So, I wake up out of a sound sleep to hear water running. It sounds like a steady stream of water would in the shower. My groggy mind wanders through a list of possible causes; I forgot to turn the shower off this morning - no, I have been home all evening, that can’t be it; a burglar broke in and decided a shower would be just the thing; no, too absurd; aha - I bet I know. I must once again I have a water leak because of my upstairs neighbors.
Bingo. Sure enough, there is water leaking - not from the bathroom ceiling, which has happened before, but from the kitchen ceiling vent. During the summer I get a drip or too of water from this vent due to the AC, but the current leak puts me in mind of a racehorse’s piss stream. About the same color, too, although infused with soap bubbles. I think maybe they are draining the tub (I know that doesn’t make much sense considering the water is leaking from the kitchen ceiling, but consider my sleepy state). I figure it’ll stop when they are done with the tub and I will call maintenance in the morning. But it doesn’t stop.
A few minutes pass, I awake fully, and I begin to realize the stream is not diminishing. I run upstairs and pound on the door a few times. There is no answer.
I run back downstairs and leave a message with the emergency maintenance service. By now the water is dripping from the ceiling in the dining and living rooms. This looks serious. Once again I run up and pound on their door; once again there is no answer.
Ten minutes and several full bowls of soapy piss-water later, the maintenance guy gets here. He takes one look at the damage so far and runs upstairs. I hear some noises and notice the water stream diminishing. He comes back down and I let him in. He has a pretty disgusted look on his face. A few seconds of disgruntled sighs then the explanation.
“There was a baby bottle stuck in the disposal, while she was running the dishwasher. The sink was overflowing, and she knew it. She was just laying there. Butt naked!” Despite the unexpected sight of a naked female he seemed quite annoyed.
“I told her to cover herself, then ran in to fix the sink. She knew it was overflowing, and she didn’t do anything! I told her she’ll have to pay for the damages.” Huh. I’m thinking, WTF? Was she high? To lie there and ignore frantic knocking while her sink overflowed? There’s a flood in my kitchen just from the water leaking through the vent and ceiling. I can’t imagine what her kitchen looks like.
So the maintenance guy apologizes, calls me sweetie. I like him for being so nice. I tell him it’s not his fault. He says he’ll be back in the morning to look over the damage.
Bottom line, I’m out several hours sleep, the ceiling plaster/drywall in my dining room is starting to peel off, and I’m just damn cranky about the whole thing. At times like this I can only meditate using my favorite mantra: Stupid people shouldn’t breathe.
On preview, I realized I need to learn to write more succinctly.
