Hot Water Extra

This evening a note from the condo association was shoved under my door informing me that the hot water pump in the radiator system has gone out -- again -- and there will be no heat tonight. I received a similar note in October and was told then that the pump had been replaced.

This is not the first issue I've had with the plumbing in this building and the condo association. Labor Day weekend I realized that I'd been hearing water running in one of the bathrooms in another unit for about two weeks. It's sort of a high-pitched hum through the pipes. In addition, the woman upstairs had her boyfriend do some repairs in her bathroom which ended up flooding mine, requiring a new paint job. I had several conversations with the management company about this running water over the course of several weeks and was given every explanation imaginable. I then contacted the condo president. He actually said that the water bill had been seven hundred dollars higher, and they wondered why, but had decided to wait to see if the next bill was as out of line. But since I'd called, they would look into it. Again, over the course of several weeks I was given every excuse in the book and every reassurance that the problem would be taken care of. The only reasonable thing I was told was that if there was water running, as in a broken pipe, water would be showing up somewhere, and since it wasn't they assumed the problem wasn't serious. The last I heard, the issue had indeed been isolated to the unit above mine and that repairs were scheduled for December 12th. Of course, I still hear the water running.

I don't do well with these types of situations. First, I don't understand the wait-and-see philosophy, expecially when that approach could lead to major expense. Secondly, when confronted with this attitude in situations that I think clearly call for decisive action, I get crazy and my ability to remain civil is challenged.

It might not be clear from this blog, but I can be quite outspoken. I come from a family who invented a myriad of exciting and subtle techniques of humiliation. Condescension drips from me like a spring rain when I feel like I'm dealing with a moron. I try to take a step back and recognize the growth opportunity for me and the other person in the situation; I try let the positive flow of the universe course through me like a pale golden warm reflection of God's love, but really I just want to spit on the idiot who clearly isn't doing his job properly.

So tomorrow I will call the condo president with three very specific questions:

1) Why wasn't the pump repaired properly the first time?

2) What specifically is being done about the running water in the upstairs unit?

3) What other management companies are we considering to replace the current one?

Now, hopefully, I'll get his voicemail because if I don't have an actual conersation I stand a better chance of having a sparkle in my voice. If I'm force fed another line of BS, I might just rip the phone out of the wall.