HELP! Housing in the Boston area?

[mijan]

Okay, this is probably the biggest crap-shoot I've ever taken, but I figured, why not? 

I did procure housing in the Boston area, so if I can't find anything else, at least I won't be out on the streets.  HOWEVER, as you can probably guess, it's hellishly espensive... and I'm miserably poor right now.  So, here's my desperate cry for help:

If you live within commuting distance of Boston, do you have a spare room that I could rent at a reasonable price?

I am reliable, generally quiet at home (spend way too much time writing fanfic or reading), willing to do chores, share cooking, and generally help out around the house or apartment.  I don't need much space, don't play loud music (I don't even own a CD player), and don't watch much TV.  Ask anyone on my friends list who met me at TWH... I'm friendly, upbeat, energetic, and sometimes too honest.  If you have space, or you know someone who does, please let me know.  Either post here, or e-mail me at jedi_mijan@yahoo.com.

Thanks,
M

Comments

[slytherinrules8.livejournal.com]

Hello. I'm from L&L.

*cough* Yes, this was all done in the name of inter-ship unity. It's good for Potter fans, in general, to get along. It's important for us to understand that shipping is for fun, and that being at the throats of opposing shippers is a bad thing. Visiting other ship threads, reading fanfics for other ships, and so on, are all good things. However, there's a line between being friendly, and... well... let me make an analogy:
What happens when two real ships, moving in opposite directions, collide? If you need a hint, please read a history of the fine vessel, Titanic. In short:
Visiting each other's threads = good.
Merging threads of mutually exclusive ships (one of which squicks me) = bad.
It's just my opinion, but I've been around for a while, and I'm pulling rank.

All right, as the ranking L&L admin-type poster, it is my duty to come and say some things.

First off, Titanic was sunk by an iceberg. Not a ship. Seen the movie? Did they change it to a ship? Because that's what we like to call "historically I-N-A-C-C-U-R-A-T-E".

Secondly, "pulling rank" is the most immature thing I have ever heard. My father was a ranking military official for 30 years and I only ever saw him do that once. A good leader doesn't need to "pull rank". It's a very large sign of insecurity in your position. Obviously everyone else thought a merged thread was the best idea and they outvoted you. Get over it!

Thirdly, being captain of your ship (which is what I heard, please correct me if I'm wrong) does not entail that you carry the commanding vote of your ship! It's just a title and you have no control over the majority vote. Even being an oldbie--which, you might've noticed, a great deal of the L&L posters are, myself included--does not entail that.

So if you feel like posting on L&H again please keep your opinions to yourself. No one--I repeat no one, not even your fellow shippers--want to hear you bitch.

Good night.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Darling, I was making the analogy of what happens when a ship crashes, be it with a fucking iceburg, or another vessel. Typically, most sailors have the common sense not to run one ship into another ship in the first place, so I don't know too many well-known examples of such idiocy. Hence, I picked the iceburg example, because it was the next closest thing.

Second, I'm CURRENTLY a military officer, and I know damned well what pulling rank means, and I've never done it in real life. My subordinates respect me, thus, I've never had to. So get off your "my daddy was a military big-shot" high horse. He's not the only one.

As for my position on the G'n'H, if you knew a damnrd thing about our ship's history, you'll know that on the G'n'H, it was a VOTED position, along with two other positions, and there ARE some set responsibilities and accepted authorities for that role. As a matter of fact, the nominations AND voting were unanimous. Obviously, there was a reason I was voted in. But with you not being a shipper, and the current contingent of H/D shippers knowing very little about their own ship's history, some things have been forgotten.

