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I've had waaaay too many bad experiences over the years house-sharing with people, to even consider that as an option. The few months I spent with my last ever girlfriend, 16 years ago, being a case in point. (She turned out to be a psychotic, bullying control freak, and when we split up I ended up being homeless for seven weeks. I swore then, that I would never put myself at such risk ever again and I have kept that vow ever since.)

Fact of the matter is - at least in my case - when you have a chronic anxiety disorder as I do, then you may as well have a target painted on your back for the attention of all the nasty, bullying and aggressive fuck-wits that seem to comprise a significantly large percentage of the population. As a consequence, I tend to avoid people now - for as I have learned, in many areas of life over the years, most of them are not to be trusted - and keep my interactions with them to a minimum.

Anyhow, as a middle-aged 'ould git with social anxiety - I can't even hold a conversation without the crutch of alcohol - I'm not exactly inundated with offers, be they romantic, platonic or otherwise. I've gotten so used to living alone and spending virtually most of the time in isolation, that I simply do not have the energy or social skills necessary to be around other people for very long. To be sure, it's a lonely-as-fuck way to exist. But I'm realistic enough to know that is how things are going to be. And at least when I'm alone I'm safe.

I just had a phone call from the landlord today. He was asking what the story was and if I was moving out. Obviously I did not have any good news for him. So he's calling over to me later in the week to 'have a talk'. That should be interesting. I am so fucking pissed off and fed up with this constant daily stress and anxiety! I'm at the stage now where, if I was to feel the symptoms of a fatal stroke or heart attack coming on, I'm honestly not sure if I would even bother seeking medical attention. 

Fair enough- to be honest it's not the easiest life and you do need to be somewhat able-bodied to carry out necessary duties.

A quick google of the online Thesaurus revealed 171 different words to describe the opposite of being "able-bodied". Needless to say, the overwhelming majority of them could reasonably apply to myself. 

Would a boat be an option?  That's what I did (until the fecker exploded, but that is rare and it's a nice if busy lifestyle)..

Well, just out of curiosity, I googled Done Deal for the price of barges. The cheapest one I could find was €30,000 which is so far out of my price range, that I may as well be googling for a space flight on one of Musk's or Branson's contraptions. Further googling revealed that, among the minor little challenges I would have to contend with - apart from explosions! - are the facts that" Boats leak, batteries run flat and the water attracts mice and rats." So yeah, that's a hard pass for me, I'm afraid to say. 

Anyway's, as with a caravan, there would be the issue of adequate space and security, allied with my advancing age, increasing decrepitude and utter lack of experience in all aquatic matters. And with my luck being what it is, I'm as likely as not to fall of the vessel and drown. 

PS & Apols for double post.

@Sharkie  I don't know how to drive so a caravan isn't an option for me. Also, finding one large enough for my needs would, I imagine, be problematic.

BUT if I was to live in a caravan, it amuses me to think that it would be the one featured in the link below. (It's from a much beloved Irish TV children's programme that was very popular back when I were a nipper. Get a load of those state-of-the-art special effects, lol.  )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9oSFevDK_0

Here's hoping that this gets resolved fairly quickly and in your favour.  All the best sir.

Thanks, TJM86 for your kind words and support, and likewise to Jayzus and Sharkie. It means a lot and is always appreciated. Cheers!

[Residential Tenancy Board]

Aye, I'll second that. How are you doing yourself, Paddy?

Hi Jayzus.

Well I'm now into my third week of over-holding my tenancy, after the end date of my Notice of Termination of Residency has lapsed. Surprisingly enough, the landlord has not been in contact with me so far. Considering the antagonistic attitude which he has previously displayed towards those tenants* who have already chosen to overhold, I'm all the time waiting for that ominous 'knock on the door'. I can only presume that he has decided to go down the legal route with the Residential Tenancy Board and have me evicted that way. It is a nerve-wrangling time for me, to be sure and frankly, a horrible way to be living.

The efforts of the Dublin City Councillor these last few months to secure accommodation for me have, alas, failed to bear fruit. In the meantime, I've been in touch with DCC's Homeless Central Placement Service. They have referred me to their Senior Citizens Team - talk about feeling old, lol! - and said that I could expect to receive a call from them. That was three weeks ago and, so far, I've heard nothing from them.

