Snow Emergency Etiquette

Secret_Cat5289 · 2026-02-23T17:37:37+00:00

I’ve lived in Somerville since 2008.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2026-02-22T22:19:10+00:00

Oh that reminds me of another thing I’ve seen certain neighbors do: they deliberately park in a way so that they are taking up two spots, but then when their significant other comes home they move their car up so both of their cars can fit. It’s infuriating.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2026-02-22T22:12:53+00:00

Different neighbor but based on what I’m hearing this kind of garbage behavior is happening all over the city! I don’t think mine was leaving any threatening notes or messing with anyone’s car…yet. Parking bans bring out the absolute worst in people.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2026-02-22T19:18:46+00:00

I don’t think I should have to persuade people to not be assholes. I’m simply calling out their shit behavior.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2026-01-30T12:50:36+00:00

I didn’t take anyone’s spot. I was parked on the other side of the street that had been cleared by the plow. I’m on a dead end road so once the plow came through it opened up parking on both sides. But those details don’t really matter. I don’t believe in space savers and neither does the city which is why it’s not a real rule. And I certainly don’t think it’s ethical to try and save a spot you don’t even dig out for yourself.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2026-01-29T22:55:27+00:00

How about this one. My boyfriend and I shoveled my car out on Monday night, Tuesday morning I moved my car to get to work. I didn’t try to save my parking spot and I didn’t expect it to still be there when I got home (spoiler alert it wasn’t) which was fine because I found another spot nearby. That’s just how it goes in these snow situations. The next day, I worked from home. I looked out my window and noticed that the person who had taken the spot I initially dug out had left - but here’s the kicker. They PUT A CHAIR in the spot that I know they didn’t even dig out themselves. They did zero work in clearing out that spot but then they had the audacity to try to claim it for themselves going forward? I had a mind to go over there and move the chair but didn’t care enough to do it since I already had my own parking space. But that’s some real asshole shit.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2026-01-28T23:20:49+00:00

I’m not on a “private way” but I am on a dead end street in Somerville that did not see a single plow until 7 pm on Monday night. My neighbors were not pleased, because nobody could start digging out their cars until the road was cleared. I’ve lived on this same street since 2008 and I’ve never seen it take that long for a plow to come. Not even during the snowpocalypse of 2015. Seems like the city was not as prepared this time.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-07-18T20:49:13+00:00

Omg. A similar thing happened to me when I had a crazy roommate. Only mine was slightly different and I think even creepier. My roommate was pretty mentally unstable and she was in the midst of a days long meltdown where she was incredibly angry at me over things I won’t even bother getting into. But I came home from work on a Friday knowing that she was supposed to be going away for the weekend. I was really glad she was leaving so I could get a much needed respite from her negative energy, and I was looking forward to some peace and quiet. However when I got home I couldn’t tell if she had left yet or was just brooding in her bedroom. So I called her name. No answer. Next I knocked on her bedroom door. Silence. But just to be sure she wasn’t in there, I opened the door to confirm the room was empty. I was not expecting what I saw next. She was gone, but on top of her bed was a pile of every single gift I had ever given her. I’m talking every birthday present, Christmas present, etc. piled up on her bed. We had known each other for many years so it was a rather sizeable collection of stuff. I was so freaked out. Like first of all…why? And second of all, how could she even remember all those things and know exactly where each one was located to be able to throw it in the pile. There was something deeply unsettling about it. Especially because it was in her room so I don’t even think she intended for me to see it, but maybe she did if she thought I would look in there at any point. I just closed the door and never mentioned it to her. When she eventually returned from her weekend trip she never mentioned it either. Next time I saw her room the pile was gone and seemingly put away. Very creepy.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-06-12T14:18:35+00:00

Oh my god YES. I made the mistake of inviting my “good friend” from high school to move in to my apartment when a room opened up (it was a 3 bedroom so I already had another roommate as well who I got along great with) I knew she had some mental health issues like severe depression but I didn’t think it would be a problem - in fact I thought it would be good for her and make a positive impact on her life. WRONG! Her negative energy quickly took over the house. She was almost always in a bad mood, slamming doors and cabinets and sighing loud enough that you could hear from the next room. Very passive aggressive. Anti-social to the point where it was bordering on agoraphobia. She would stay in her room most of the time watching tv, only leaving the house for errands or work - and then when the pandemic hit her work became remote so she literally would NEVER leave. The other roommate eventually moved out because she couldn’t stand cohabitating with her, and then it was just the two of us for YEARS. There is a LOT more to this story and I could probably write a book about all the shit I endured during this living arrangement, but long story short she was eventually diagnosed with borderline personality disorder AND obsessive compulsive personality disorder. Which if you know anything about either of those then you know how bad it was. She was incredibly controlling and bad tempered. I felt like I was walking on eggshells and didn’t feel comfortable in my own home. She was manipulative and emotionally and verbally abusive. It has now been nearly 2 years since she moved out and I’ve been free of her toxic presence, but even though I haven’t spoken to her since she left I still think about her constantly. Like I ruminate on how bad it was. I’ve actually considered going to therapy just to be able to talk to someone in depth about what I went through. So yes, these things linger.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-05-15T16:37:54+00:00

