GoNavy
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I'm an Electrical Engineer at UA (Arizona). I'm always at school. And by always I mean probably more than 70 hours each week, with studies, labs, HW, and lectures.
I moved into a housing "unit" which was part of an apartment complex in Tucson. It was nice. My roommates were 19 and 20 and all they wanted to do is smoke weed and go to frat parties. Whatever. I was young once. But now I am in my 30's, having served in the military and now using my GI Bill. When I come home, I usually just stuff my face quickly with a $1 burrito and then pass out from exhaustion.
I never turn on the A/C. Ever. Ever. EVER !!!! I don't use the large fridge and my laundry usage is minimal. By all accounts, my electrical usage was tiny. But after being there for 47 days, my roommate taped a sign outside my door that said I owed him $187 cash - with his Mom was paying the bill to the complex. CASH !!!!!
This bothers me. GREATLY. I am not rich. I sleep on the ground. I don't wear Versace or get the latest Apple products regularly. Every cent that I have is from my military service so I look at each as something I received in exchange for the best years of my life. Blood, sweat, and tears money. So suffice to say - I take money issues VERY seriously.
After seeing that stupid sign taped outside my door, I spent over 5 HOURS on my precious Saturday morning (when I should have been studying for a midterm ... which in turn I did awful on ... which in turn kept me from getting an 'A' ... so f*&king pissed about that) researching Watt usage on common household appliances, Tucson kwh rates, and generating a reasonable "window" of how much money I should be expected to pay every month. After painstaking calculations, I calculated that I wasn't even using $25 per month, which would be about $38 for a month and a half.
First question - if you move into an apartment on the 28th of the month, and the bill is posted on the 29th - should you be expected to "chip in" for that bill? What if you move in on the 27th ... or the 26th? See where I'm going? At what point are you EXPECTED to chip in for a monthly electrical bill?
Second question - and here is the meat of the burger of this post - WHY does the "Divide the Bill Evenly" rule exist? Because people are too lazy or irresponsible to account for their actions? Or is trust such a 20th century concept that people will lie through their teeth and sleep like a baby in order to f*&k someone over on a utility bill? Because, that's not me. Let me use a metaphor:
If you are hanging out with your friends and you all go to a restaurant ... but you aren't feeling well, so you only order a $5 salad and some water ... and your friends are STARVING !!! as they continue to order filet mignon, lamb chops, lobster tail, sauvignon blanc, Don Perignon, and creme souffle ... and the final bill comes back at $210 !!!! WHY THE F*&K is it "normal" convention to split the bill ?? Why should someone who ordered a $5 salad be EXPECTED to chip in $70 !! ???
WHY is this metaphor ANY DIFFERENT from the roommate convention? What it comes down to is that responsible people pay more money for irresponsible people. Which is fine ... if you are a father or mother. But roommates ?? Yeah. Sorry.
All it is is Distribution. Communism.
I can't believe my way of thinking is criticized and ridiculed.
I moved into a housing "unit" which was part of an apartment complex in Tucson. It was nice. My roommates were 19 and 20 and all they wanted to do is smoke weed and go to frat parties. Whatever. I was young once. But now I am in my 30's, having served in the military and now using my GI Bill. When I come home, I usually just stuff my face quickly with a $1 burrito and then pass out from exhaustion.
I never turn on the A/C. Ever. Ever. EVER !!!! I don't use the large fridge and my laundry usage is minimal. By all accounts, my electrical usage was tiny. But after being there for 47 days, my roommate taped a sign outside my door that said I owed him $187 cash - with his Mom was paying the bill to the complex. CASH !!!!!
This bothers me. GREATLY. I am not rich. I sleep on the ground. I don't wear Versace or get the latest Apple products regularly. Every cent that I have is from my military service so I look at each as something I received in exchange for the best years of my life. Blood, sweat, and tears money. So suffice to say - I take money issues VERY seriously.
After seeing that stupid sign taped outside my door, I spent over 5 HOURS on my precious Saturday morning (when I should have been studying for a midterm ... which in turn I did awful on ... which in turn kept me from getting an 'A' ... so f*&king pissed about that) researching Watt usage on common household appliances, Tucson kwh rates, and generating a reasonable "window" of how much money I should be expected to pay every month. After painstaking calculations, I calculated that I wasn't even using $25 per month, which would be about $38 for a month and a half.
First question - if you move into an apartment on the 28th of the month, and the bill is posted on the 29th - should you be expected to "chip in" for that bill? What if you move in on the 27th ... or the 26th? See where I'm going? At what point are you EXPECTED to chip in for a monthly electrical bill?
Second question - and here is the meat of the burger of this post - WHY does the "Divide the Bill Evenly" rule exist? Because people are too lazy or irresponsible to account for their actions? Or is trust such a 20th century concept that people will lie through their teeth and sleep like a baby in order to f*&k someone over on a utility bill? Because, that's not me. Let me use a metaphor:
If you are hanging out with your friends and you all go to a restaurant ... but you aren't feeling well, so you only order a $5 salad and some water ... and your friends are STARVING !!! as they continue to order filet mignon, lamb chops, lobster tail, sauvignon blanc, Don Perignon, and creme souffle ... and the final bill comes back at $210 !!!! WHY THE F*&K is it "normal" convention to split the bill ?? Why should someone who ordered a $5 salad be EXPECTED to chip in $70 !! ???
WHY is this metaphor ANY DIFFERENT from the roommate convention? What it comes down to is that responsible people pay more money for irresponsible people. Which is fine ... if you are a father or mother. But roommates ?? Yeah. Sorry.
All it is is Distribution. Communism.
I can't believe my way of thinking is criticized and ridiculed.