The Story's Last Chapter?

If you live in the Philly area you know it POURED on Saturday. If you don't live in this area but tried to watch the World Series game 3 at 8:30pm you know it was pouring in Philly. Rain was blowing every which way. For hours. Guess what did not make its way into my apartment? That very same rain. It seems the leak has really, actually, officially been fixed.

[insert hallelujah chorus and happy dance here]

The Story Continues.....

Last month I wrote about the leak in my apartment. It has since been 'resolved'. I use that term loosely because it hasn't really rained any significant amount since the day it rained into my apartment.

When that happened, I wrote a letter to the apartment complex letting them know that my leak was very much not fixed as they previously stated. I casually reminded them of the health risks and asked that this be resolved quickly. They did move quickly, I will give them credit for that. However, they had to call a roofer, wait for him to come, wait for his proposal, approve his proposal, wait for the roofer to complete the work and wait for the painter to show up to repaint the wall (a.k.a. paint over the wet spots). All of that took two weeks.

My leak, however, was fixed. Do you know how I know it was fixed? Because the front office has a bill for the work from the roofer. Seriously, that's how the front office told me they know the roof is fixed. It took all I had not to laugh or make some smart alec comment when she told me that.

I still have no idea if there is mold growing behind the wall. The painter did come to paint the wall but you can absolutely still see the water stains through the new paint. Do you know how I know I can still see the stains? Because I can see them. (sorry, couldn't resist)

I do have a bookshelf that has sustained water damage. The entire bottom of the bookshelf is warped. Perhaps another letter to the apartment complex requesting a new bookshelf is in order.

Stay tuned for that.....

Seriously Wrong

It is really, really wrong that there are Christmas decorations for sale in stores already. The Halloween candy is barely on sale and stores are lining their shelves with items for Christmas. It used to be sad when we couldn't get through Thanksgiving without Christmas decorations on sale but this is a bit ridiculous. Pretty soon there just might be Christmas in July. It's seriously wrong people.

One night I was driving home with two friends. One of those friends had left her car at the train station and so we drove there to pick up her car. It was around 11pm. As she got out of my vehicle, I rolled down the window and joked that I’d wait to make sure her car started. We all chuckled, I rolled up the window and her car wouldn’t start. The chuckling stopped.

Being my father’s daughter, I have jumper cables in my trunk. The spot she was parked in was on a slight incline. I suggested she put her car in neutral and see if she could coast backward. I wanted to make room to pull my car up in front of hers. We popped the hoods and I unloaded the cables from the trunk. And I looked at them. I could not remember which car to start with and which anode to attach first. I remembered something about grounding. So my other friend called her husband and he was going to walk us through what to do.

Meanwhile, it had been raining. In our attempt to untangle the cables, two of them hit each other. Oh say can you see. The sparks that flew from those cables put on quite the show. Me, being the rational, sane and non-dramatic woman that I am, started freaking out. Luckily a stronger and braver woman than I pulled them apart. I’m grateful for my friends.

We did manage to hook up my vehicle to hers. We turned on my vehicle, turned on her vehicle and nothing. We tried again. Nothing. We followed ‘the husband’s’ directions but we couldn’t get her car to start. Being the mechanics that we are, we self-diagnosed a faulty starter. Or spark plugs. It was a toss up.

My friend called her insurance company and got a tow truck (or a wrecker for you southerners; that’s a story for another time). It’s now nearly midnight. Obviously no one was there to receive her vehicle. The next morning we drove over to let them know why the car was there and give them the key. What happened there is also a story for another day but suffice it to say, they found nothing wrong with it. The car started for them immediately and every time thereafter. That’s always helpful. It’s like having weeks of bad hair days until the day of your hair appointment or days of feeling horrible but your color returns on the day of the doctor appointment.

She ended up bringing her car to a different mechanic who diagnosed a problem, fixed it and her car has been starting since. Should there be a next time, I won’t let the clamps on the cables touch each other; and if I once again can not remember which vehicle and/or anode to start with, I’ll follow the nice drawing in my owner’s manual.