If you live in an apartment complex in any story but the top and your sink backs up without you using it politely ask the neighbors above you to not use their sink. There is a clog down the line from you and whenever water is ran down the drain, it will stop at the clog and rise up until it finds the nearest opening. Water will always find the path of least resistance.
Last holiday season I got a call the night we were to go to my parent's to celebrate birthdays when I got a call from a tenant who had just returned home from a two-week vacation. Dirty water had filled their double sink, fell over the counter, and ran 6 feet away from the cabinets, across the tile to the carpeted living room and hallway. Oh, and if that wasn't enough, it had filled a kitchen cabinet drawer or two.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
From the Journal of a Maintenance Technician- Shout Out
So, instead of complaining or ranting, I thought I'd post a shout out. People in professions like mine want to be in your place just as long as you want us to be there. Although there are some aspects and some jobs I really do enjoy doing, I don't want to be in your place very long. Get in, do the job, get out. Whatever the tenant can do to expedite that is fantastic, even though most of the time it's just staying out of the way. On to the shout out. Last week I had to investigate a leak under a kitchen sink. I walk in, lo and behold everything had been cleared out from under the sink so I had full access! To top it off, the tenant came home and apologized for the mess! Great job tenants on Park Blvd!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
From the Journal of a Maintenance Technician: Common Decency
I'm all for being naked in your own place, but please close your door and blinds; not many want to see what you have.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
From the Journal of a Maintenance Technician: General Irk
Please do not lock the door after I come into your apartment. It kind of scares me; it should scare you, too. Why would you lock someone, that you may not know very well, in your apartment. Why would you create that extra thing for me to do while I am trying to fix something?
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
From the Journal of a Maintenance Technician: Environment
Came across a letter today addressed to our office. I do not know any of the situation, just found the letter humorous.
This couple were woken up one night, in the wee hours of the morning to what sounded like a vehicle driving through, underneath their apartment. They soon discovered that their residence was on top of a two car garage. Had they known this before they moved in, they would not have rented the place. They are now seeking some sort of compensation for their troubles, move to another unit, or ?
Again I know nothing of the situation, but my two cents 1) We would never rent a place and not tell the prospective renter they would be above a two car garage. 2) Why would you not check out the building you might be renting and the surrounding areas?
This couple were woken up one night, in the wee hours of the morning to what sounded like a vehicle driving through, underneath their apartment. They soon discovered that their residence was on top of a two car garage. Had they known this before they moved in, they would not have rented the place. They are now seeking some sort of compensation for their troubles, move to another unit, or ?
Again I know nothing of the situation, but my two cents 1) We would never rent a place and not tell the prospective renter they would be above a two car garage. 2) Why would you not check out the building you might be renting and the surrounding areas?
Friday, March 16, 2012
Ready Change
There is one thing that I carry on my person whenever I leave the apartment and when I use it, I always get complimented on it. I use it a lot, so, a lot of compliments.
My dad gave it to me years ago while I had been living with him and my step-mom for a couple years after high school. I remember when he did, we were at a job site and he had it with the rest of his change in his door handle. Nothing special about the event, he thought I'd like to have it, so he gave it to me. I don't remember if he ever told me where he got it from. Internet searched have come up empty for another one, or anything about its manufacturer.
I'd venture to say that most people don't have a designated place for their change and for those that do, probably don't have a super easy way to retrieve an exact amount. With Ready Change, you can.
I have a lot of mixed feelings about my dad, but the one thing that I think of when I receive those compliments is how resourceful he was. As a remodeler/roofer/handyman he was always able to perform the task with what he had. About a month ago, my brother and I went through his work truck to clean it out to sell. My word, that man had a lot of tools, both store bought and Macgyvered. But he got the job done with what he had.
