The Tub

After increasingly frustrated and frustrating attempts at getting the slow drain on the tub fixed, I finally got them to at least attempt to do something.

****************

"We've had problems with this one before, come in here and I'll show you." The manager's husband, the same man that told me when I moved in that he didn't mind me using his internet, just that I shouldn't connect to his network, said to me in a pompous and superior fashion the instant he walked through the door.

"If you can show me some trick that makes the water go down the little hole, great, but I don't think that's gonna work."

"Sure it will, see, this plunger is off kilter and you have to... nngh... get it squirreled around and.... gah.... make sure it's really all the way up." He turned the water on to the merest trickle.

"Well, yeah, that much water would flow through a nervous frog's ass."

So he turned it up, and let it run for a few moments, long enough to get some water in the bottom of the tub, then shut it off and turned to stare at me triumphantly.

I was watching the water. If it drained, I was fully prepared to eat crow, and take a celebratory shower.

When I didn't start apologizing, he turned in confusion to the tub. Standing water.

"Hmm. Well I have to meet a guy in the office, I'll be back in a few with some tools and pull the plunger completely out."

"Okiedokie then, I'm leaving at about two thirty, so make it before then."

"Oh, this will only take me a couple of minutes."

Fast forward to a little later.

*Knock Knock*

"Let's get this thing fixed." He held up... a screw driver.

Ok, I can buy that, after all you have to remove a screw to get the cover for the drain plug off. But he didn't have any other tools.

Fast forward again, because this time, I just sat in the living room eating my lunch instead of watching him pretend to know what he was doing. Suffice to say there was a lot of turn the water on, turn the water off, clank clank, turn the water on.

"I just got a call I have to take care of something else, but I'll be back in a few minutes, ok?"

"Sure, whatever."

*Knock Knock*

"I'm back, and I brought backup!" This time he's carrying the cutest imitation of a pipe snake that I've ever seen, and has another tenant with him. His "backup" is large enough that I wonder if he'll even fit in my itty bitty bathroom.

"Uh huh."

Another trip out, lots of scraping and grunting and water running later, they emerged from my bathroom, looking sweaty.

"I've done all I can, we're gonna have to call someone."

"Figured as much. Just let me know when they're going to be here. I'll be gone all day Friday."

"Oh, they probably won't be able to get here until next week, can you hang in that long, kiddo?"

I could feel the urge to kill rising, but I beat it back with the sure knowledge that I didn't have anywhere handy to stash the body.

"That tub has been slow since I moved in. It improved slightly when they came in and cut the tree roots out of the pipes, but has gotten steadily worse. Now I have a choice of shaving my legs or washing my hair when I shower, because I don't have time for both before the tub overflows. I've told your wife about this problem before, and she always swore that she'd get something done as soon as possible. That's why this month's rent envelope had 'Tub. Won't Drain. Fix It.' written on the section provided for complaints. I've been 'hanging in there' with this problem for nearly seven months now. A week is not a problem, as long as it gets fixed."

"Well, kiddo, I'll call today and see what I can do."

"Fantastic. And stop calling me kiddo."

That's the point where I shut the door.

******************************

So maybe, just maybe, they'll get the damn drain fixed.

If not, then they'll miss next month's rent, and I'll start looking for a different place.

*Whimper*

Since I'm feeling lazy this morning (and am not really sure how to gank the video from LD) I'm going to link over to him here.

Go, watch the vid, then come back here.

Got it? Good. Now I can continue.

Want one, need one, gotta have one! Momma needs a new toy.

Seriously, who wouldn't want a full-auto that folds up and sticks in a back pocket?!?

I think I had a gungasm while I was watching that vid, a small one cause he was in a crowded room and didn't actually shoot it. If he'd shot it I probably would have been licking my screen.