I’m new to town and I adore my new apartment, even though I am often awakened by creepy noises in the middle of night. Whether it’s my icemaker releasing a load of ice from its dispenser or the heat kicking in like Freddy Krueger in the boiler room, my charming apartment seems to have a mind of its own.
I have convinced myself the reason I am disturbed by such noises is because my place needs furniture. I truly believe, like kids want candy and adults want careers, homes want to feel like home.
As I prepared myself for another furniture shopping adventure, I discovered a hideous stain embedded on my gray carpet near the fireplace. I suspect when my brother and his wife came to visit two weeks ago (and refused to remove their tennis shoes) he must’ve had some mud or oily concoction on his shoe. Or maybe it was his wife? Who am I kidding? Regardless of who created the stain doesn’t mean I’m going to start acting like some pretentious person, monitoring every visitor’s move or putting plastic protectors on my carpet.
Instead, I’ll put the Resolve carpet stain remover to rest and look for a credible carpet cleaner on Angie’s List. Besides, I could always buy a sofa that would cover the stain. Nah, I’d feel too guilty.
Valerie is an Associate Editor at Angie's List. She enjoys traveling, movies and writing.
Last week, after a year without TV — it wasn’t a protest against modernity, just an attempt to save a bit of money — my husband, John, and I paid to have our cable hooked up, bringing us up to speed with the rest of the civilized world… sort of.
Our fifteen-year-old television is a mockery to modern technology — an obese and awkward ancestor of the new supermodel generation. Continue reading ‘And then there was television…’
Lindsay is the publication assistant for
Angie's List magazine. She has a dog, Clio, whom she found on the street, pregnant, in front of the Blue House. Lindsay loves eating anything homemade, especially salads, and her favorite movie is The Constant Gardener. Coincidence? Her favorite place is the South of France.
All this talk of nosy neighbors has me thinking about safety. I live on the near east side of Indianapolis, a mile from downtown, and while it’s not exactly Crime Alley, it’s not the kind of place I’d recommend you keep your doors open and unlocked all night, either.
There’s a fine line between nosiness and neighborliness. Continue reading ‘A fine line between neighborliness and nosiness’
Paul is senior staff writer at
Angie's List magazine.
His favorite album is Blondie's "Parallel Lines," he's more obsessed with
Doctor Who than any American has a right to be, and his desk at Angie's List is guarded by (toy) robots.
As my apartment-dwelling colleagues Mike and Matthew well know, our house-dwelling co-workers sometimes seem to have the upper hand in many respects. My biggest apartment complaints usually have to do with my neighbors. Continue reading ‘Howdy, neighbor!’
Josh is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. He has two dogs, Simon and Clem, and likes Thai food, Portland, Ore., and riding his motorcycle. For the low price of $1.00 US, he will give you his sincere and succinct opinion about anything.
I’m not the biggest fan of using service companies. That might sound weird coming from an Angie’s List employee, but I prefer to do things myself.
I’d rather be covered in motor oil or paint or bruises than hire someone to do the work for me. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll do it well. My fixes might be farces, but at least they’re my farces.
My desire to do things myself can be attributed to a few reasons. Continue reading ‘My service company sensitivity’
As editorial intern, Mike writes the monthly employee page, edits content and talks to service providers for the Comparative Shopper column in
Angie's List magazine. His favorite place is the Appalachian Trail (except for the areas that have bears, snakes or birds). His favorite album is "London Calling" by the Clash.
Fire is on my mind lately: visions of me waking up wreathed in smoke and flames or more likely, me going to bed and not waking up — ever.
Happy thoughts inspired by the bare wires dangling in my apartment and throughout the building, by the natural gas lines and the dripping water next to the Edison-era breaker boxes.
Water. Electricity. Water. Electricity. I’m not a licensed technician, but something tells me those two shouldn’t go together. Continue reading ‘Smoke signals’
Matthew is the senior editor for local affairs at
Angie’s List magazine. When he’s not at the Blue House, he enjoys reading and writing fiction, playing guitar and riding his bicycle.
My wife and I recently made the decision to move. Actually, we made the decision a long time ago, not long after we moved into our current apartment. While we feel relatively safe in our neighborhood, there have been some things we don’t like about it. Like Mike, we had to deal with a break-in not long after we moved in, and although the damage was relatively minor — enjoy that non-working PlayStation, punks! — anytime someone comes into your home uninvited it’s a little disconcerting. We also returned from our honeymoon to find graffiti scrawled across parts of our building and the others in our complex, although it was quickly cleaned up.
But neither of those things are why we decided to move. Continue reading ‘Movin’ on up?’
Eric is an associate editor for
Angie's List magazine. He has a Cocker Spaniel named Maggie, his favorite food is anything but beets, and he enjoys watching football, being loud and correcting other people's grammatical errors. His favorite album is Johnny Cash's "At Folsom Prison."
Well, my wedding went off without a hitch, and my wife and I enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing honeymoon in a forgotten corner of Florida. We had a terrific time away from our normal hectic life and felt tremendously blessed to not only have each other, but wonderful friends and family that supported us before, during and after our big day.
Then, we came home — and realized that our apartment looked like a tornado hit it. Continue reading ‘Bless This Mess’
Eric is an associate editor for
Angie's List magazine. He has a Cocker Spaniel named Maggie, his favorite food is anything but beets, and he enjoys watching football, being loud and correcting other people's grammatical errors. His favorite album is Johnny Cash's "At Folsom Prison."
I’ve been taking a lot of baths lately. Now, I can already guess what you’re thinking: “I thought ‘Mike’ was a guy’s name?” Continue reading ‘My bathroom is doomed.’
As editorial intern, Mike writes the monthly employee page, edits content and talks to service providers for the Comparative Shopper column in
Angie's List magazine. His favorite place is the Appalachian Trail (except for the areas that have bears, snakes or birds). His favorite album is "London Calling" by the Clash.
I’ve been an Angie’s List member for more than a year, but I just submitted my first two reports a couple of months ago. Because I have an apartment, every time a problem arises, I call the same service provider — the apartment management.
In the year or so I’ve lived there, they’ve fixed a variety of problems, including a leaky faucet, the dishwasher, the heater, and, most recently, the air conditioner. They’ve been reliable, helpful, and trustworthy, fixing all the problems without a hitch. If they were a handyman, I’d give them an “A.” Continue reading ‘Angie’s List for renters’
Liz is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. She enjoys eating chocolate chip ice cream on the beach after swimming. She also likes colder, drearier places like London.