My dad gave it to me years ago while I had been living with him and my step-mom for a couple years after high school. I remember when he did, we were at a job site and he had it with the rest of his change in his door handle. Nothing special about the event, he thought I'd like to have it, so he gave it to me. I don't remember if he ever told me where he got it from. Internet searched have come up empty for another one, or anything about its manufacturer.
I'd venture to say that most people don't have a designated place for their change and for those that do, probably don't have a super easy way to retrieve an exact amount. With Ready Change, you can.
I have a lot of mixed feelings about my dad, but the one thing that I think of when I receive those compliments is how resourceful he was. As a remodeler/roofer/handyman he was always able to perform the task with what he had. About a month ago, my brother and I went through his work truck to clean it out to sell. My word, that man had a lot of tools, both store bought and Macgyvered. But he got the job done with what he had.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
From Day 6: Travel Day
We woke up yesterday morning with the intention of getting ready, rolling out our luggage and grabbing breakfast from somewhere at the airport because our flight was some time after 9am. Well, that changed. We got a call from Pat saying that he got an email from the airlines stating that our flight had gotten cancelled. A few minutes later we found out that they changed our flight and now we wouldn't be departing until 11:30am, and the layover changed from Chicago to Dallas. So, needless to say, we had breakfast at the hotel breakfast restaurant. I ordered French toast and a side of bacon. It was good, nothing special about it, except that it was overpriced. The waitress was a bit scatterbrained, but she did let us get Jude whatever he wanted from the breakfast buffet, so that was nice. Nichole had ordered banana pancakes, knowing that they'd in no way compare to those from the Grasshopper Cafe. After a few bites she had this puzzled look on her face and stated: "These pancakes taste like they're sourdough." I had a bite, and sure enough, sourdough. So that was weird.
Well, we finished breakfast and headed back to the hotel to collect our stuff. I forgot to mention something funny that Jude did last night. He was on the bed playing with Nichole's phone, sat up and said "Pad pad," which is how he says iPad. So we told him that Papa has it and that he might be able to see it tomorrow. Well, being the cute kid that he is, he leapt off the bed, stood in the middle of the room and declared "Papa, Papa! Pad pad!" Then he went to the hotel room phone, picked it up, said hello, muttered something, then bye. Nichole texted her parents this and they let him use it that night.
After getting a bit turned around at Logan International Airport, and going through security, we found our gate and waited until it was time to board. In the meantime, I took up our last chance to partake of the yumminess of Dunkin Donuts by getting some coffee, and donuts for later. Time to board, fortunately the three of us were able to retain seats that were next to each other. The ride was fine, longer than I expected (I forgot mid-flight that we were going to Dallas and not Chicago). Jude got a bit restless right before the descent for landing but was then ok.
Our layover in Dallas was only and hour so we barely had enough time to use the restroom, see about getting seats together (when we found out about the flight change, Nichole and Jude's seats were not assigned yet) and grab lunch from Subway. Nichole was not able to get three seats in the same row, her and Jude got in a two seat section right behind first class, so Jude had a good window and Nichole had plenty of leg room. I had an aisle seat about four rows back, so I was able to see them and grab anything from my bag that they needed with ease. I was able to finish the book I started on the trip, Into the Wild. I enjoyed it, thought it was good and gave it 3 stars on http://www.goodreads.com. I do want to see movie that Sean Penn adapted from the book.
We landed about 5, San Diego time, grabbed our luggage while Pat got his explorer and headed back to their house where our car was. After spending a few minutes visiting with Gummy, and getting Jude an apple, we made our way home. Henry was hanging our with Stephanie (her and Andrew took care of him and our cat, Winston, while we were away). I unloaded the car and Stephanie invited us over for dinner.
It was really nice coming home and being with Henry and Winston. Of course, there was a lot more that I would like to have done, i.e. walk the Freedom Trail, go to Haverhill (where my maternal grandfather was from), go to a Red Sox game at Fenway, walk around the city more, go to the Boston Brewing Co. (where Samuel Adams is brewed), but I'm glad we did what we did, for the most part. I do miss Boston already though. I don't know exactly what it was, but I felt very comfortable there. It would take a couple of years to get acclomated to the wintery weather, but I'm pretty sure I could live there.