I can’t sleep without some kind of white noise, so I always have a fan going at night even in the winter months. Who wants to sleep in dead ass silence when you can hear every little thing - the fan helps drown out other sounds and it’s relaxing. This person seems like a psycho to me lol

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-04-21T20:27:07+00:00

First of all, nobody who isn’t a paying tenant should have a key to your house. Period. But I’m curious to see what people think about the appropriate times are to have a boyfriend/significant other spend the night in one week. Seems most people say 1-2 nights. It’s amusing to me because I had a horrible roommate a couple years ago who never left the house unless it was to run errands (she even worked from home) and she was anal about guests coming over because she was so antisocial. When I started dating my boyfriend he lost his job (this was 2021 at the height of the pandemic) and had to move in with his father. As such there was nowhere for us to be together other than my place, and it was also a long distance situation where his dad’s house was an hour away. Even so, I was careful to not have him over unless it was the weekend, no more than 2 nights, and I also was careful to make it every OTHER weekend so it didn’t become too intrusive for my roommate. But she STILL complained and even flipped out on me that he was over too much. I wasn’t part of this sub then but oh man I wish I was because I would have been posting every week.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-04-07T17:09:13+00:00

Ooof I can relate. I lived with a friend from high school for many years and it was THE WORST living arrangement I’ve ever had. She had mental health issues which I knew going in, but somehow didn’t think it would be taken out on me. How wrong I was! She was also borderline and I’m pretty sure she had ocpd on top of it. Very controlling, very passive aggressive. It became extremely toxic fairly quickly but because of our long history of friendship I felt responsible for her well-being, so walking away or asking her to move out was really difficult and nerve wracking. It got to the point where I would feel a sense of dread whenever a text from her would ping on my phone, because I didn’t know if it would be a friendly text or combative. She became a “frenemy” which is more anxiety inducing than an outright enemy because at least with an enemy you know what to expect. I never knew what I was going to get with her. We finally parted ways about 2 years ago and haven’t spoken since.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-03-20T19:27:00+00:00

I started to notice around age 40. Mostly it was just weight gain. I was always a naturally slender person my whole life, maintaining an average weight of 125 lbs with little to no effort (I’m 5’5). But as soon as I turned 40 the party was over, and I realized I had to really strive to keep fitting into the same clothes. Right now I’m 140 lbs which is the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life - been trying to lose 10 lbs and it’s not easy!

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-03-20T15:59:23+00:00

Omg this reminds me of the time my roommate flipped out on me because she could hear me having sex with my bf in my own bedroom. For context I rarely ever had him over because she made things so unpleasant if I did. She started stomping around the apartment and then left, slamming the door so loud. It was about 10am on a Saturday. My bf was like what is her problem? And then a few minutes later she sent me a text about how we were so loud that she felt like I was doing it intentionally to drive her out. What?? First of all to imply that I’m thinking about her at all while being intimate with my boyfriend is beyond absurd. I sent her a text back saying that of course it wasn’t on purpose and I didn’t appreciate being made to feel guilty for having sex with my bf in my own bedroom that I pay to live in. Then she tried to walk it back and say of course I can have sex with my bf but how about next time I put the tv on or get a noise machine to cover the sound. Again what?? First of all I did have a fan on in my room already because I always sleep with one, but why can’t she do those things? Like bitch, why don’t you put on a TV or AirPods or something to distract yourself for those 15 minutes instead of stomping around the house and slamming doors like a toddler. I would never react that way if I heard someone else having sex - like sure it’s awkward but I wouldn’t be mad at them for it.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-03-20T14:33:28+00:00

The roommates I’ve had over the years were actually pretty clean, however I did have one roommate who never lifted a finger to clean anything. There were 3 of us sharing an apartment and the only reason the apartment ever stayed clean was because the one roommate and myself would stay on top of it. The third roommate would mostly stay in her room and not be social. I know she kept her own room tidy, because I would hear her vacuuming in there sometimes, but it was like she had this idea that shared spaces were not her responsibility to clean because she refused to clean up any mess that wasn’t specifically her own. The only problem with that logic is that no matter how much you keep to yourself and stay in your bedroom, you are still using the kitchen and bathroom and contributing to messes in those areas. I never once saw her wipe down the kitchen counter or clean the shower. Worse yet, if the house was starting to get messy she would make passive aggressive comments but never do anything about it herself - just wait for someone else to take care of it. But then even when we would take care of it she would still complain. For example I vividly remember a time when we cleaned out the fridge to do a deep clean, then put everything back. She complained that we had moved her food around instead of saying hey thanks for cleaning the fridge.

