DarrylT

Sunday, February 6, 2011

This post is a long time overdue. I had hoped to post it during the 2nd week of January, but a lingering cold virus kept me both off of work, and bed ridden until now.
On January 2, 2011, I showed you a modest 2 bedroom apartment. The room-mates living there had to (for economic reasons) downsize their living accommodations. What actually happened was two former friends have since parted company. He was trying to help his "friend" get back up on her feet financially by splitting the cost an apartment for 6 months. She promised to pay her fair share of the expenses. For the sake of privacy we'll call him Mike, and her Mildred. In my previous post you saw the apartment. This post will show you how far down he has downsized.

This is the hallway of Mike's new living quarters. It is a room in an older hotel. There is no central heat because the Owner neglected to pay the gas company, and the gas has been turned off. Each tenant/guest has an electric space heater for warmth. There is a "common" restroom and shower that the tenants share.

Mike discovered that his "friend" was a drug addict. Originally she claimed that she had no real family living in the area. She had lived with her brother, but claimed that he was not very responsible financially. Over a 5 month period Mike learned who the financially irresponsible one really was. In that time frame, his friend paid rent on time once. After that she either was late, or didn't have the money at all. So, in an effort to cut his losses, Mike simply notified the landlord of the situation he was facing and moved out. Mildred couldn't (or wouldn't) pay the rent even though she was working the entire 5 month period. He later learned that she was blowing the money away on lottery tickets and marijuana. Today Mike is much happier even though his living accommodations are not what he's used to. The rent is just over two hundred dollars per month cheaper, but you get what you pay for. The obvious reason for the need for cheaper rent is the judgment the previous Landlord acquired against them both for breaching the lease. Mike is currently paying $50 monthly to satisfy the judgment, and it's rumored that Mildred was fired from her job, and now collects $90 weekly in unemployment benefits. The previous Landlord (through a collection agency) is seeking to garnish her benefits. The pictures below are of Mike's room.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

2 Bedroom Apartment

These pictures are all of a modest apartment located in St. Ann, Missouri. It is a 2 bedroom apartment, but only one bedroom is shown here for the sake of the privacy of the occupants. As a photographer, I thought it would be fun to shoot pictures of how most of us still live. And also show how the down economy has forced many, to be creative as they've downsized their living accommodations. The apartment shown here is of brick construction. The floors are carpeted. Their is central heat and air conditioning, and there is an on site laundry room. You can't see the cable TV box, high speed internet modem, or telephone jacks in any of the pictures, but they are there. For most of us these accommodations are "standard". Next week I'll be shooting a rooming house, and showing the creativity of the same occupants who've had to downsize their living area.