Water Leak and Travel John

As it so happens after our morning walk were met at the front door of our condo by the building’s mechanic. He said he found a water leak in the parking garage and traced it up to our unit after searching the tier on this side of the building. We have been having issues with water since a pump mechanism was added to the pipes in the HVAC closet in January. Regardless, having a water leak means shutting off the water until the issue can be addressed. We were not happy. We thought when we moved from Capitol Hill we would finally be rid of these headaches. Since we only have one bathroom that can also potentially create a problem. And when we first moved in five years ago I ordered a potty stool and a Travel John solid waste collection kit - just in case we would ever need it. We already have disposable urinals in the car, but luckily have never had to use them. I also kept two disposable urinals in the house just in case. Because we didn’t know how long the situation would last, the potty chair was set up - just in case we couldn’t wait any longer. But I needed to pee, and this gave me an opportunity to see how one of the items works. Since we aren’t campers or outdoorsy types, these things are foreign to us. I have to say the product worked just like it said and can hold up to 800 cc’s that eventually turns solid, and then gets tossed away. It does help to think ahead, but it sure would be nice to have two bathrooms. But then again, that wouldn’t have helped if the water was turned off. Let’s just hope we get a resolution to the pump problem sooner than later. 

Drip, Drip, Drip - Not a Good Sign

Sometimes I really miss our Midwest home. At least if anything was wrong with it, it was our doing or we felt completely responsible for it. And we had the best handy man around to fix whatever it was. And he was there more often than one would think. But when you live in a shared space with strangers and other people who rent or don’t care about their space, you can feel quite helpless. And so goes the debate about owning a single family or condo unit, or renting all together. Last night my husband was in the kitchen and heard water dripping above his head so naturally we expected it to be coming from the apartment above us. After several phone calls and to make a very long story short, the problem ended up being a toilet overflowing in the apartment not above us, but one over from above us. Of course neither homeowner was home - which is always an issue here - especially on weekends in this town. And of course, these problems always occur on the weekends. In the end the problem was identified and curtailed, but we don’t feel the same about our kitchen. It’s not a pleasant sight to watch water dripping and sloshing from the light fixture and seeing the ceiling turn brown. It will take awhile to get over it. In the meantime, no one can put a price on the psychological distress this situation causes. It wasn’t the first time it has happened and won’t be the last. The sad thing is that it could have been prevented. But what makes it even more upsetting is that the person who lives there probably doesn’t even care - we haven’t heard from anyone yet. And I don’t think that matters wherever you live.