January 20th, 2004:

I can’t honestly say anything about any presidential candidate aside from good ole Dubya, because I haven’t really been paying attention. However, after the Iowa Caucuses last night, Howard Dean has been getting quite a bit of press regarding the end of the speech he gave after coming in 3rd place. Most people think that his speech didn’t sound like something that should come from the mouth of the President of the USA. But I disagree. I think that young energy like this is exactly what our country needs to get into shape. Listen for yourself.

Howard Dean – Iowa Caucuses – Closing Speech – Snippet – mp3 – 103K.

Before I moved into our current apartment, I read the reviews at ApartmentRatings.com. I found a few bad reviews and a few good reviews. Of course, I figured more people will complain than speak of good experiences. Therefore, since the bad reviews weren’t horrible, it’s probably not bad at all. Man was I wrong.

So, even though there are probably others who will read my review and decide that my case is simply an isolated circumstance (which it very well may be), I’ve decided to post my review anyway. Maybe it’ll do some good.

Nerve.com is running a feature entitled All the Real Girls. It features the work of a fashion photographer, D. Brian Nelson, whose work I admire very much. Unfortunately, this feature is available to members only. Do any of my readers have a Nerve.com membership they’d be willing to share, or would any of you be willing to download the text and images of that story and send it to me? I would really appreciate it. I’d like to view the feature but, that alone isn’t worth the $7.50.

Saturday morning, Jess and I took a shower. A little while after wards, I noticed the shower head was still dripping, so I went and made sure it was turned all the way off. Yet, a bit later, I still hear dripping. Then Jess notices the water isn’t coming from our shower head. It’s coming from the ceiling above our shower.

When we first moved in, I noticed a bulge in the ceiling above the shower. We mentioned it on our move-in check-list, but the apartment complex didn’t really seem to care. It was this bulge that was dripping. We complained to the apartment complex and they sent a team to fix it within a few hours.

A man and his side-kick showed up. They cut a hole in the ceiling, pulled out the insulation, and determined the leak was coming from the bathtub in the apartment above us. They went to Home Depot to get the parts to fix it, and Jess and I left for Justin’s party. When we returned, there was a note on the bathroom counter stating that they couldn’t fix the leak and that they would be back tomorrow (Sunday) to finish the job.

Sure enough, on Sunday around noon the leader and a new team mate arrive to repair the leak. I don’t know what they were doing, in there. But it smelled like burnt plastic. After about 3 or 4 hours, they declared that the leak was fixed and that we had to wait a couple days for the sheet-rock to dry before the hole could be repaired. They said that a sheet-rock repair team would be here on Tuesday (Today) to fix the hole.

Jess and I, despite them telling us that the shower was usable, have been using the shower in the second bathroom. There’s just something very unappealing about shower underneath a giant mold infested hole in the ceiling.

Last night, Jess and I are laying in bed watching TV when suddenly it sounds as though the Niagara Falls have been redirected into our bathroom. We both spring from bed to determine what has happened. Sure enough, the people upstairs are taking a shower and I can see the water pouring from the pipes coming directly from their bathtub drain. From this vantage point, I can actually see a large section of the bottom of their tub and I have instant revelation regarding why it is we can always hear everything they are doing upstairs. The ceilings are very thin. I can tell the water is drain water, not only because it is coming from where the drain seems to be, but because it smells like soap and men’s cologne.

So, it looks like the leak isn’t fixed. I’ll call the apartment complex and tell them that there is still more work to do. But, even if they send someone out today, it’ll be at least 2 or 3 more days before the sheet-rock dries enough to have the hole repaired. And, that’s provided they actually fix the leak this time.

I’m no plumber (and I don’t think these guys are either), but it doesn’t seem like it should be that hard to repair. Get a few new pieces of PVC. Cut them to the proper length. Get that super magic purple PVC glue stuff. Pull off the old piping. Put on the new piping. Glue it. Let it dry. That should do it, right?

Have I mentioned how much I hate living here?