The completely unsurprising to everyone but Nerf conclusion to landlord bullshit

[Nerf]

Welp, I've been putting off writing this for awhile due to :effort:, but I'm reasonably sure I promised someone I'd write it "soon" back around Christmas.

I'm a bit exhausted right now, so I'll start off with the TL;DR version, if anyone actually gives a shit I'll elaborate.

We got out of the slumlords house and into the beautiful home we bought late December 2010, and we thought all would be well in the world.  We had hired a lawyer, he thought everything looked great, and we had a week or two of relaxing.

Then more letters from the landlord starting showing up, from him, from his lawyer, etc, but directly to us, not to our lawyer.  He countersued for $10k, saying that the free remodel we did on his shitty house damaged it, and he was going to have to pay a shitload of money to have the nice heavy texture sanded off, and I guess popcorn put back up, heh.  We also ruined the 11 year old carpet, so he wanted a few grand for that, and claimed that we damaged his mold infested insulation and had to pay for removal/replacement.

Stef freaked out, and eventually her freaked out state rubbed off on me, and we were both a wreck.

A few weeks after the countersuit stuff, I drove past the house to see what shape the 'destroyed yard' was in.  It looked like any other lawn, and I stopped over at the little old lady that lived next door to chat for a few.  She started going on about the constant stream of contractors that had been in there, and how they had done a ton of work to the place.  She egged me to go peek in the backyard (the house was for rent, sign in yard, gates unlocked, etc), and a quick peek through the windows showed that they hadn't actually done any of the work they were countersuing us for - they didn't de-texture walls, ceilings, replace carpet, anything.  Coat of paint and carpet cleaning.  I snapped a few photos, pretty smug that we caught them in a huge lie - you wouldn't paint walls and list a house for rent if you were going to sand everything down to the drywall and start over.

Stef got pissed about photos, wanted to send them to lawyer to get his opinion, and going through all of them I realized about 3/4 were too blurry to make out the texture still there etc.  I went back a week or so later to get better pics, and of course as I'm leaving the landlord's crazy bitch of a wife shows up with the carpet cleaners to try to clean the 11 year old carpet again.  Stef wants to murder me, I didn't think it was that big of a deal - if you list an obviously vacant house for sale/rent, you expect people to look through the windows.

Not much other than random bullshit from landlord for the next month or so, then we had mediation.  Going into it, our lawyer thought we'd walk out more than satisfied - we had dozens of well-documented violations of Texas law, city code, had him cited for 15+ code violations, etc.  Our lawyer was wrong.

About 30 minutes into it, after hearing us for awhile and then going to talk to the landlord in another room, the mediator came back and just started attacking me for my 'reckless behavior' in taking the pictures, and didn't listen to a word we said, any of our evidence, or even the pictures in question for the rest of our time there.  I eventually got up and left so that maybe Stef and the lawyer could get somewhere, but he just spent the rest of the time telling them about how if I took some pictures through a window, there's no question that I spend my weekends putting babies on spikes.

Lawyer and myself still thought we had a good shot in court, as the evidence was pretty damning if someone bothered to look at it.  Stef wanted it to be over with.  The landlord's final settlement offer at the end of mediation was that we could pay him $4k, and sign a letter saying that we made up the mold, the code violations that he was cited for, and that he was basically a swell guy who could come over and fuck my sister.

I really, really, didn't want to pay this guy shit, but we had both had enough, and it was only money.  The bullshit had been fucking our lives up for the better part of a year now, she had already postponed the wedding because of it, we were constantly stressed, so we paid that cocksucker $4,000 and said we all made it up.

A week after the check cleared, Stef came from work and told me that she didn't love me anymore, was selling the house, and moving back to Atlanta.  It was a year to the day of our engagement.


<blah blah emotional shit, it sucked, I'm as surprised as anyone I lived through it, but nobody gives a shit about this part - fast forward a year>

I ended up buying a little condo right on the edge of Addison, on the property of a really nice private country club.  Somehow, I lucked into an awesome fucking job, and am now the Facilities Engineer of the country club.  I walk 300 feet to my office, or well, I could.  I drive about 250 feet and walk the rest.  Condo is getting fixed up slowly but surely, but for now the 73" Tv and 7.1 in-wall surround sound are keeping me happy until it's done.  I've got an awesome job that pays great, full benefits, paid vacations, and all the free food and golf I want.

So that's the short version, the whole thing was easily the worst couple years of my life, but it did help me to be a lot more mellow, and finally understand that sometimes you're just better off leaving a situation the hell alone, no matter how right you are.  I'm trying exceedingly hard to follow the Bill and Ted philosophy of life - "Be excellent to each other", and when the situation arises where I don't think I have any options other than scorched earth, to save it for the defensive blow when you *know* you don't have any other options.

