I’m turning into Scrooge for this Christmas.
There’s no one reason for it either – a lot of little things that add up to me not getting into the “christmas spirit”. Things like christmas ads & decorations that were up before Thanksgiving… busy schedules… no christmas tree… financial problems… and of course, my most recent grumpification factor, the frozen pipes in my apartment.
Last night I got home and there were fire trucks parked outside my house. I found that the landlord had put electric heaters in the (empty) apartment below mine and in the basement to help thaw the pipes. When the pipes thawed, they of course burst – sending water into the apartment on the first floor and into the basement. The fire department had to be called because no one else can get into the passageway that leads to the basement (though it turned out the breaks in the pipes were in the empty apartment under mine).
The fire department turned the water main off to the whole house, leaving us with NO water at all (yesterday morning we at least had water from the kitchen sink). For 6 hours we sat around with no water while the landlord fixed the pipes. I spoke to him during this time (I was not a happy camper, and I may have been a bit… curt… in my speech to him) and kept on top of the situation. Remember that we had NO water for 6 hours – and that means no toilet, either. Yeah.
Finally, around 1:00am the repairs were finished enough that we had running water in all faucets again, and in the toilet & shower. In the end, the pipes has broken in at least 7 places.
This morning, I woke up tired (as you would expect) and went to turn on the shower… but there was not enough water pressure to run the shower!! Lovely!! I looked out the window and the landlord was back again, continuing the repairs. I should’ve just gone back to bed, but I was frustrated and a little bit angry, so I sat around waiting. Eventually he left, so I assumed things were OK – but the water pressure was not really back. In the end I was able to get the shower going by turning it on quickly, while the initial rush of water pressure was still available (normally I let the tub run for a bit until the water is warm). Although the water pressure was low, I was finally able to take a (hot!) shower – and that made me happy. Well, happier, anyways.
So now it’s 9:01 and I have to get to work (late).
The moral of this story is – if you’re wondering why there’s no christmas cheer coming from me, well now you know. So bugger off you… and BAH HUMBUG.
Keithius, I’m sorry to hear about your latest bout of bad landlord-ism and frozen pipes. I can understand why you’d be aggrivated, but in the grand scheme of life, this is small! Rejoice, and be glad that the pipes didn’t burst inside your apartment, thus damaging your valuable personal property! Cheer up, and enjoy the holiday! After all, Christmas comes only once a year….
You know, I can relate to the danger of frozen pipes. My house was built as a lakefront summer cottage, which means that it isn’t insulated very well, and it doesn’t have a basement. The lack of a basement means that the hot and cold water pipes run — uninsulated — through the attic. When the outside temperature is expected to drop to (or below) 15F or so, I let the bathroom and kitchen faucets trickle just a bit of hot and cold water all night. It wastes a few gallons of water over the course of the night, but the trickling action prevents frozen pipes by allowing the water to flow. This suggestion came from my father (who works for a massive retirement community in the Boston area, and deals with situations like this on a daily basis), as well as my own landlord, who’s been very good to me thus far. Try it; I think you’ll be happy with the results.
It’s okay – I’m feeling better now (less frustrated). I just needed to “vent”.
And I would’ve left the water running myself, except that I didn’t know it was going to get THAT cold that night… and the bathroom pipes usually don’t freeze up; it’s usually just the kitchen pipes (which run closer to the outside of the house).