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Kim's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 10/23/99 -------------------- 10/9/99 10/8/99 9/27/99 9/17/99 9/15/99 9/8/99 8/17/99 7/29/99 7/19/99 7/12/99 7/5/99 6/28/99 6/25/99 6/18/99 6/12/99 6/10/99 6/9/99 5/24/99 5/23/99 5/18/99 5/12/99 5/11/99 5/6/99 5/3/99 4/27/99 4/18/99 4/18/99 4/13/99 4/10/99 4/8/99 4/6/99 3/31/99 3/30/99 3/26/99 3/24/99 3/22/99 3/19/99 3/18/99 -------------------- Kim's Introduction

April 18, 1999

Okay, my cleaner story. DH and I are resident tutors at the university here -- basically dorm parents. We live in a small apartment in a big dorm of all single rooms. The students have cleaners who come once a week and clean the bathrooms and empty the trash etc. During the breaks (like now) the college has conferences come and the attendees stay in some of the buildings, often ours. We like it when they come to our building because it means the main heat stays on and it is much wamer, but lately we have had some run ins with the cleaners over the showers. Our little apartment has a bathroom with a bathtub, but no shower, so we go in the hall and use the student's shower when we want to get clean. I dunno, but where I come from baths are for soaking and relaxing and showers are where you get clean. Anyway, since we are now in conference time, the cleaners are very concerned with the state of the showers, which during the school year, they let get absolutely filthy. The cleaners come every Monday after the weekend conferencers leave, and clean. If there is another conference coming the next weekend they ask us to please not use the shower until after it is over. Where are we supposed to get clean you might ask, well there is another shower on another floor that we can use, up a cold, drafty, unheated flight of stairs. So the first time the cleaners suggested this to me I offered to clean the shower before the conference people came, and after we used it. The cleaners were not happy, but too bad for them. I scrubbed that shower like there was no tomorrow, and I removed mildew that had been there for months and has not been seen since. The cleaners, who never see the shower after I clean it, only after the conference is over, complained to the college staff who put a note on the shower door saying could the students staying over the break (there are none, only us) please tidy the shower, kitchen and toilets after use, so that they remain clean for the conferences.

I saw this note when I went for a shower yesterday morning and went ballistic. I came back yelling, I was so offended. Here I had been scrubbing the stupid shower to do them a favor and they complain!? Even when they have never set eyes on it between conferences?! They are blaming all the conference mess on US?!?!?!

DH was just cracking up. He thought I needed a punching bag, so he suggested a walk. When we left the apartment, all these grey haired ladies from some group having the conference peeked out their doors to see who the crazy American lady was that was doing all the yelling. It was hilarious. So what do you think? PMS (we really really hope) or just stress with dealing with the NHS?

Who knows, but I certainly felt better after doing all the yelling and then laughing about it.

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