And actually... most of my shipmates, who were not necessarily the ones who decided on the merged thread, were very happy to see that opinion posted. A small group of people decided the vote for the merged thread, shortly after having effectively driven off a large number of long-time posters on the G'n'H, just a few threads prior, while I happened to be away for a bit over a week doing some job hunting, apartment, hunting, and even some military business. Those long-time shippers have approached me recently about the problem, and asked me to do something about it, as Captain. They didn't like being effectively shunned on the ship they'd been sailing for so long, or being insulted off-thread, and wanted to come back. They saw the merged ship, and were upset. If we'd had our own thread to work on, I'd be able to address the other problems in a proper manner, but as things are right now, I can't, can I? I'm currently between a rock and hard place, being asked by a rather large and upset group of shippers why they've been given the cold shoulder from a new group of shippers, why the threads were merged, and generally what the hell is going on, while on the other side, I have this "inter-ship unity" thing that actually seems to be doing more harm than good.

So, forgive me for my rather abrupt opinion and my slightly off-centered analogy, but you don't know the whole story either. Regardless, my post has been edited. I hope this placates your little brood. That's what you came for, isn't it?

However, this needs to be said: As "the ranking L&L admin-type poster", it would be your place to come to my LJ and bitch if you were on the L&L thread. But you're not. You're on a merged thread, and you're going tete-a-tete with your equivalent from the other ship. So, hats off to you. You found my LJ and decided to prove EXACTLY why this thread was a bad idea in the first place. Inter-ship unity... have you ever heard the phrase "good fences make good neighbours"? The phrase has a strong basis in fact.

Good night, yourself.

[sandi-wandi.livejournal.com]

Hi there...I would personally like to say sorry if we, the L&Lers, have offended you or your GnH oldbies, because I know we have. *points up*

We never wanted this thing (ship war) to happen...all we wanted was a fun thread which was a new experience. Is it so hard to ask for just one thread? We wanted to show the others that it's not that hard for intership unity to happen...and yes, you said your opinion, but it was still out-voted. If the other shippers who didn't like it, shared their opinions and actually voted on the poll, then maybe we could have avoided it. It just sucks that people have to bitch about it in the middle of the thread...where everyone can see.

Again, I'm sorry. Can we just have a truce?

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Sandi, first, yes we can certainly have a truce. But I think I need to explain... our frustrations have been severely misdirected. I'm actually not irritated at the L&L people at all. I'm irritated at my own shippers. There's stuff going on that isn't apparent on the merged thread, that began several threads ago, and that's still going on in the background. What you're seeing is vented frustration on the surface. There were some things going on with our own ship... people who had been posting for ages had been shunned by the newer group, people were treated like dirt, and all the things that the G'n'H had avoided for ages have been happening. For almost two years, we hadn't had lines between oldbies and newbies. People came together on the ship and got along. In the past few threads, things have gone sour. I can't exactly pin it down, but it's just happened... and this merged thread came about at the exact wrong time. It's not your fault, or any of your ship-mates faults. I understand that you're trying to do a good thing here. None of my anger is actually directed at you guys. I don't like the D/Hr pairing, but that doesn't mean that I dislike you guys as people, and that's never been the case. There are a lot of things going on right now, and I simply let my frustrations get the better of me.

So, from my end, I apologize for expressing my problems inappropriately, and I'm more than happy to have a truce. Hopefully, I'll get my problems with my own shippers solved soon. I don't have the energy for conflict anymore, nor the taste for it.

[sandi-wandi.livejournal.com]

Sandi, first, yes we can certainly have a truce.

:)

I'm actually not irritated at the L&L people at all.

yeah I do get that...

There were some things going on with our own ship... people who had been posting for ages had been shunned by the newer group, people were treated like dirt, and all the things that the G'n'H had avoided for ages have been happening.

Really? wow...that's major. And your captain...that must be hard. Good luck and keep it up.

I don't have the energy for conflict anymore, nor the taste for it.

likewise. And again, I'm sorry for what happened. I hope that someday we can all look past this and just be friends. :) *offers hand*

[mijan.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Yeah. While being "Captain" is technically just a title, on the G'n'H, it was a voted position, and it actually does carry leadership weight. So do the positions of First Mate and First Lieutenant. But my first mate has been completely driven away, and the Lieutenant hasn't been posting in recent threads either. I'm left with seeing the ship I love having some major problems... you can see why I'm a bit upset.

