And I thought Comcast was bad...

10/10/11

Well, today wasn’t so great either.  We once again had a little flood in our bathroom.  This time, Sara was running the washing machine and when she checked on it, she realized that our floor was sopping wet.  I suggested that she go downstairs and ask Matt and Tim for help again.  Fortunately, Matt arrived just in time.  The hose that drained the washing machine was loose, probably because we were fiddling around with the pipes and hoses trying to fix our other leak on Saturday.  Right as Matt walked in, the hose completely popped off, and water came gushing out!  Matt had the soundness of mind to grab the hose and hold it over the toilet until the washing machine had drained completely.  Otherwise, our entire apartment might have flooded.  It was a lot of water!

Once the washing machine drained, Matt managed to reattach and secure the hose.  I did laundry tonight without any problems, so all is FINALLY well with Megan and Sara’s water.  (Knock on wood)

I think by the time I’ve lived here for 10 months, I may know enough to become a plumber. (Hahaha)  We are learning very quickly how to take care of maintenance issues ourselves, since there isn’t a maintenance man in the building.  Or maybe there is, but we don’t understand enough to figure out how to call and get help.  I am so glad we have a Bosnian friend from the orchestra (Admir) living downstairs, so if something ever goes REALLY wrong, we can get help through him.  It’s tiring to live an hour’s commute from the National Theater, but I think it’s worth it to be living nearby so many of our friends and colleagues.

Beside the flooding problems, we had more problems today with getting internet in our apartments.  The internet company actually came this time, but the paperwork was incorrect, so they couldn’t install anything.  I am trying not to get frustrated, but I couldn’t help getting a little teary about the prospect of going another week or two without a reliable way to communicate with Ross on a daily basis. 

Sara cooked a really delicious pasta sauce for dinner, with tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, and onion.  Having a tasty, filling meal accompanied by some good wine (from Mostar!) really cheered me up this evening.  I am so lucky to have a roommate that not only puts up with me while I’m grumpy, but also hangs out with me until I feel better.  We both told long, nostalgic stories, reminiscing about Northwestern.  It made me miss home but, oddly, comforted me at the same time.

Our break is coming to an end, and we have a rehearsal early tomorrow morning.   I can’t wait to “go back to work”, since being busy makes the time fly by.  And that means that before I know it, I will be in Italy!