Intermission: University Housing

Disclaimer: this post is not about food, so feel free to ignore it.

I'd just like to take this opportunity to apologize for the recent lack of posts. Truth be told, I had planned on cooking a lot this spring break, but due to renovation in my kitchen by the university housing administrators (something to do with replacing the pipes), I've been unable to.

For all its upsides, the biggest downside to NYC is the price level. Housing here is notoriously expensive. As a result, university housing is in extremely high demand---they are, after all, relatively cheap and in an excellent location. That said, the exact accommodations vary quite a bit, depending on building. The newer ones are nice, the older ones are, well, run-down.

While I am grateful that I was assigned housing (international students and doctorate students get preference, and I'm both so it probably helped), I cannot shake the frustration that services I've taken for granted while staying elsewhere are completely ignored here. Am I out of line to demand that, after a building hires contractors to do whatever work, they should be required to clean up after themselves? I can understand the need to replace the pipes in my kitchen. What I cannot understand is why, even after the work is supposedly "done", almost every square inch of my kitchen is covered in dirt (from the workers stepping on furniture, the stove, etc.) and plaster dust.

Complaints are often ignored. After all, if you don't like it, you can find another place, right?

Sometimes I really hate being a hobo student. I miss the house I stayed in last summer in Mountain View, CA.

Sorry for the rant.