And don't worry about apologizing... as I said, this is not your fault, and I was never actually angry at you or your shippers. I'M sorry that you might have thought I was angry at you. I'm just frustrated with the situation. And we can certainly be friends. I'm a friendly sort of person... and usually very upbeat. You just... er... caught me at a bad time. Hopefully, things will be back to normal soon. *shakes hands*

[slytherinrules8.livejournal.com]

I am terribly sorry if I came off sounding like I was pulling rank or something.

However, this needs to be said: As "the ranking L&L admin-type poster", it would be your place to come to my LJ and bitch if you were on the L&L thread. But you're not. You're on a merged thread, and you're going tete-a-tete with your equivalent from the other ship. So, hats off to you. You found my LJ and decided to prove EXACTLY why this thread was a bad idea in the first place. Inter-ship unity... have you ever heard the phrase "good fences make good neighbours"? The phrase has a strong basis in fact.

I'm certain that I couldn't bitch on the L&L thread due to the off-topicness and also due to the fact that the majority ruled that we should have done the combined thread. Did we make you go post on L&H? No. All we really wanted was one joint thread--that's almost finished--and then go back to our old threads.

And if you were offended by my mentioning my father, I apologise for that, too. He was not "one of the big dogs" or whatever, but people listened to him because he gives good advice and I was pissed off that you came onto the thread and said you were pulling rank. I've cooled off, and I'm sure you have too.

I'm currently between a rock and hard place, being asked by a rather large and upset group of shippers why they've been given the cold shoulder from a new group of shippers, why the threads were merged, and generally what the hell is going on, while on the other side, I have this "inter-ship unity" thing that actually seems to be doing more harm than good.

Well, I'm sorry that you've got this trouble. We never intended to cause any sort of bad feeling between your shippers and our captain isn't around anymore so we've learned to function without her. And the whole "ranking L&L admin type" means that I'm really the only one around nowadays who starts something new on the ship (with the exception of sandi).

So now that I've come and told you I was wrong for coming on your journal and saying this--I should have owled you if I was going to say anything, just one more quesiton. What branch of the military are you in? Not to turn it into an arguement or anything. Just curious. I would hate to start a ship war, so we can put the fences back up once the thread is over.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I'm in the Army. Five years now. And lately, I've been dealing with the shattered remnants of what was once my life, trying to piece things back together. I've been far more stressed than usual lately.

Just one quick note:
would be your place to come to my LJ and bitch if you were on the L&L thread.
I guess I wasn't quite clear. What that meant was that if I were to come to the L&L regular thread and start problems, then you would be completely justified in coming to my LJ or otherwise contacting me and giving me a piece of your mind. But this being a merged thread... well... all of our usual structures are gone, and nobody is actually "in charge", even symbolically. Anyway, doesn't matter.

I know it's *just* a ship, but lately, my ship and my pairing have been my little escape from reality. Like a hobby to keep me from going completely insane. I like to log on, read what other people have posted, enjoy the humour and the discussion, say something or maybe write a skit myself, and then go away happy. For the past several weeks, there's been somthing "not quite right" on the ship. The feeling was off, people who had been there for ages had stopped posting, and a small group of shippers had somehow steered the ship off on a new course. Because I was so busy running around with all my real-life issues, I didn't have time to dig into it and try to fix the problem. In the past, I've picked up and fixed a lot of minor issues on the ship, steered it back to better waters, inspired events to get our little community to interact and be more active, and it's been good. Lately, something was missing. And then, I go away for two days, and the voting for the thread is over, half my shippers are upset and IM'ing me and saying they either want to come back and don't feel like they can, or they never want to post again, and I'm not sure what to do next.

If I hadn't been pulled into such a heavy discussion with a bunch of very upset shippers on MSN... shippers I've known for ages... I probably would have left the thread alone for the remainder of its running. But, pressures being what they were, and then seeing even more people (not the ones who had already talked to me) coming and posting because they were confused, upset, and angry... my irritation got the better of me.

