I am officially moved into my new house!! I even have internet, as you can probably guess since I'm using it right now and all. It didn't rain. All those predictions about damaging high winds and torrential downpours... and it didn't even RAIN. Not a single drop. Well, it rained for about 10 minutes at midnight. But that appears to be over now.

I hope all my friends in Houston and on the coast are safe, though. I heard downtown Houston is awash in office furniture from windows breaking in wind/flood. There are signs all along the highway here that say DO NOT GO TO BEAUMONT OR HOUSTON. It's kind of freaky! But yeah, not much in the way of actual weather here. By the time I moved, it was sunny and 90F. My friends literally had me moved in under an hour. They are so amazing and I am lucky to have such awesome people in my life. ♥

Tomorrow I get my cat back! And the world will be right again. For now, I need to unpack. And find my bedding. \0/ NO MORE HELL HOUSE!!!

So. SO. First, before I forget amidst the complete fuckery going on in Hell House right now, I was watching The Hills yesterday at dazifudo's house, and randomly, they start playing a song that I recognize. And then the chorus starts, and it's that fucking Jonatha Brooks song, Careful What You Wish For. One of the ones JC wrote with her and sang back-up vocals on, and that was meant to go on his album.

I was like, "Oh hey! JC wrote this song!" And dazifudo was like, "Um, okay. That's nice, honey." But!! It's cool!! To hear a JC song where I least expect it!!! And then I realized, omg, I feel like my friend's dorky band is finally getting famous and I can be all, "I totally went to high school with Jeremy Lublin of We Are the Fury and now they are touring with Jack's Mannequin OMG!" Except it's JC. Who I do not know at all, and yet, I had the same reaction I would've if they'd played a We Are the Fury song. *facepalm* This is what Chasez has turned me into: scary, pathetic fangirl who secretly thinks she knows him to be excited when something cool happens for him. Ugh, I hate myself!

But onto the point of this post which is: yes, I live in Texas, and yes, the coast is getting hit with a hurricane. Of course, the entire city is having a collective panic attack, and I'm sitting here going, "Um, okay, but remember when they said we were getting Rita? And it would still be a tropical storm by the time it hit Austin? And then we didn't get so much as a drop of rain?" Yeah, same thing now. I mean, it's supposed to rain Friday night and Saturday morning. And then by 6pm it's supposed to clear up, be 90 degrees, winds of 19mph. So, I have hope that I can totally move!

EXCEPT. When I came home from the grocery today, in the space of the 2 hours I'd been gone, a huge, 3-foot deep trench had been dug in the front yard, all the way across the steps and down the hill. I had to go all the way around the house and climb a hill covered in rocks just to get INTO the house. The owner was like, "We're trying to get a new drainage system in before the hurricane strikes!" And I just looked at him and was like, "This is getting fixed TOMORROW, right?" Because I can't move out with a giant trench blocking the exit! I mean, it's seriously like, 2 feet wide and 3 feet deep! I should've known Hell House would do one more annoyingly horrid thing before it was satisfied with me.

Oh, and to top it off? They shut off the water to install this new drainage system, and they never turned it back on when they left. So, we have no water. I had to go to Matt's house to shower and make my lunch for tomorrow.

I am moving on September 13. I got my floors. I AM SO HAPPY YAY!! Less than a month left of Hell House!

Thanks to jae_w, I found this:

If a utility company disconnects service, or gives written notice that service is about to be shutoff because a landlord who is supposed to furnish utilities has not paid the utility bill, then the landlord is liable to the tenant [regardless of whether the unit is "all bills paid," submetered or mastermetered]. If this happens, the tenant can terminate the lease and move out immediately or within 30 days of receiving the first notice, as long as the landlord has not presented evidence that the utility bill has been paid prior to the tenant's termination. So be sure to give your notice in writing, date it and keep a copy. If you properly terminate the lease and plan to move, you may deduct your security deposit from your last month's rent (if you have not paid it yet), and sue for actual damages (such as moving expenses), court costs and attorney fees.

\0/ A victory for Upfish!

So basically, if the utilities get shut off, I can break my lease as long as I give notice, and just deduct my deposit from my rent.

In other news, I am working on your playlists and it's so much fun! If you didn't request one earlier, feel free to go request one now. I love making people listen to my music.

I just got a notice on my door from the landlords saying they want utilities payments for the past two months or the utilities will be shut off.

Um. I DIDN'T LIVE HERE THEN.

I tried to call the chick whose contact info is listed but got sent to her voicemail, which was of course full so I couldn't leave a message. So I texted her, which seemed to get her attention last time:

April, this is Andrea from 901 Edgecliff. I didn't live here in June or most of July so please stop sending me utilities notices. Also, I think most who did moved out, and my lawyer says it's illegal for you to turn off our utilities.

I WIN. Anyway. Hopefully nothing will actually happen with the utilities, but I am not paying $200 for someone else's bill.

ETA: OMG SHE IS CALLING ME! I think I will let it go to voicemail.

ETA2: On her voicemail she says that of course I don't have to pay utilities for the months I didn't live here. However, if they don't get paid, the utilities will be shut off by the city. Except the account is in the landlord's name, so wouldn't that technically be the landlord defaulting on payment? I'm so confused now. If they turn the utilities off, what should I do?

