I'm heading home to my large apartment building when I notice a lot of the residence (mostly college students) milling around outside.  I ask them what's going on and they tell me the landlord's having some work done and won't let anyone in.  Everyone's irritated but no one dares venture inside.  I head in and start up the stairs.  The stairs & banisters are wet with white paint and I quickly but carefully make it up to my floor (5th or 8th).  I enter my apartment and see my landlord (a middle aged Chinese guy with long hair & a beard) installing tiny cameras inside my unit.  I'm so stunned I almost don't say anything to him.  Finally, I speak up, "I'm not really comfortable with you putting cameras inside my place."  As I voice my concern, he stops and looks at me with a look of condescension.  He tells me it's for security reasons and I tell him he can put as many cameras as he wants to outside the unit.  "I don't need you seeing me in my underwear in my own apartment.  What if I have (I want to say wife but I'm hiding this & other facts from him) a woman over?  What if I'm drunk?  I don't need you seeing me picking my nose and playing tetris - which is what you'll see most nights."

There's a moment of awkward silence and I wait for his response.  I've just signed the lease and I'm afraid of the deal falling through.  He extends his hand and gives me an inscrutable smile and says, "Okay."  I shake his hand and nervously ask, "Wait, is that Okay, I'll remove the camera or Okay, it's a deal breaker?"  He tells me it's a deal breaker and starts to leave.  I go after him, "Fine, leave them.  These are the only two, right?"  He nods and walks out the door.  I open it and ask him, "You're done?"  He's already in the elevator and heading down.

I immediately start plotting ways to fool the cameras.  I need to call my roommates AJ & Isaac Rugg.  I head out into the lobby and see a few young teens and their fathers looking over leases & signing.  I walk by to see what they're paying but don't get a good enough look.  I also want to tell them to get out of their leases but don't.  I head to the window to see if I can see where the landlord went.  I get my phone out to see if Isaac & AJ will meet me for dinner to discuss ways to fool the cameras.