Irene's Weblog

So, we finally get the stupid hot water heater and boiler crap fixed on Monday.  I had to lend the guy half my tools to do it because the owners don’t supply anyone with anything to get their jobs done.  I’m quite happy that I can take a nice, long, hot shower on Tuesday morning.  I was also happy that this chapter might finally be able to be closed.

Not so, says my horrible luck.  I go upstairs to go to bed Tuesday night and I hear a dripping noise.  That’s right, folks!  The boiler is leaking water.  We put towels down to drown out the dripping noise so we can actually sleep.  Paul and I both call on Wednesday for help but no one comes.  So, we were forced to put in a bucket to catch the water.

It’s now Thursday morning and messages have been left again.  I don’t suspect anyone will come to take care of the problem since nothing gets done unless you call the main office.  Even then, they do not ever respond to me but respond quickly to Paul.  So, I suspect we’ll have another day with a bucket full of water.

I swear, if I was allowed to kill slum lords, I’d be a hero to millions!

That’s right. The landlord wants me to be a medieval peasant and a be covered in shit. Last night, our heat went out again. Paul and I used every available blanket last night. Pffft, blankets are not for guests in this house!  We’re still waiting for someone to show up and fix the ancient mechanism that produces heat.

This totally puts a damper on everything we had planned today. No haircut for Paul. No showers for Paul or Irene. No dishes getting washed.  I did use the bit of warm water that was left in the taps to get most of the bacon grease off my arm. But that warm water is gone now, replaced by icy, cold water.

Hey, at least I can still brush my teeth! <— silver lining

So, last night, the hot water heater packed it in and stopped working.  The temperature dropped to near freezing overnight and we had to huddle under blankets.
This morning, we had to take cold showers.

I sat at home all day waiting for someone to show.  I called at 11:30am but the phone just rang.  No one ever answered.  Paul gets home and calls at 3:45pm and leaves a message and, again, marks it as urgent.  Then he calls the corporation that owns the townhouses and complains.  They promise that someone will come to look at it.

Wow, another new guy shows up to look at the boiler at 4pm.  I swear these people change handymen like most people change underwear.

And, guess what?  That’s right.  They don’t know what’s wrong but we’re definitely not getting any heat.  The guy leaves and comes back with a bucket.  It must be some kind of magical bucket that makes your house warm.

The best bit is that idiot Sal calling on the walkie-talkie.  He nearly puts the thing in his mouth when he talks and the poor guy working in our townhouse can barely understand what he’s saying.  It really sounds like Sal is speaking with marbles in his mouth.  Of course, all Sal is doing is calling to check up on this guy.  It’s not like the guy can get much work done when Sal keeps interrupting him either.  I’d have to kill Sal or not work where because there’s no way I’d work in a place where someone is constantly looking over my shoulder and checking up on me.

As of 4:55pm the boiler is working but there’s still no hot water and no one seems to know what to do to fix it.

I’m going to get something to eat.

The saga of the bathroom leak continues with no one coming to fix it.  Now, however, there are more holes in the kitchen ceiling and chunks of the ceiling have begun to fall whenever we take a shower.  I doubt this problem is ever going to get fixed.

We also have the problem now of the hot water heater shutting down while we are trying to take a shower.  It’s always splendid to take a freezing, cold shower in December.  It must be good for us, right?

The hot water heater is one that hasn’t been built in at least twenty years.  In the past, we’ve had to call the landlord for help turning it back on.  That means, since today is Sunday and no one is in the office on Monday, we’d have to wait until Tuesday to get hot water again.  Fortunately, the last time the guy came to fix it, he showed Paul what to do.  So, we will have hot water again in about twenty minutes, but Paul’s shower turned cold halfway through because it shut off again.

I wonder if anyone will respond on Tuesday about the leak in the kitchen.  It’s not like this has been happening for a year or is important.  It’s just a little leak and all the apartments have this problem.  No need to get upset over it, right?

I got to wake up this morning to my trashy neighbors and their inability to take their garbage out, AGAIN! They have had three bags of garbage on their porch since Monday. Today, when I went to go out and get the paper, I was greeted with those three bags strewn all over the place. It extends from our apartment all the way to the other end of the building, six apartments away.

These people seriously need to be fined or have their asses kicked. I’m so sick and tired of having to spray for ants and other critters because they are too damned lazy to walk 100 feet to the freaking dumpster. They’re pigs and everyone here is sick and tired of having to clean up after them.

I swear to God I cannot wait until we can move from here. I have never lived in such a disgusting place. Since all the nice people, except for two other couples, have moved away, I’m starting to make plans to get the hell out of here.