I want to take a moment to talk about airbnb. First of all, how do homeowners learn to blindly trust complete strangers to stay in your house especially if you, the homeowner, live there? At least if you don't live there, you're not around for when that one final guest goes psycho and does an "OJ Simpson" on everyone in the house.
I rent a month-to-month room in a house with three other rooms rented out to Airbnb. One of the airbnb rooms is the master bedroom with full bath. The other two rooms, one on each side of me, I share a bathroom with. One and half baths actually. Full bath upstairs. Half bath downstairs. All the bedrooms are upstairs.
With every guest turnover, approximate 4-14 days, there's always ONE ROOM that's problematic. Once it was two young black men who never flushed the toilet, made an absolute mess of the tub and sink and never rinsed out either. On their last night, late into the night, the house reeked of acetone. You know, fingernail polish remover. At least 2 or 3 bottles of acetone by the smell of it. The entire house reeked of acetone. Turns out these guys were doing drugs in their room.
Another time the problem was a young couple, white female/black male. The young female was just 100 mile an hour drama all the time. Additionally, she had a toilet paper shredding addiction. I rent long term and keep my own stuff like toilet paper and laundry soap locked in my room. But this girl would shred at least two rolls of toilet paper in the trash, in both bathrooms, every day. By the time they left she shred about 8 rolls of toilet paper. I was always mindful of the guest in the other room who shared the bathroom with us. I didn't want him to not have toilet paper. AT LEAST the young woman shred the toilet paper in the trash and didn't leave it strewn all over the floor. The morning the young couple were checking out they fought outside on the patio for all the neighbors to watch and hear. She was screaming at her guy top (freaking) lung. I could hear her screaming from my upstairs bedroom as she followed her guy from outside the house, to inside the house, from the kitchen to the living room. I was so happy when they left. I was worried the cops might have to be involved to get them out.
And now, for the past four days, a white California Gypsy woman has been here due to check out this morning. I will be surprised if she doesn't steal the TV set. I know she's from California because of the plates on her Jeep. I know she drives a Jeep because she parks it right ON the little foot path walkway going to the house. 😒 And every day she's nonstop loud on her phone. I realize some people from other countries talk loud as fuck, but this woman is a human bullhorn. Loud. Stupid loud. All day. All night. On her phone. Who the F&#@! wants to talk all day, all night, with someone that loud? Other Gypsies? Add to that, people who briefly visit a high touristy town like this and never leave the house are totally suspect. She is always in the house. Always on her phone. Never leaves. In addition to all this, if the Gypsy woman opens a door, she leaves it open. If she turns on a light, she leaves it on, every light in the house. She used all the kitchen towels and left them crumpled up and thrown about - never mind there's a washing machine & detergent a mere four feet away from the kitchen. Men left her room on occasion at 3am, and when they left the house maybe half the time they would actually shut the front door. Once I went downstairs to make some toast around 2am and the front door was open. (sigh) Look, I don't know how some people were raised. Maybe Gypsy woman had servants who walked behind her and picked up or cleaned everything she mindlessly tossed over her shoulder, I don't know, I don't know how she was raised, but why go to an airbnb for four or five days JUST to talk on your phone unless... you're a Gypsy.
The linen closets are across the hall from my bedroom. With every single new guest that checks in I hear those linen closets open and shut, open and shut, open and shut. I don't know what they think they're going to find in there. A leprechaun and a pot of gold?
When I first arrived at this house back in June, the previous guests had stolen every dish in the house, the iron, laundry detergent, shampoo, basically every Airbnb listed amenity. I bought my own. I bought my own cleaning supplies, toilet paper, I just bought all my own stuff. I get why homeowners who don't live on the property keep houses with just the basic cheapest dollar store shit they can fill the house with because GUARANTEED even that will get stolen.
It's my choice to continue renting my bedroom, but the reality is I'm at a medical and professional crossroads. I have no idea what my future holds. As it is, living here is what I can afford even if it means parting with my sanity. I like the homeowner, nice guy but holy shit some of these people who stay here make me wonder if I'll live through the night.
So... I've decided on occasion to write a piece called AIR diary. It'll go something like this:
AIR diary, August 31, 2024
Last night I walked downstairs at 3am to find the front door left wide open. I am reminded of Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of murdering four university students in Idaho, 2022...
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