well, Liza, you probably know how a lot of this works, but i am going to explain it to some readers who may not be familiar with NYC. i have dealt with renting rooms for years; most of these agencies are not licensed properly, if at all, and therefore, most of them are not monitored. they usually work out of one room rented from another business or out of their own apartments. they survive through artists or lower classes bc we need them to find a place to live and the people renting out the rooms need them, too. most of the renters are immigrants who need help with paying the rent. i cannot afford to pay a broker's fee and the rent on my own apartment or a large security deposit on a normal share situation. these room agents (some of them are fine; just trying to make a buck) will help you bypass all of that. so i don't know if they would have to answer to a housing department about how they run their business bc a housing department may not be the department that needs to be dealing with them. i know that if i rented a place and was in it for thirty days, this woman i rented from couldn't kick me out no matter if it's a legal rental or not.

you know... i feel embarrassed to be a writer at this point. i temp so i don't have the pressure of a full time job so i can try to finish a book contract which gives me no money upfront. i don't have a rich family to help me out and my savings are nil. i own some nice clothes, books, music, pictures of loved ones, and a cat that is currently residing with my parents in Tennessee. that is all my fault, bc of past mistakes and bad decisions, so i am not whining. i am just trying to work my way out of it and at this point, i really don't see how it is possible. i need a few days/YEARS to think it through. right now, i regret being a creative and wish i worked on Wall Street.

but i can also say this: Tony is going to rue the day he met me. i was sued by a landlord once for over $50,000 dollars and i won wo the help of a lawyer. the judge called me an "interesting person". and i know how to make paybacks exceedingly hellish; i just must decide the form it is going to take. as it is now, the woman who i am renting from as given me a bit of an extension on getting my stuff out bc it's the holidays and she gave me such short notice. but Tony has been a fucking asshole and i am not going to let him get away with it. once i find a place to live, he's gonna realize that. i mean, i don't back down. and the same for the woman Margaret who is the first agent I went through and who introduced me to Tony. she's on my Christmas shit list if she doesn't come through. i should know in the next two days (the holiday has slowed down everything).

i still can't believe that Tony really said that on the phone and was not slurring his words. you just don't thnk stupid shit like this happens.