California Nightmare
I was waiting for my California dream, but actually it was more like a nightmare!
By the way, everything is fine now and I can finally enjoy the place, but my first days here were really tough. I flew to San Francisco 10 days ago. When I arrived here I went straigth to the hotel that I booked from home. The only criteria I used to book the hotel were 1) being more or less in the centre, so I could move around easily 2) have an internet connection, to search ads to find a room, look at the maps… but the internet connection (well advertised on the website) was not working. 
So, after some attemps by the hotel staff to fix the problem without results, I called “hotels.com” asking them to change my reservation. It takes so long to solve the problem that at 10p.m. (7a.m. in Italy) I was still on the phone. I was so tired for the jet lag that I could barely answer to their requests (they asked me my ZIP code and I couldn’t remember it!). At the end they changed the reservation, so the day after I moved in a new hotel, not very nice, but still in the center and with the internet connection working. So I started searching for a room, but with few results the first day. The day after I visited a couple of places and another couple the next day. I finally decided for the second house I’ve seen: new, with new furniture, a nice room and enough convenient for the work. When the landlady showed me the room she said that another girl was still in there, but she was expected to move out in the next days. In the meanwhile, I could have used her room, and she could have moved out to her parent’s place for some days. I said it was fine for me. “Do you mind if I leave my stuff in the room?”, “Of course not”.
So I moved in, I paid her the first monthly rent, but since my card didn’t allow me to withdraw more money on the same day, we agreed that I will have paid the deposit the day after. The landlady (Taiwanese) was so kind, even to much. She insisted to bring me at the supermarket, she borrowed me her phone since I hadn’t an American sim card… It was kind of weird, so I finally asked her: “Your are helping me a lot! Why?” “It’s because you have just arrived and you are here by yourself. When I arrived here, I was alone too, and it was really hard, so now I’m very kind with people”. Yes, it could be…
She was also a bit freak out with the cleaning: no shoes in the house, please clean the wheels of your suitcases, be careful when you close the door, … but basically, the house was really new, so I could understand she was worried about damaging things, and I did what she asked. But in the evening she came up with this brilliant idea: maybe you could avoid to give me your deposit and I could divide the room with you until the other girl moves out. mmmmmm, I didn’t want to, but she had been so nice with me all the day… what should I say?? so I asked: “for how long?” “I don’t know, because she hasn’t give me the 30 days notice, yet.” It could be 30 days, or more! So I said that I was sorry, but I prefered to have my own room and some privacy. She said it was not a problem, but she didn’t move out and started sleeping on the couch. In the meanwhile she was yelling with the other girl all the day and she finally obtained the 30 days notice. I realized she was obsessed with everything! If you use the microwave please remove the grill, when you wash your hands please dry the excess of water, do not wear this plastic slippers, please clean these grain of salts you left on the stove, please use only the first two plates on the stove, please do not exit with the bike from the front door… oh my gosh! she was so annoying, but I though that it was only for two months, so I just did what she asked. sometimes I asked her “why?” when she came out with some stupid rules and I just tried to make some points (what is the problem if I wear plastic slippers instead of fabric ones?). But she kept repeating the same things. I suppose she was particularly upset because I decided not to share the room, but basically I think she is really paranoic. So, last Monday (5 days ago) I received an email saying that I had to leave the house by the following Friday! What??? I was so angry! I came back home and we had a bad discussion (quite proud of me by the way… since I argued in English!). I said that it was not my fault if she decided not to move out and she was sleeping on the couch. But she said that I had to move out because things were not working. What things??? I did everything she asked me!! And since she could not find any real problem she said that “you are not happy when I say you what you have to do”. Sure I was not happy and I could not understand her stupid rules, but I kept doing what she asked and I said that it didn’t seem a good reason to push me out. She also said that I paid her the deposit late. what?? I paid it a day later and she agreed… I finally said that she could not force me to move out since we had signed a contract and I didn’t want to find another place for a month and half! But her new step was to start making my life impossible. She kept sending me emails and writing notes, with another set of stupid rules like: 1) “Clean up your kitchen surrounding after use, especially the kitchen stove and kitchen sink. Please keep kitchen floor away from wet (plea see dry your hands) before leaving kitchen. Water drops could result in carpet discoloring/stain.” Water drops could result in carpet discloring/stain??? or “Be cautious when placing plate or cooking pot ( both hot & cold pot ) on the kitchen marble counter top. ALWAYS use table cloth or wooden mat underneath the pot. Hot pot should always be in the left side of kitchen sink. Be easy when placing cups and plates on the marble counter top, use table cloth and cup coaster before placing cups/plates on top of counter top. I found some damages on the counter top”. What the hell is wrong in putting the pots in ther right side of the sink?? and which damage should I had caused by posing a plate on the couter top??
So I put all my efforts in finding another place, and finally I succeded, but it was really a hard time. I could hardly sleep, I was so nervous and worried… at work my productivity dropped down miserably, but after some searching and many replies like “we rent for at least three/six/twelve months” I finally found a place. Quite nice actually, more than the other one! And with a nice landlady, till now at least! I’m so glad this story is over but it was really a bad situation! But now things can only be better, isn’t it? 
Even if I’m still waiting to have my deposit back…