Better then a gaurd dog!

Also, isn't it illegal for anyone (either landlord or landlord's handymen) to enter your apartment without 24 hours notice?

That's what it's like around here.

You should look into some places in Dallas if you are almost done with school. I'm at UT Dallas, its in Richardson but its like 15 min from North Dallas. I doubt there'll be a shortage of paramedic jobs in the area. North Dallas and Richardson have some pretty cheap apartments too I've looked at a lot of them ;)

Living on the UT Dallas campus wasn't so bad, awful roommates but that's just college, and most of the surrounding area at least sounds better than where you are right now. Just a thought, if you're going back to Waco soon it may not be the best idea to move away but if you're going to take some time off I'd look into it.