Bathing in Someone Else's Filth

Three or four months ago as Chef and I were starting our cohabitational bliss, we noticed a drop coming from the ceiling in the bathroom. Above our showerhead was an area of ceiling that was moist and soggy to the touch. In fact, after touching it, it gave way to a drop drop drop. Every time the upstairs tenant took a shower, the dripping would begin.

We called maintenance and on several occasions had to answer the question: "Which leak is it again?" because we had a leak in the kitchen from the roof (keep in mind that we are on the bottom floor of a two-story complex).

On two separate occasions, the visit from a maintenance man went like this:

1. Maintenance came out and looked at the bathroom.
2. Maintenance man says "I need to order a part for that."
3. Maintenance man leaves and does not return.
4. Call apartment office and repeat process.

We hadn't noticed the leak for a month. Then again, there was not a person living above us taking a shower for the last month either. We had though asked our condescending bitch of an apartment manager if she would call maintenance to come and repair the moldy ceiling as the last time they were here they claimed to have completed the job. Of course, I was naive enough to believe this despite the fact that I saw no work being done.

So when the dripping was spotted this morning, I was pissed beyond belief. The rental office still had the nightly answering service on at 8:15 a.m., despite opening at 8. And so I left my name, number and problem with the night operator who classified it as an emergency and said that the office would get right to me.

They didn't get to me or even call, so I called back. It literally took 5 phone calls to get maintenance out there to say they have to order a part.

In the mean time, the water that's leaking through the ceiling was confirmed by the maintenance man to be my worst nightmare: the upstairs drain run-off. This is both bad news (uh, GROSS) and good news because now it's not only a county property upkeep violation, but the drain water makes it a health code violation in terms of our county sanitation laws.

Plus I'm getting a baptismal sprinkling of foul neighbor water every time I step in the shower. I love Chef and I wouldn't share his bath water, so I sure as hell don't want some strangers floating ass mater raining down on me.

And I want the apartment manager to pay, as well, for her shitty attitude. I'm thinking of saving my used bath water for the week and loading a supersoaker full of it to spray her with. Maybe I should wait until next week when it would be messier.