College move in day could have gone so much better. I think we had a disaster move in and I'm not sure how it could have gone much worse. Jake and I started down to DMACC with his essentials. I couldn't believe how much stuff we had when moving Jayden verses Jake. The Campus housing is unique in that it is located on campus, yet it is not a DMACC college housing. This apartment was the only housing that is strictly college students. Jake was moving into an apartment with 3 other boys in a 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom apartment. He had little communication with his roommates and nobody replied as to what they would contribute for the kitchen, appliances, and cleaning items. The night before move in, Jake got a phone call that his roommate from Malaysia had covid. He was to wear mask and gloves in the kitchen and remain in his room during move in. Well, that was the first strike. Jake and I didn't worry too much about that, we didn't wear mask or gloves. Move in had a specific time and specific date. I found this interesting in a large apartment only allowing 4 hours for all students to move in. We arrived 30 minutes early and jumped in line. We were at the front with a dozen in front of us. As time went on the line behind us grew and grew, out the door and down the sidewalk. It was a slow gradual check in process. Wait in order, once your name is called, fill out all kinds of paperwork, pay the rent, then be taken to your room where they unlock the apartment and then your individual room. This process took way too long. They didn't have a good system, didn't have enough help, and had a lot of parents and students waiting(Strike 2). Once Jake's room was opened we looked at a very dirty room with debris on the floor, a gross dirty bathroom and smells(Strike 3). The room was small with a long skinny hall to the window. I was so thankful he had a window. Without one, it would have been like prison. Jake and I were pretty distraught at how dirty it was. We had planned to bring in his stuff, make his bed, and head out. Instead, we had to make a trip to get cleaning supplies. We made our first stop at a thrift store to buy a little vacuum, then went and bought all kinds of cleaning supplies. I washed his floor, walls, and all through the bathroom. Jake kept telling me it smelled in the whole apartment like a nursing home. He decided to explore and discovered a nasty mess. Just down on the opposite side of his apartment, one of his roommates rooms had a sewage backup that spilled out onto the floor all summer long. There was raw sewage all over the floor and it was bad! Apparently his roommate had checked in and opened the door to find the disgust. The door to his room was wide open along with the window which only blew the stench farther into the apartment. So gross! We were both horrified(Strike 4). We decided the apartments had not been checked, cleaned or opened since students moved out last May. We were starting to see how poorly the management was in the place(strike 5). After some serious cleaning of Jake's room, we took a break and had a nice lunch. We like to go to Olive Garden as a special treat. I think Jake was ready to forget college by the end of the day. He had started out excited with much anticipation. He ended the day with disappointment and dread. Not a great way to start his college experience.
Other things we learned shortly after, a homeless man, by way of the window, had been living in one of the rooms all summer and it had to be professionally cleaned also (Strike 6). The entrance to the building door lock was busted allowing anyone into the building (Strike 7). The air conditioning to his apartment was not working and they had a temporary unit blowing air into the living room, it never reached his bedroom (Strike 8). Lastly, the dryer did not work, the solution, they were given a drying rack to hang clothes(Strike 9). Oh my! I do think its good for college kids to have to rough it a little, to have to be responsible for cooking, cleaning, laundry, and taking care of themselves. This however was beyond ok. I had many thoughts of legally getting out of the lease, looking for another place to stay, or even having him live at home. In the end, we knew it could only get better... right?
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