Alternate thread titles:
"Don't Nerf your life: The not-so-epic conclusion to the Nerf saga"
"The Nerf saga part II: The Nerfening"
"Oh hey, so I'm still here, here's the end of that story that exists only to mock me"

[Riggswolfe]

I literally don't have the words dude. I mean, your fiancee leaving had to just be the capstone to all of this bullshit. I am not sure I'd have given the landlord his money but that's easy for me to say as I didn't live through all of this. If nothing else I'm glad it's over and it sounds like you're in a better place than you were.

[Paelos]

Well that's sorta how I guessed it went, but that still sucks to hear. I know there couldn't really be a happy ending with it, but that was a doublefisted shot to the junk I'm sure.

Did she take the dog? The dog was the best part.

[ghost]

Well, if it makes you feel any better $4,000 wasn't such a bad out.  You would have racked up several times that in attorney's fees if it went to court.  It sounds as if your attorney either:  A.  wasn't as good as you thought he was, or B.  was trying to save you money because once this shit gets to court it's a free for all.  (And I know this because I'm basically going through the same shit right now but in a corporate fashion.  It was my business lease space and that makes it a whole different ball of wax.)

And sorry to hear about the lady friend, but things like that always work out that way for a reason, bro.  Keep your chin up.  You'll be just fine.  

[Mosesandstick]

Best of luck to you man.

[HaemishM]

and finally understand that sometimes you're just better off leaving a situation the hell alone

Going to be a dick here and say that there were quite a few comments that said to do that very thing all through the original thread.

[ghost]

and finally understand that sometimes you're just better off leaving a situation the hell alone

Going to be a dick here and say that there were quite a few comments that said to do that very thing all through the original thread.

It's tough to do when you get rolling with this shit, particularly when the landlord is being even more dickish.  I can sympathize with Nerf here.

[Segoris]

and finally understand that sometimes you're just better off leaving a situation the hell alone

Going to be a dick here and say that there were quite a few comments that said to do that very thing all through the original thread.

And there were even more comments hoping he'd go even more crazy so we could be entertained!

In the end - sorry about the ex, but I'm glad it did eventually work out for you.

[HaemishM]

Sometimes the only way to win is not to play the fucking game.

[Kail]

 

Sounds rough, man.  Good to hear that things are finally getting better for you, though.

[ghost]

Sometimes the only way to win is not to play the fucking game.

This is the goddamned truth, particularly when you have attorneys involved.  Those bastards will suck every last penny out of you, if possible (sorry to any F13 attorneys  )

[01101010]

Seems like a great country song.

[Evildrider]

Seems like a great country song.

Needs a pick up truck and some alcohol.

Other then that, that shit sucks man.  Sounds like you are picking yourself up pretty well though.  I do suggest a couple bong loads to brighten up your day.

[RhyssaFireheart]

Sucks it had to turn out like that but congrats on the excellent job and the current place.  Above all, be happy. :)

(So does free golf apply to online people you know from a forum randomly showing up to visit?  )

[Merusk]

I'm shocked!  No, not that..the other. 

At least you're mellowing.  Wtf is the deal with the maint. Job,though?  I thought you were back in school in the middle of all of this.  Did I totally make that part up in my head?

[Margalis]

Eh, insert dickish yet totally deserved comments here.

[lamaros]

I believe he was in med or pre-med?

Anyhow hopefully a positive experience in the end, in that you learnt a lot about yourself and so forth. The way you were something was bound to blow up eventually, though obviously a massively sucky way of it actually occuring.

[Soln]

Good luck Nerf.

[Cyrrex]

Glad to hear that you have more or less landed on your feet.  Good luck to you, dude.

[Nebu]

I'm sorry about Stef and the BS you had to swallow to get the whole thing behind you. 

CONGRATS on the new life, job, and home!

Keep smiling, damnit.  Life is short.  I know... I'm old.

[Arthur_Parker]

I thought you might end up under a bridge so no matter how bad it was, it could well have been a lot worse.

[Ironwood]

Quite right.

[Reg]

Damn Nerf, that was a horrible two years. I'm glad things have worked out for you now though.

[Morat20]

Sorry to hear it, Nerf. :( I watched my brother go through something similar.

[Strazos]

Where's that crazy dog?

[Cheddar]

WHAT ABOUT THE DOG!

[Paelos]

He won't tell us! WHY!?

[Sky]

Such is life. As long as you can come out of all this on your feet, you learned a valuable lesson about yourself and others. Heed that lesson and move on.

[Nerf]

I've been swamped at work the past few days, had some emergency shit go out and pulled a ~25 hour shift Monday/Tuesday, and it's looking like about 18 today.  Yay salary?

