Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/385846
46 UCW SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2014 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM ADVICE GODDESS To Leach According to Her Needs My roommate's girlfriend is unemployed and just hangs around our place all week, even when he's at work. (She has her own place but is never there.) She's very waste- ful with our utilities. Yesterday, after work, I found her in the living room watching TV with the air conditioning on full blast -- even though she also had all the windows open and, for some reason, had turned on our gas fireplace! When I muttered something to my roommate about her kicking in for utilities, he retorted that my girlfriend isn't paying any extra. Well, she is here a night or two a week, has a job and doesn't run up our electric bill. — Feeling Scammed Your problem started with going into a roommate situation without rules — without a written document spelling out how things would work between you and how they'd work if something weren't working. Signing a roommate contract (like this example from Nolo's "Every Tenant's Legal Guide": bit.ly/roommatecon- tract) might sound unnecessarily formal. However, it's wise to do whenever you're rooming with anything more animated than a cactus. The fair thing is to get Jackie Brownout to start forking over for the utilities — before it occurs to her to run the dryer all night because the white noise helps her sleep. But the fair thing isn't always the smartest thing. Consider what this is cost- ing you — and what it could cost you. Com- pare bills from the previous year to get an idea of how much she's actually sending the bill up. No, putting every power source in the house on full blast isn't free, but her usage probably doesn't add more than $10 or $20 to your monthly bill. And no, it isn't fair that you're paying half of that. However, getting into this with your room- mate might lead to your putting the $10 or so you'd be saving on moocher energy charges toward doughnuts for the movers you'd be paying hundreds of dollars to haul your stuff to storage until you could find your next apartment. If you decide it would eat away at you too much to be paying for her, say some- thing to your roommate, but in a mellow way, over a beer. Tell him you really like his girlfriend (because diplomacy, not truth, is life's little lubricant). As far as you're con- cerned, she's welcome to stay over as much as she wants, but you'd like a new house policy: Girlfriends who stay over four or more days a week need to kick in for utili- ties. Stress that this applies to your girl- friend, as well, and add that the particular roommate, not the girlfriend, should be responsible for the payment. The last thing you need is to be going all collection agent on this woman -- preferable as it might be to asking her to cut to the chase and heat the house by burning stacks of your money on the coffee table. WEEKLY HOROSCOPES ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, your thoughts are spinning and it's pretty difficult for you to get a hold of any one thing. Take a step back and try to clear your head before proceeding. TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, don't let your nerves get the better of you this week. Find someone who can calm your nerves and help you realize you have nothing to be nervous about. GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 Gemini, you have plenty of motivation to get a project started. All you need is some help to get things off the ground. Others will be inspired by your enthusiasm. CANCER - Jun 22/Jul 22 Cancer, others seem to spend time in the spotlight, but you're more comfortable spending time in the shadows. Make the most of this time for quiet reflection. LEO - Jul 23/Aug 23 Leo, you may be anxious to try a new hobby this week, but just don't know which direction to go. Get some recommendations from friends about what keeps them busy. VIRGO - Aug 24/Sept 22 Sometimes it is difficult for you to talk about your feelings, Virgo. You want to present a brave front, but you're only human and should let others in this week. LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23 Libra, staying the course may be a challenge this week. You have too many things pulling you in different directions. But you'll be successful if you can get a foothold in one thing. SCORPIO - Oct 24/Nov 22 Work associates may not be holding up their end of the deal, Scorpio. You're content to help out once in a while but not take on the work of everyone else. SAGITTARIUS - Nov 23/Dec 21 Use your charm to win someone over, Sagittarius. This is an influential person who will be good to have in your corner. You never know when you might need a good ally. CAPRICORN - Dec 22/Jan 20 Capricorn, if certain ideas didn't work in the past, give them another try. All of the components may fall into place this time around, and you'll like the results. AQUARIUS - Jan 21/Feb 18 Aquarius, the coming weeks may be ideal for some rest and relaxation. Plan for some downtime and make the most of this chance to recharge your batteries. PISCES - Feb 19/Mar 20 Pisces, expect things to flow much more smoothly this week than they have in recent weeks. You may find you have more free time. NEWS OF THE WEIRD by CHUCK SHEPPARD Nicholas Felton's latest annual recap of his personal communications data is now available, for just $30. Key findings, graphically presented, of Nicholas' busy 2013 (according to a report by FiveThirtyEight.com): He received 44,041 texts and 31,769 emails, had 12,464 face- to-face conversations and 320 phone calls (all detailed by communicatee, from where, at what time, in what language). He reported 385 conversations, for example, with female cashiers, and that 54,963 exclamation points were used across all methods of written communication. (The 2012 report went for $35, but is, along with 2010 and 2011, "sold out," according to feltron.bigcartel.com). [FiveThirtyEight.com, 8-24-2014] Can't Possibly Be True The U.K.'s Barnet Council got aggressive in August against a landlord in Hendon, in north London, who had defied an earlier order to stop offering a too-small apartment for residential rental. Landlord Yaakov Marom said tenants were still eager for the room even though the entryway required most people to drop to all fours, since it was less than 28 inches high (and therefore a fire- code violation). Council officers checking on the earlier order against Marom found a couple still residing there, paying the equivalent of $685 a month. [The Guardian, 8-22-2014] When he was 19, Rene Lima-Marin (with a pal) robbed two Aurora, Colorado, video stores at gunpoint and, winning no favors from the judge, received back-to- back sentences totaling 98 years. In 2008, eight years into the sentence, Lima-Marin was mistakenly released and until this year was a model citizen, employed, married with a son, on good terms with his parole officer. However, the mistake was found in January, and he was returned to prison, and according to his lawyers in their August appeal, the original sentence has been reimposed, thus moving his release date to the year 2104. [KMGH-TV (Denver), 8-22- 2014] Among the more than 350 convicted violent felons whose right to carry guns has been restored over the past six years by the state of Georgia were 32 who had killed another person and 44 who were sex offenders, according to an August report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. As pointed out by ThinkProgress.com, among those who once again can carry is Dennis Krauss, a former Glynn County police officer convicted of raping a woman after a traffic stop. According to the 2003 Georgia Court of Appeals decision affirming his conviction, Officer Krauss had drawn his service weapon and said he wanted to anally penetrate the woman with it. (However, he was convicted only for his extortionate demand for sex.) [Atlanta Journal- Constitution, 8-23-2014] Amy Alkon Chuck Sheppard