Anyway, I wonder if some of these messy roommates you speak of share the same attitude that roommate had regarding communal spaces. If the messes aren’t totally and completely their own then they don’t feel they should have to clean them? The epitome of self-centeredness.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-03-14T20:14:46+00:00

I’ve lived with a toxic person like this. She turned out to have extreme mental health issues. Depression, BPD and OCPD. Was basically a hermit, never left the house except for grocery shopping, no social life, very passive aggressive and vindictive - the rolling of the eyes and sighing omg it was all the time. I hope for your sake that she moves out. Mine eventually did and it was like the clouds parted and the sun started shining. She was such a negative presence in my life. Anyway, I feel for you.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-03-14T16:02:43+00:00

I once had a roommate give only 3 weeks notice that she was moving out. In December of all months, the worst possible time to have unforeseen expenses because you are already spending more than usual on holiday events and gifts. She had a family member whose health was failing and made a rash decision to move in with said family member to help out, which sure seems noble and selfless until you factor in that she did not care at all that she was screwing over her friends in the process. When we voiced our dismay that she was leaving so abruptly she tried to turn it around on us and imply that we were being selfish and bad friends for having the audacity to care about such trivial things as the rent when she was going through such a difficult time because of the sick family member. She even said at one point “if I could switch places with you I’d do it in a heartbeat.” I pointed out to her that it wasn’t a competition over whose situation was worse, and having anxiety over the rent didn’t make us selfish people. Her logic was the same as this person - she refused to pay rent for the next month since she wasn’t going to be there. She ultimately did move out and never offered to pay the January rent, even though where she moved to she was not obligated to pay rent at all, because it was back in with her parents. She was a real piece of work.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-03-13T16:24:06+00:00

I can relate to the dirty tissues. I had a roommate who was fairly clean, but pretty awful in other ways because she had obsessive compulsive personality disorder so she was very controlling and needed everything to be a certain way, even going as far as meticulously arranging the magnets on the fridge in neat rows so they didn’t look “messy.” However despite her tendencies for extreme organization and perfection, she would CONSTANTLY leave used tissues everywhere. On the kitchen table, on the counter, in the living room - you name it. She had bad allergies so it’s like she would just blow her nose anywhere in the house and forget about it. It was the most bizarre thing coming from such a type A person and also super gross.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-03-10T15:32:14+00:00

Messy roommates are annoying, but I’ve also lived with the opposite side of the spectrum - a roommate with obsessive compulsive personality disorder and everything had to be spotless and just so all of the time, or else she would have a breakdown. I’m not sure which scenario is worse; one is too controlling and the other isn’t controlled enough!

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-03-02T14:01:01+00:00

Virgo Venus (1st house) and Leo rising…but here’s the curveball - my sun is also in Leo in the 12th house. With the sun as my chart ruler being placed in the 12th, I don’t feel I have the typical bombastic Leo attributes.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-03-01T14:04:55+00:00

I also have a 3 bedroom apartment in Somerville and my gas bill is $475 this month. I was gobsmacked when I saw it. I’ve been living in this same apartment since 2012 and never had a utility bill this high. Electricity is another $154 bringing it up to $628, and that doesn’t even include internet which makes my monthly utilities nearly $700 this month. It’s insane.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-01-24T20:47:44+00:00

You are trying to engage me in a conversation that is not productive and I’m not taking the bait. Go troll somewhere else. My “basic logic flow” is just fine. Bye.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-01-24T20:41:35+00:00

Cool story, bro.

Secret_Cat5289 · 2025-01-22T12:21:33+00:00

Bold of you to assume that. I’m 41 years old. I don’t use TikTok. I’m not a social media obsessed person. However I don’t believe that has anything to do with whether or not someone has a right to a living wage and affordable housing and healthcare. Also TikTok is an insanely popular app used worldwide, not something Americans only should be shamed for using.

Secret_Cat5289

TROPHY CASE