The dog: 
She took Einstein, I begged and pleaded and may have half-heartedly tried to kidnap him a little bit shortly after she left me, but she was adamant on keeping him.  I was devastated, I loved that dog.  She called sometime in mid September and said that I was right about her not being able to take care of him, and that I had until that weekend to drive to half way to Atlanta (Mississippi, ~8-10 hrs) by that weekend or she'd give him away on craigslist.  Needless to say, I dropped everything and hauled ass over there to pick him up.  Not gonna lie, I cried like a little girl when I got him back, I never thought I'd see him again.
Course, I had bought another Aussie pup in July because I couldn't be without a dog, so now I have 2 insane dogs.  The younger one is living with my folks for awhile though, while Einstein doesn't mind me working long hours, Skwisgaar needs more attention.
Obpic:


The job/school:
A few weeks after I bought my condo, I got rear-ended by some chick in a Rav4.  Totaled my Z3, and fucked up my neck/back a bit.  I was able to manage the class workload through it all, but ended up missing some classes.  The professor for the required writing class for the underwater basketweaving degree (easy elective, needed hours) failed me for attendance.  Even though my cumulative GPA was still solid for financial aid, that F dropped my semester GPA below the acceptable limit, and I lost my financial aid.  There's an appeals process and I'll be able to get back into school, but I had to take the spring semester off.
While I was off and having 0 luck with the resume game, I started my own construction/remodeling company.  Was actually doing really fucking well, when I got a call out of the blue from the GM of the country club next to me.  My downstairs neighbor, who happens to be the personal assistant to the old man who owns the country club, had given it to the GM a few months back, and when the old engineer quit he gave me a call.  I got the job by fixing an 'oh shit' roof leak with no tools on site, and a party directly under it starting in an hour with a roll of duct tape and a garden hose.  A/C condensation drain line had clogged, and the water was coming back up the pipe, under and over the lead flashing on the pipe coming through the roof.
The gig is a *lot* of work, but it beats the hell out of a normal 'maintenance' job.  As the "Facilities Engineer", I'm the department head overseeing all things building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, etc, for 2 clubhouses.  Pay could be a bit better, but $45k and awesome benefits to start isn't bad.  Now if I can just make the budget work to actually hire a few people into my department so I'm not stuck doing /everything/ solo I'll be golden.  Either way, it looks great on a resume, and most folks that land in this job generally end up getting poached from one country club to another for the length of their career.  It's a pretty big gold star on my resume, no one would ever assume that a department head level job only had 1 person in that department, and I wouldn't bring it up.
I'm planning on getting back into school in the spring, I don't have that much left on my degree so a few semesters of night classes and I'm done.  Still undecided if I want to finish up the BS in Biology, or tack on some extra time and go for ME or something else.  The medicine plan is dead, so with the possible exception of law school, I'm just finishing so that I've actually got a degree and didn't rack up ~16k in student loans for nothing.


I appreciate the kind words from everyone, and deserve the dick comments.  At some point during the whole mess, I lost sight of what was important.  Stef and I were both on the "fuck this asshole" train when we started, but after it all started to go pear-shaped she wanted to stop, and I just completely missed it.  Knowing that my own stubbornness and blind drive for 'justice' is really what got me to try to mellow out more.  I loved that gal more than words could describe, and even over a year later I still miss her terribly, despite the fact that she skullfucked my soul with a rusty dildo.  She was one in a million and none of the tail I've chased since could come anywhere close to comparing what we had.
Fortunately, I'm not an idiot, and fully realize that with 7 billion people on the planet, there are still 3,499 other gals I get to wang before I run out of one-in-a-millions.  Not bad odds.

[Hawkbit]

She called sometime in mid September and said that I was right about her not being able to take care of him, and that I had until that weekend to drive to half way to Atlanta (Mississippi, ~8-10 hrs) by that weekend or she'd give him away on craigslist.  Needless to say, I dropped everything and hauled ass over there to pick him up. 

This line alone makes me think you're in a better place now.  Tough road, but gratz for sticking through it. 

[Paelos]

The important thing is the dog is ok. Chicks will come and go, but that dog was 1 in a BILLION!

[ghost]

I can't believe she was just going to give it away on Craigslist.  You're so fucking lucky that she left you and had the sense to call you about the dog.  That's just crazy. 

[Paelos]

Yeah that's just a beyond shitty thing to do to that dog, if she was going to follow through with it.

You're better off.

[Cyrrex]

I got a little choked up about the dog thing.  So glad to hear you got him, even if it took a while.

[Nerf]

Yeah it's hard to express just how happy I am to have him back,he's my little buddy and the little happy dance he does every time I come home makes it impossible for shitty days to follow me past my door.  The only downside is that he was our dog,and serves as a constant reminder of Stef and what I lost.  Small price to pay tho, and I know that things only get better with time, some of the women that I thought I'd never stop caring deeply for in the past are just a faded memory and a "meh" now,as will Stef be in time I'm sure.