The Saga of My Roommate
Hi everyone.
As most of you know, I’ve had some crazy Craigslist roommate stories over the last 10 or 11 months. Evelyn tried to rappel off the balcony. She was on a nothing-but-broth-and-radishes diet. She was sued by her boyfriend for three million dollars. And she just stole all my personal belongings. I’d like to post the full story here so I’m not so alone in this.
I moved in on September 1st, 2010. She had a friend, who went only by the name of Kaptain, who stayed there with me for the first nine days. He was a nightmare. He never wore a shirt, had a toupee that he insisted was his real hair, and was a non-stop chatterbox of celebrity name-dropping. If I ventured outside my room, he would bludgeon me with his opinions, photos of himself, and constant insistence that he give me a makeover. But I decided to stick it out, because he would be gone soon. I installed a bolt on my door, and I changed my locks.
My roommate moved in with two dogs and her boyfriend David. I immediately didn’t like him. He seemed creepy to me. Then the yelling began. Apparently, he owed her 8,000 dollars. He accused her of cheating. These screaming fights went on late into the nights. One time, the cops were called. They were both taken in. I didn’t see this, as I was nestled safely behind my bolt. I thought this would be over soon, so I would stick it out.
Eventually, they broke up. I found Evelyn sobbing on the steps. She said that he threatened to kill her dogs, and that she was afraid he was going to come back. I told her to stay calm. I printed out copies of how to obtain a restraining order, and how to go to the police with this. I gave her the address of the court that she could go to. She called the cops, but then she chickened out. I thought maybe we would get along better, so I stuck it out.
A few months later, he filed a lawsuit against her for assault, battery, and emotional distress. She was in a horrible place. I told her everything she could do. I got my dad to come over and help her with the legal stuff. Eventually, I walked her to the police station so she could ask them what to do. She was somewhat hysterical, but I kept her calm and helped her at the station. She felt that she needed to go back home to New York, so I told her I’d take care of the dogs. I knew she would feel helpless without me there, so I stuck it out.
The legal battle began, and she started to stay up at all hours, poring over her case files. She posted them all over the living room walls, and I found her sobbing at her desk, overwhelmed by all of it. I told her things would be okay, and that she was in the right, and that maybe she should take the papers down so she wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed. I stuck it out for her.
Finally, I couldn’t take living with her anymore. I might be good for her, but I was suffering emotionally from all of this nonsense. I decided the best course of action was to tell her I was moving in with a boyfriend, because that would lessen the blow on her. I didn’t want her to be upset with me. I started to search for apartments, and she became very upset. She asked me repeatedly who would take care of the dogs. She started bashing the boyfriend she’d never met (admittedly, he didn’t exist) and asking me whether we were even ready to move in together. She said that maybe she would move out instead, and I would just keep the apartment. I said that would be fine. I thought, stick it out, and you’ll have your apartment.
Then, a week later, she surprise-moved out on me into the next building over. She said that I would have to find a subletter for the next month or that I would lose my security deposit. I tried to find a subletter to minimize the conflict, but I was unsuccessful. I went to New York for the Del Close Marathon. She called me once, telling me that I would need to pay 700 dollars to her. Despite the fact that I had only been subletting, and so I was not financially responsible for the apartment, the landlady called me to ask why this month’s rent hadn’t been paid. I had paid my half to Evelyn. I sent Evelyn an email stating that I did not owe her any money, and in fact that Evelyn was on the hook for the 700 dollars that had just mysteriously disappeared. Just a few more weeks, I said to myself.
I came home today and found my door ajar. The door jamb had been removed. All of my things were gone, except for the large items and my laptop. My clothes were gone. My diary was gone. My shampoo was gone. My stuffed puffin from when I was eight was gone. On my laptop was a file folder entitled “BRYNNA’S WORLD WIDE WEB UPLOADS AKA KARMA!!!” The file included tearful video diaries I had made, all of my friends’ contact information, my parents’ financial information, some poetry I’d written, some photos that she’d retitled to say horrible personal things. She deleted many of my files. She installed a web cam program that was supposed to take photos of me as I looked on in what I can only imagine she thought would be horror.
I called my landlady. She didn’t want to help. She told me that Evelyn was just “confused” and that she was “probably trying to help you move.” She said just to call Evelyn and then we could all sit down and work on the lease agreement for next month. I went to the police. They reported it as a grand theft, but since they couldn’t find her; they couldn’t talk to her. All of the evidence pointing to her was “circumstantial” and they couldn’t break open her room to see if my things were in there. They couldn’t do anything about the blackmail because the internet is out of their jurisdiction. They recommended the landlady change the locks, which I forwarded to her, but who knows if she’ll take their advice. UPDATE: The locks have been changed.
Thank goodness for my family, my friends, and the ridiculously strong community at UCB, because I wouldn’t know what to do without them. Hopefully, there is still justice in the world, and this will work out. But I don’t know for now.
