So for my first entry I would like to explain my current situation...
It has long been a goal of mine to live and work in London and over the course of this year I have applied for many jobs, however it seems whilst in search of my dream job I'm being undercut by people who hold Masters degrees. It then seemed whilst campaigning on behalf of the Conservative Party in the latest general election I met some fantastic people and found myself having opportunities being thrown at me that required me to stay in Swansea. I did some research and saw the new MA in Public Policy being offered by my school as a way to get that missing piece to my prospective career puzzle.
Before I begin and I realize that I'm jumping all over the place but this is really important as this is crux of this entry.
For the past year i have lived in a beautiful house that I have shared with my best buddy Tom and 2 Norwegian girls Ida and J.C. Tom and J.C actually lived in the house the year before with another 2 friends of mine Helen and Matt. Both Helen and Matt have been in the U.S on an exchange year which for the purposes of this discussion left two places free in the house. Tom chose me and J.C chose Ida and it may be worth noting that this was a decision taken purely on the grounds of nationality meaning the girls really didn't know each other when they committed to live with each other. It was then going to be the case that Tom, J.C and myself were to move out at the end of the year, Matt and Helen were then going to live with Ida and Ida had someone of here choosing as she was essentially the last person in the house.
Anyway to cut a very very long story short this year has been an absolute nightmare with Ida who has thrown tantrums over me not taking my shoes off (yes I am serious!), threatened to call the police and me charged because I went into her room and turned off an electric heater (I should be hanged) and just generally making cruel and hurtful comments to EVERYONE!!! (no joke).
So my way of dealing with her was just to ignore her I figured don't talk to can't get bitten right? wrong! Everyone else's way was to act like nothing had ever happened and just get on with it and then complain about her! Behind her back! WHY!? I could write a book on all the instances of this year from being forced to pay TV rental to being told that turning lights off when leaving a room actually costs more money than leaving them on...gimme a break! So the end result is Ida living in this almost pseudo reality where everyone nods and smiles where she can say disgusting things a about people and there be no repercussion's and everyone let her think that, why? apparently they are scared of her...(Ida self confessed anger management issues)
And this is where it becomes so so so juicy and interesting almost like soap opera...
So how does link in with the first part of this entry? Well (and I take an epic sigh...) I spoke to Matt over Skype (which we do almost daily) and informed him of my intention to stay on. He then told me that the girl Ida had selected to move in and take the last spot wanted out due to an altercation with Ida (Ida had insulted her in some way). Matt suggested I take the remaining spot, in which I got on the phone to our landlady (Sally) and told her of my intentions. It then came to light that the girl (Raanvieg) and not actually told Ida yet and was not going to tell Ida the real reason but make up a story that was less likely to anger Ida.
So it seemed pretty straight forward I had made my intentions known even before Ida was told and all that had to happen once Ida found out was to get Raan to sign the contract over to me. It was to be fantastic as I would get to live with another one of my best friends and someone who I find intellectually stimulating and a great politics buddy. As the Meerkat would say SIMPLES!! ..I wish.
A huge row EXPLODED with Ida refusing to show support for me staying on next year, even though I had the support of Matt, Helen and to an extent Sally. Ida's argument was there was a formal agreement that had said she had the "right" to pick someone which was complete nonsense. Stalemate ensued with Matt and I trying every trick of diplomacy we could; talking; letters; gestures of good will; getting Sally to talk to her etc etc etc etc ...but nothing worked she would not budge. Sally informed all parties involved that Raan was not to sign over the contract until everyone had agreed which seemed pretty unlikely.
From the point of view of Sally it seemed that Ida needed to know the truth and by getting on with us she may learn a thing or two about conflict resolution etc.
Anyway I could bore anyone reading this with the nitty gritty but what happened next is pretty well spineless.
Raan signed the contract over to another Norwegian girl of Ida's choosing without consulting me (even though she knew I was interested) Matt or Helen (when she knew they did not want anyone new) and Sally (even though she has explicitly said to me she would talk to Sally before making a decision!) This was down to one simple fact...Raan wanted to appease Ida. She realized that next year she would have interact with Ida on some level and thought that by appeasing her she would not upset her and of course she has no intention of telling Ida her real feelings.
Where does this leave me? upset, angry, betrayed and above all homeless I was counting on staying here because I had nowhere else to go.
SO you're probably thinking why didn't Sally intervene? Answer: Sally told me she cannot approve or disprove anyone, it is for individuals in the house to decide....I know IrOnY!!
This leaves me with a thought about human nature perhaps one this is quite Hobbesian....no matter how much one does the right thing (through mediation and diplomacy in my case) it is human beings that ultimately decide one another's fate and those decisions will primarily be taken in the absolute interest of that individual who will have a blatant disregard of what is morally just and of those directly affected! This may sound obvious but those who think humans are naturally good willed creatures READ THE ABOVE!
I can confidently say that not all my entries will be like this I will also ponder politics and the like.
Before I bring this lengthy entry to a close I would like to also say a big thank you to Bronwyn, Matt and Tom who have supported me through that ordeal love and friendship to you all!
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