New job today! Day 1 is nearly complete, and so far I really love it here. I have a lot more independence than I did at the Library system (although I'm really going to miss those ladies. It seems weird not seeing them after 2 years seeing them nearly every day.) The people all seem really nice. I don't get free gym access (alas!) but my new ID does let me ride the bus for free. So that'll save me $10/month. Woo.

Anyway, all is going well so far. And I have contacted my ex-roommate's apartment finder to see what I can do about leaving Hell House. Jeanette (the Crazy Lady) moved out yesterday! I was pretty surprised. I have no idea who is living in the house now, so I really want to leave ASAP. I don't think they'll bother to try to make me pay, plus I realized they have my old driver's license info from Ohio and my old car info... so it would be harder to find me anyway.

YAY.

Today, my hair brush is missing. I am pretty sure that's even more WTF than the towel. Tomorrow, I bet like... my Q Tips will be gone or something. My lint roller, possibly.

At least my room is at a liveable temperature.

Yesterday, I spent like 4 hours at BookPeople and I read Rainbow Boys by Alexander Sanchez. I highly recommend it to all my slasher friends. It's a very realistic look at what it's like being a gay teenager, coming out and first times (I almost wrote 'fist times', HA), and all that good stuff. There's a sequel which I might read today after I go to the gym.

On Friday I saw Mamma Mia and as expected, I fucking LOVED IT. OMG, I love cheesy musicals, and it's even better when I already know all the songs because ABBA!!! YAY!!! I had no idea Amanda Seyfried could sing, but she was probably one of the best singers out of all of them. Colin Firth's character really MADE the movie though. Also, it made me want to go to Greece.

Now I must brave the kitchen, hope enough of my things are there to make breakfast, and then hide in my room again. YAY.

My towel is missing from the bathroom.

...wtf. Who takes a TOWEL?

More Hell House blather:

1) Yesterday, I came home to find that entire shelf was missing from the fridge, and also that all my food have been rearranged so that my cheese was with everyone else's, my margarine with everyone else's, and so on. Who does that? Why would anyone presume to touch and move my food? WTF.

2) This morning, I put a coke zero in the fridge so it would be cold when I got home, because my room is literally like 100 degrees. IT IS GONE. WTF, who drinks someone else's soda that was clearly put in the fridge alone to get cold??

3) Back door? WIIIIDE open. And I don't mean unlocked. I mean OPEN. Standing open. Of course, they'd turned off the A/C at some point (last night they switched it to fan so I wouldn't realize it wasn't actually cooling anything...but this morning I turned it on to actual a/c when I realized, for the poor cat's benefit) so I guess they thought that didn't matter.

4) Also moved? MY PLATES AND BOWLS. I had put them on a lower shelf in a cabinet because it was completely empty and I am short. Someone (CRAZY GIRL, I AM LOOKING AT YOU) moved them to a higher shelf with the rest of the plates. I CAN'T REACH MY OWN FUCKING DISHES NOW.

I really, really hate it here :( And to top it all off, there's like a giant party of random people out back, and they're like... old people. Old high people. And I can't open my windows to make it cooler because there are no screens and Max would just jump right out. It is too hot to LIVE right now. God.

1) My housemates are officially insane. Or just mean. I can't really tell which. Last night, instead of turning the A/C off, they switched it to "fan" which meant it didn't actually cool anything, it just circulated the 90+ degree air in the house.

2) Let me ask you this: for what reason would you ever leave your backdoor wide open, while the A/C is on? Is it a) because you hate the planet and want to waste as much energy as possible b) you actually prefer being raped and robbed in your sleep so you just want to make it easier for anyone with the inclination to do so or c) you are a FUCKING IDIOT. I'm so glad Max is going to stay elsewhere. Then all I need to worry about is my own safety. :/

3) JC was kind of adorable on LiveVideo last night. I missed the actual chat, but I watched the video later. His knowledge of the periodic table is spotty, but awesome. Has not yet cut his hair. Open-necked shirt that looked goooood and made him look younger, somehow. Oh, and awesome shoes with caterpillars on his laces. He had no idea about Archie covering 'You Ruined Me'. He looked sort of confused at first, and then he was like, "He'd have to get my permission... gimme my money!" I don't know if it's because he knows Gina or what, but his LiveVideo interviews are so much more charming and adorable than all his other interviews.

4) I'm so fucking tired. Maybe that's because it was 100 degrees in my room last night. *stabs* Now I am eagerly awaiting October and getting my own place. YAY.

5) Thanks to the awesomely fantastic llamabitchyo, I am now in possession of the Alanna books! I am reading Woman Who Rides Like A Man today, and all I remember about it is I think she fucks a hot guy in a tent. And that is good enough for me!

6) Lastly, for my Texas girls, Tony Lucca and Joe Firstman will be playing a bunch of shows in Texas in mid-August. I think they're doing Denton/Dallas on the 14th and 15th. Austin is August 16th at the Parish, and I am going! So if you want to come and hear some awesome music, let me know. When I get home today (ugh, don't want to go home!) I will be putting together a zip of some of my favorite Tony songs for wendy, who claims to only have heard one! Not acceptable! So, yes.

And now, I am going to pass out at my desk.