The politics of experience -- I won't be renewing my apartment lease next year!!

When I moved into my studio apartment six months ago, I knew that adopting a cat was not possible due to the lack of vertical space that a cat needs. So, I adopted urban birding as my new favorite hobby.

I purchased a 5-bird feeder station and began my new hobby with fervor. The front two apartments of my apt bldg have porches with gardens, and one of the other tenants whose lived here for five years, has a hanging bird feeder.

My bldg is 141 years old so the sighting of rabbits and mice were nothing new for management.

Until today.

I got a snarky text from the bldg's married couple to remove my bird feeder station due to a mouse sighting. I knew it was personal, when the husband stated, "this is not singling you out." I knew it was singling me out. I am the only tenant with a 5 bird feeder bird station, which was right outside my studio apartment window.


Did I mention the bldg has poison bait boxes secured to it every 10 feet? Despite the gaping holes in the foundation? No? Yeah. How's that for irony.


****ers.

It literally broke my heart to see the 20 or so birds fly to the area where my bird feeder has been for the past six months -- different species of birds too -- sort of look around wondering, "Where the hell is our buffet? It's ready every day for us!"

I didn't respond to the bldg managers texts and I did call the landlord and left a voicemail. He told the bldg managers to text me back, to tell me to stop leaving him voicemails.

"Hope" is the thing with feathers
By Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.


This is motivation for me to look for the cheapest of cheap homes to buy next spring. I don't care if it's in a horrible neighborhood. I'm done with roommate craziness and I am fed up with the politics of experience,which has shown me that no matter where I rent, I will not be able to re-install my bird feeder station again.

I just spent the past hour washing out my birdfeeder tubes and seed trays, crying like a baby.

I'm heart broken.