I've also been in touch with DCC's Housing Allocations department. Acting on their advice, I submitted a Disability / Medical information form which was filled in by my psychiatrist and social worker, along with supporting letters and documents that I thought might be relevant. The people I spoke to reckoned that it might help in pushing me up the list as a priority case.


But when I rang back to find out when I could expect my next appointment with Housing Allocations, I was told that, because of a backlog in processing the forms, it could be up to another three months before I am evaluated and given a further appointment. And so the anxious wait goes on!

Threshold are also liaising with Dublin City Council on my behalf. DCC gave them a small list of properties from it's Choice Based Lettings (CBL) scheme, of which I might be eligible for some of them. So I've applied for three one-bed units from the list that I thought might be suitable for my needs. (Given the large amount of personal possessions which I have - which includes almost a thousand books and over two thousand comics and graphic novels - as adequate space goes, a bedsit would just not cut it for me.)

My concern is that, without yet having been evaluated with regards to the form which I gave to DCC, that I will not be considered as a priority case by whoever makes these decisions, and thus that I will be passed over. (Bearing in mind that, as the link below shows, I'm just one of approx 12, 500 other poor sods in the same position - and worse - than me.) I just seem to be bumping into one hurdle after another.

Anyways, thanks for thinking of me Jayzus. Much appreciated. Fingers crossed that something comes up for me. It's not for want of trying on my part. Oh, and I'm still at war with the mice in my flat. If there was to be a movie poster of my life of recent times, the tag-line would read: "Mouse-Wars 2 - This time it's personal!"

https://www.thejournal.ie/homelessness-figures-ireland-6106594-Jun2023/

*This refers to the other tenants who received their Notice of Termination at the same time as I did. Not to the newer tenants who have since moved in and whom he is currently fleecing. (To give an example, the bedsit beside me now costs a staggering €1,650 per month!)

To Hawkmumbler & Sharkie: Glad to hear that yer both doing well. Onwards and upwards, as the saying goes.

https://media.tenor.com/RCMb35wVWpoAAAAC/meet-the-parents-robert-de-niro.gif

Link to pictures on a hilarious Facebook post titled: "Carry On Up the Empire". Just superb and bravo to the original poster. Had me in stitches!

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=570474171946701&set=a.404330421894411

[Raging Bull]

Raging Bull recently received a 4K restoration and is doing the rounds, if you have a showing near you do yourself a favor and go see it. Marty made more aesthetically accomplished movies later in his career but he is at his most raw here, the boxing sequences are insane when restored to their original, harrowing splendor.
The closest a boxing movie got to outright horror besides the only actual horror boxing movie, Tokyo Fist, which owes a very explicit debt to Raging Bull.
Marty never misses.

I'll second your admiration for 'Raging Bull', Hawkie. It says something about Scorsese's skill as a film maker - and De Niro's best ever, IMO performance - that even though it's central character is such a horrible and utterly nasty individual, it is still a completely gripping piece of cinema. And by a wide margin, probably the greatest movie about boxing ever made.

If the history of our own planet is anything to go by, when a technologically superior civilization meets a more primitive one, things generally do not go well for the latter group. We can only hope that, if a technologically superior alien civilization does arrive here, that they will be a lot more benign in their outlook and attitude than humanity has shown itself to be.

Sorry to read about the loss of your furry friend, Sharky. Take care, mate.

Links to three articles that illustrate how fucked up the housing situation is, here in the Emerald Isle.

I am so screwed!

https://www.thejournal.ie/hap-properties-available-march-6032375-Mar2023/

https://www.thejournal.ie/evictions-ireland-leo-varadkar-6032311-Mar2023/

https://www.thejournal.ie/sinn-fein-eviction-ban-bill-vote-6032249-Mar2023/

Episode Five, Bounty. Oh man - nerdgasmic, Trekcellent. Even the title of this episode is inspired. Although I don't want this season to end, I can't wait until it does so that I can get a big bag of salad, lock the doors and binge the whole wonderful damned thing in one go. This is deathbed telly for sure.

 

I now have this image of you on your death-bed, as you wait for the latest episode of Picard to download. 

https://rwalck.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/2001-a-space-odyssey1.jpg

Welcome back to ye, Goaty!