PIGS: How my old roommates left things

Oh, yeah. This page contains disturbing imagery ahead. Disturbing, because people actually live like this. People actually left some place like this. These pictures were taken in late June of 2004. They were taken within 20 minutes of my two roommates at the time, who I'll leave unnamed - not to protect them, but because their names alone leave a bad taste in my mouth - moved out. Why did they move out? Well, because you see, they both owed me money - to the tune of over $300 for one, over $3000 on the other - and well, let's just say they didn't like it when I got sick of my crappy job supporting 3 people while they went and spent their share of the rent on arcade games and manga. How did I live in this mess, you ask? Why didn't I clean it up? Well, the last 2 months I spent living with these people were spent pretty much barricaded in my room. I'd tried keeping house for well over a year, but in the last few months of my time with these people, I gave up cleaning as I was the only one doing it (unless, of course, I threw a major bitchfit to get them to clean).

The moral of this story? Well, I don't suppose their is one, except don't ever move in with people who are fucking slobs. I kept the file sizes huge so you can see the extent of their disgustingness.

Here we start with a view of the dining room area. This is one of the better areas in the house. However, you can see the boxes and the plastic bags strewn about the floor. The lawn chairs? Brought in from the porch so they couldn't steal them from me. What you can't see: The stains on the rug, and the dirt, grime, and filth on the blue area rug.

Turn directly around from the first picture, this is the view that would have greeted you. Here you can see dirty socks they left on the floor, a bag of garbage, and other garbage strewn about. You'll notice the TV and the rat cage are missing. Where are they? Locked in my room so the roommates couldn't steal them. In the back, you can see a hint of the REAL horrorshow: their bedroom.

Turn a little more, and you can see one of the typical piles of garbage next to the bag. Said roommates would often go for days, if not weeks, before taking out the garbage (their agreed to duty - they did garbage, I did dishes). Not only that, but you can see how dirty the carpet is in the living room.

The other side of the living room. Now, I will admit, that diet coke box is mine. As is the computer, which I graciously allowed one of the roommates to strip for parts. He did that approximately 2 months before this picture was taken, and the computer sat in that corner the entire time. Also, you'll notice the empty glasses and the pitcher half-full of iced tea - and I don't drink iced tea.

One more stop before we go to the main event - their section of the bathroom. What you can't see: the dried cat piss on the floor in the corner by the door. The grains of cat litter. The used tissues and q-tips strewn about the toilet. And you certainly can't see the sink and mirror so disgusting that when I cleaned it, I gagged.

Into the frying pan. This is where it really gets bad, folks. You can see they left beat up bookshelves and a computer desk as well as half a mattress. You can see pop cans, drinks from fast food restaurants, food containers, plastic bags galore, an overflowing trashcan - but wait, there's more!

More of the mess. You can see they left a lamp, as well. You also start to get an idea of the dust and dirt. How about a closer look?

That stuff on the carpet that looks black? That's dust. I hope.

The other side of the room. Food. Candy. Silverware - my silverware, may I add - garbage, bags, books, etc. But then, then we lift up the bed:
Please note that the person you see in this picture is one of the people who created this mess. He also threatened my dog with a gun for barking and I once caught him in the middle of the night stalking through the apartment holding a sword. This picture was taken after my parents, who were in town to help me move, essentially forced him to come back and clean up their filth under the threat of lawsuits and court action.

So, there you have it. You know, when the events leading to me no longer speaking to these people happened, I was sad to lose a friend. Now, as I look back on this a year later, and I look over my nice, new, clean apartment, and I am thankful for my new clean, responsible roommate who pays his half of the bills every month a few days in advance, I'm glad for it. Now, I realise my 'friend' was never really much of a friend to me at all. I'm glad, today, that I'm not being coerced into lying to my parents to get money from them. I'm glad I can walk into my kitchen and know that there will not be food encrusted on the countertops. That I can go to my living room and sit down on my couches without having to push a heaping mound of garbage out of the way.

Come pick me up, I've landed.

Lyme, 7/13/2005