Hey, you! I hope you’re having a better day than I am. >:( As you’ve probably guessed from the title, I have a ceiling that’s leaking. Greeeaaattt!!! Et voila … another problem on the list.
It all started last Sunday evening. I was cleaning the kitchen when I looked up and saw paint blisters on my ceiling. Que horror! « What is that? », I told myself while shouting for the husband to come and see. Is it the humidity? Is it from my cooking? What do we do? We decided to wait and see the next day.
Monday was a normal day. I worked and even managed to go back to the gym after a 1-month break. I cooked dinner and we played Monopoly after. I checked the paint blisters and it looked the same. But when I looked up over the kitchen island,nooooo… more paint blisters. But this time there was a crack and water leaking. The floor was wet.
What do we do??? I found myself panicking. Back in the Philippines, I would know what to do, who to talk to. But here in France?! I had no idea! So I called a friend and thank God she picked up her phone! « Go to your neighbors upstairs, tell him to stop his water current », she told me.
Of course, my neighbor was not there. That would have been too easy *insert sarcasm*. In fact, he’s selling the apartment and no one has been living in the apartment. But what’s next is funny. I decided to knock on his neighbor’s door. Turns out it’s the 101 year old grandmother who insists on accompanying me until I get an answer. I tell her I’ll try my downstairs neighbors – we’re friends, they might have a solution. Again, she insists on coming with me. So here I am, holding a 101-year old grandmother’s hand while walking 2 kilometers per hour when all I want to do is race downstairs. LOL.
She tells me how wonderful my daughter is and she enjoys her daily visits. In fact, that afternoon she asked my daughter if the husband and I could come to see her one day to meet. That was quick. Remember people – be careful what you wish for! So we knock at my neighbor’s – no answer. I go back up to my apartment with grandma. Hehe. I panic, what do I do? The downstairs neighbor didn’t open the door, maybe they’ll answer their phone. It’s 10PM, I know it’s late, it’s selfish, but I don’t know what else to do. Please don’t hate me.
Thankfully, they answer and come up. They laugh when they see grandma in my kitchen. This is an exciting night for her, she tells me. Not too exciting for me, I want to say to her. We brainstorm together. All we have is the name of the owner. We don’t want to call the firemen yet. We’re not sure if they’ll come for a problem like this and if they do, they break down doors. So I look up the internet and try to call numbers. One of my neighbor is looking up numbers in his phone while his wife is going from door to door asking our neighbors if they have the number of the owner upstairs. My husband and grandma chat about general stuff. I’m about to give up and lose hope when my savior comes with the number that she got from our neighbor on the 6th floor. Hallelujah!
The owner arrives about 30 minutes later. Turns out, his pipe system is clogged. His apartment is flooded with hmmm … how can I say this … shit water!!!! Yepppp and that’s flowing in my apartment. I did mention that I was having a bad day, right?
Wednesday – damage has spread to Baby Girl’s room now. Joy. The insurance has been contacted. The real estate agency has been contacted too. Thursday – a cleaning professional has come to try to unclog the pipes of the building. It’s a difficult job. People throw everything and anything in their sink and toilet. Paint, oil, rice, plaster?! What are you thinking people!!!!
Friday – the incident report has been signed and sent to the insurance people. All we have to do now is wait. Perhaps new damage will appear, I hope not. I have no idea when the repairs will start. Did I mention that Baby girl is sleeping in our room now? Yep, she is. It’s not too bad, but school is starting in a week. Pffftttt …
Did I mention earlier that I was having a bad day? Make that a bad week!