you some joy.

Stinkman - ugh. DId he smoke too? My mom's (smoker) apt always reeked and our xmas presents always had the telltale reek.

larry said...

i'm glad the stench guy is gone. but i see a dog in your future. and i see better smells. sounds like i'm telling your fortune! all the best and stay in touch...larry

Anonymous said...

Yes, better smells. God. I don't know how you guys could clean it yourself. I gag at other people's stink (My stink however, is always acceptable).

I cry a little every day for you and Sara... I miss her too.

Doug said...

Wherever Stinkman ends up, I hope he is able to clean up his life, in more ways than one.

Have fun with Tigars. I'm sure he will be a comfort.

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a mess. Good to have him gone, though, and the clean-up probably a welcome distraction. Hope the dishwasher's not a lost cause.

Tigars will show you The Way. ; )

GayProf said...

That sounds like a bad scene. It sounds like he has real problems that hopefully he will be able to conquer.

Anonymous said...

Good luck detoxing that apartment!

Rox said...

I like your quote, I should paint it on a plaque.

There is nothing worse than cleaning up after other people. Nothing.

Lemuel said...

I am guessing that Tigar will already know. They are amazing creatures about intuiting such things.

And you are absolutely correct about your quote.

Birdie said...

"Responsibilities keep us from overindulgence." I think I will quote you. Great truths are deceptively simple. How sad for your tenant. I hate to see someone who has lost hope; it's a living death.

You keep mourning Sara as you see fit. Do whatever it takes to get yourself through.

Snooze said...

It's amazing how quickly people's lives can spiral out of control. I was thinking of Nude Dancer too. It's too bad he wasn't taking his bipolar meds.

A Lewis said...

Knife under the bed? As in "sharp kitchen butcher knife"? Oh my. Happiness exudes.

Rick Bettencourt said...

Sounds horrific. Glad to see hear his out.

Also, so so sorry about Sara. It's nice she was home and more importantly in your arms when it happened.

Mark in DE said...

We had a devil of a time getting cigarette stench out of rental unit. Only shampooing the carpets worked.

Glad to hear Stinkman is gone, but sorry you had to practically push him out the door.

Mark :-)