Cold Summer

It was not at all my fault. Over the last 13 days that I've been living at 18 Kirk Street I've noticed a few peculiar things. Four of the four people who lived there when I moved in were all suddenly moving out. This guy Steve, in particular, was clearly moving out to get off a sinking ship. I'd bring these letters from the Scottish government that I'd found strewn around the flat to his attention. The letters said the flat was due for 1500 pounds of back Council taxes. His response was: "Yeah that's why I'm moving out, this place is f---ed, it's best to just leave." Another girl, Elena, said she'd been living there for four months and had never once paid these taxes or the amenities.

So I spoke to the woman who took Steve's room, Judy, and we decided we'd better go down to the management company this afternoon and sort it all out. While wandering around the flat this morning I found an opened letter from the management company stating that the flat was due 1500 pounds in unpaid rent. Judy and I left for the management company's office soon after that.

The people we spoke to at the company said that we were living at 18 Kirk Street illegally. Infraction the first: the former tenants should have filed change of tenant forms with us and with the company at least a week before anyone moved anywhere. Infraction the second: the former tenants were not allowed, in this case, to relinquish tenancy because their collective lease is less than 6 months from completion.

Then the management dude says: "Did either of you already put in deposits?"

Judy turns to look at me and grimaces. I'm like, "Yeah... yeah I did. And the girl I gave it to is in Spain somewhere right now."

So after hearing that we had to go back to the flat and repack all of our very recently unpacked items, we decided to go to the letting agency and have a look at what's available now. The woman at the letting agency said that it's illegal in Scotland to have a short-term let but that some companies (not them however) will allow their tenants to sublet.

She suggested that we look on the internet for another place to live. "But that's how we got into this mess in the first place!!!" we both exclaimed. "Oh yeah... Well there's Festival Lets, but they'd kick you out in August to charge the people who are here for the festivals about 2000 pounds a month."

I don't know what I'm going to. I'm going to Finland/Russia in about 8 hours, I've moved my stuff back into the flat above the office where I work, but there is no hot water in this flat, so I can't really stay here for more than a few nights. And a few days after I get back from Finland I'm going to Rome for four days.

This is just the latest in a string of bad experiences in Edinburgh for me. I don't have any friends or any way to meet young people yet, short of approaching strangers on the street or in the parks... which has occurred to me to do. The people that I have met go out and drink for entertainment, and that's just not fun for me. I have never seen people drink so much, and I've been friends with people whose drinking shocked me. It's digusting really, for that to be what you do when you're not working, you know? Really - what's the point?

The food is god-awful as well as expensive. Hahaha - and I don't know why this bothers me so much but the people are really ugly.

Yeah... I don't know what to do. But I basically have to put off those decisions until I'm back from travelling, which won't be for another two weeks.

Stupid ugly people. Ha... geez.