Reason #742: Cleaning Checks (Updated)

Reason #742 why coming back to Utah was a bad idea:

Disease Prevention: hiding behind my bedroom door while taking the picture

Our story so far: In the interests of self-preservation, I went AWOL on my last cleaning check day, firm in my belief that this kind of cleanup should be left to more qualified parties such as the Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization. I decided I would rather pay any fine, monetary and otherwise, than touch our bathroom with a ten-foot pole, let alone get on my hands and knees and separate the empty soda cans from the furry soap, etc. When I came back later in the day, I asked my roomates how we fared. Failed, of course. Everyone failed, except for... me! Since I'd only been living there two weeks, they decided to give me a pass. What is this unprecedented logic and reason? I picked myself up off the floor and retired for the night, my faith in humanity restored.

But there was a little hitch. When the management came back on Tuesday morning I was still in bed trying to sleep off a mild cold (or perhaps I caught tuberculosis from the couch in the living room, I'm not sure which), when my roomate came in and delivers some bad news.

"Sorry to wake you up, but the cleaning lady says you actually did fail the cleaning check. BUT, if you come out and talk to her now, she'll pass you."
"All I have to do is talk to her?" I asked, starting to get out of bed.
"Yes, come out and talk to her, and you'll only get charged $10, otherwise it'll be $20 if she has to come back."

Forget that. It was way too early in the morning to be dealing with extortion threats. "Tell her I'll sort it out with the office later." And I went back to sleep. Well, as it turns out, my roomates talked some sense into her and Al Capone The Cleaning Check Lady decided not to hit me up for any fines. I guess there is some good in the world, after all.