I really enjoyed spending time with Pat's family, I only wish there was more time to get to know them better. Being on vacation with family away from everyone's home makes it difficult for this to happen. Perhaps if we make it out to upstate New York (Greg's family) or to Burke, Virginia (the rest of the family) or if they came out to San Diego sometime, there would be a better chance for this.
All in all, I had a great time with all the families, being with Nichole and Jude all day for 6 days in a row, eating delicious food and drinking yummy beers (that all gained me 3 pounds), experiencing such a historical city that was so critical to the foundation and formation of our country, being a spectator at the the Boston marathon, and getting away from work for a week.
Well, we finished breakfast and headed back to the hotel to collect our stuff. I forgot to mention something funny that Jude did last night. He was on the bed playing with Nichole's phone, sat up and said "Pad pad," which is how he says iPad. So we told him that Papa has it and that he might be able to see it tomorrow. Well, being the cute kid that he is, he leapt off the bed, stood in the middle of the room and declared "Papa, Papa! Pad pad!" Then he went to the hotel room phone, picked it up, said hello, muttered something, then bye. Nichole texted her parents this and they let him use it that night.
After getting a bit turned around at Logan International Airport, and going through security, we found our gate and waited until it was time to board. In the meantime, I took up our last chance to partake of the yumminess of Dunkin Donuts by getting some coffee, and donuts for later. Time to board, fortunately the three of us were able to retain seats that were next to each other. The ride was fine, longer than I expected (I forgot mid-flight that we were going to Dallas and not Chicago). Jude got a bit restless right before the descent for landing but was then ok.
Our layover in Dallas was only and hour so we barely had enough time to use the restroom, see about getting seats together (when we found out about the flight change, Nichole and Jude's seats were not assigned yet) and grab lunch from Subway. Nichole was not able to get three seats in the same row, her and Jude got in a two seat section right behind first class, so Jude had a good window and Nichole had plenty of leg room. I had an aisle seat about four rows back, so I was able to see them and grab anything from my bag that they needed with ease. I was able to finish the book I started on the trip, Into the Wild. I enjoyed it, thought it was good and gave it 3 stars on http://www.goodreads.com. I do want to see movie that Sean Penn adapted from the book.
We landed about 5, San Diego time, grabbed our luggage while Pat got his explorer and headed back to their house where our car was. After spending a few minutes visiting with Gummy, and getting Jude an apple, we made our way home. Henry was hanging our with Stephanie (her and Andrew took care of him and our cat, Winston, while we were away). I unloaded the car and Stephanie invited us over for dinner.
It was really nice coming home and being with Henry and Winston. Of course, there was a lot more that I would like to have done, i.e. walk the Freedom Trail, go to Haverhill (where my maternal grandfather was from), go to a Red Sox game at Fenway, walk around the city more, go to the Boston Brewing Co. (where Samuel Adams is brewed), but I'm glad we did what we did, for the most part. I do miss Boston already though. I don't know exactly what it was, but I felt very comfortable there. It would take a couple of years to get acclomated to the wintery weather, but I'm pretty sure I could live there.
I really enjoyed spending time with Pat's family, I only wish there was more time to get to know them better. Being on vacation with family away from everyone's home makes it difficult for this to happen. Perhaps if we make it out to upstate New York (Greg's family) or to Burke, Virginia (the rest of the family) or if they came out to San Diego sometime, there would be a better chance for this.
All in all, I had a great time with all the families, being with Nichole and Jude all day for 6 days in a row, eating delicious food and drinking yummy beers (that all gained me 3 pounds), experiencing such a historical city that was so critical to the foundation and formation of our country, being a spectator at the the Boston marathon, and getting away from work for a week.
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