I actually don't blame the L&L people at all. *If* I were to lay any blame, I'd blame myself for not being around and not being able to mediate like I have in the past, and I'd blame my own shippers for acting before they thought things out. These are problems within our own ship right now, things that have only come about recently, and I've been brainstorming for ways to make things better. Either that, or I could simply exit stage left over to the LJ community, and leave SCUSA alone.

[slytherinrules8.livejournal.com]

I'm in the Army. Five years now. And lately, I've been dealing with the shattered remnants of what was once my life, trying to piece things back together. I've been far more stressed than usual lately.

Ah. My dad retired from 30 years in the Corps 30 June. Twas fun, being a Marine Corps brat. I shall miss it.

I guess I wasn't quite clear. What that meant was that if I were to come to the L&L regular thread and start problems, then you would be completely justified in coming to my LJ or otherwise contacting me and giving me a piece of your mind. But this being a merged thread... well... all of our usual structures are gone, and nobody is actually "in charge", even symbolically. Anyway, doesn't matter.

Ah, okay. I was thinking maybe we should all put aside whatever qualms we had (I'm not particularly fond of H/D but I do adore the shippers--much more friendly that certain other ships I could name) to do this, and maybe just agree not to do another merged thread or something. Sorry about the LJ thing--like I said before, I should've owled you so that this wasn't a huge to-do or whatever.

my irritation got the better of me.

Cheers to both of us, then.

I'd blame myself for not being around and not being able to mediate like I have in the past

I wouldn't do that; people are responsible for what they do and only that. You can't control other people's tiffs and their actions. It's their call, really. Heh, that's something my parents told me when I'd complain about other people. "You can't control everyone else, you can just control you. And d'you think you did a good job of that?"

Anyway, cheers. Have a good week and enjoy seeing GoF wherever you're going!

[sandi-wandi.livejournal.com]

okay just had to reply to this...(cant keep my nose out of things)


In the past, I've picked up and fixed a lot of minor issues on the ship, steered it back to better waters, inspired events to get our little community to interact and be more active, and it's been good.

hey! That's what we've been doing too...because sometimes, when you don't take charge, your ship just tends to...drift away. We don't have a captain, but a small group of L&Lers who have been loyal to the ship see to the problems. I myself am not an oldbie, as I've just joined last June of 2005, but I think it's the influence not the time that matters. A question though, is it better if there was a captain?

Because I was so busy running around with all my real-life issues, I didn't have time to dig into it and try to fix the problem.

hey...you have a life aside from SCUSA. People should respect that.

*If* I were to lay any blame, I'd blame myself for not being around and not being able to mediate like I have in the past,

No, don't blame yourself. It was their choice not yours. Like Meg said, you can't control others, only yourself. They did that because of who they are, not because you couldn't stop them.

Just...hang on. You'll get through...seems to me you're a pretty strong captain.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

To answer your question, having a Captain can be a good thing. For a while, we had a Captain who just wasn't around. So, a bunch of shippers decided to stage a mutiny, and they nominated and voted in new people. I didn't get involved in the nominations or voting, mostly because I was the unanimous nominee for Captain, and it would have been very awkward for me to get involved. I told them that whatever they all decided, I'd be fine with that. So, the voting was also unanimous, and as a result, we ended up with a very cohesive, happy, energetic, and active ship. There were only a few times that I needed to take the wheel and steer, and that usually came about when it was obvious that the ship was floundering. And then, people reacted very positively to the touch of guidance, and things were fixed very quickly and easily. Much love on the ship.

So, having a Captain is good, if the person is the obvious leadership figure. If two people are equally leaders, you can call for co-captains. Having titles is both fun, AND it's the sort of thing that if you have the right leaders, people will come together even more tightly around those leaders if there's a sense of "officialness" to it. Sounds silly, but it's true.

Anyhow, stuff to do right now, but I'll be around, and I'll look into the thread later.