Carpet.

I finished work the other day at the usual time of around 5:00, ran some errands in town and came back home. As I was approaching the house I noticed that all of the lights were on in the house downstairs, something that never happens. As I approached the door I noticed that some of the furniture appeared to be displaced from its normal position, and there was my roommate down on the floor scraping away at the hard wood. HARDWOOD? When I left for work that morning, the floor was carpeted, it was a very interesting looking carpet, somewhat old, a little bit tacky with flowers all over, stained after years of use and also belonging to his grandmother. (we live at his grandmother's house, she is away through the week and is home only on weekends and holidays)

He says he did it because he tripped over a tear in the carpet and took out his frustrations with the carpet ON the carpet. I shouldn't complain as he didn't take it out on me. Anyway, either way it didn't matter the reason behind it, the carpet was gone as in no longer on the floor but instead crumpled in a ball and wrapped in plastic in the basement. My roommate laughed a little to himself as I entered the room and looked up at me with a sheepish grin and exclaimed 'I tore up the carpet'. 'I can see that' was the only appropriate response I could utter and followed with the only appropriate question I could think of "What is your grandmother going to think". We both shared a laugh and in shock I proceeded to assist my friend finish his crime so as to not have as many issues with making it presentable.

Conversations during the process revolved mostly around what urged him to do this, and what his grandmother's reaction might be my roommate suggested that his grandmother would either really like it or she may just not notice that it's gone. I tended more to think she would probably not like it at all.

It turns out I was right.

The next day: after the crime was committed and the body discarded of I proceeded about my day. I headed back into work, took some calls and my lunch break at 1:30. I am off to the local grocery store and purchase my usual club wrap or possibly an egg salad sandwich when I encounter his cousin who works at the check out, so I share with her the tales of my roommate's adventures, not thinking anything of it.

Things get around fast in a small town. Minutes later my roommate receives a call from his grandmother and she is livid and crying and calling my roommate any conceivable name in the book (save for ones that are vulgar). After a few tears and some phone calls my roommate convinces his grandmother that it looks good and she'll have to see it before deciding if she wants to kill him or not. He heads out to the store and purchases an area rug (am I the only one who finds this somewhat ironic?) covers up some of the scratches on the floor and to add a bit of coziness to the room.

In the end, it appears as though she likes it. I'm going to try to convince him to tackle the wall paper next.