I got a bad feeling when, after forcing the key in the door, I felt water drops hitting my head and arms.
I could understand if it had rained in the last week, or if the air conditioner were in the front of the building.
Neither is the case.
I thought to myself, "Please don't let there be any water on the floor."
After I finally got the door unlocked, my worst fear was realized.
There she was, my little Zoe, standing at the steps, frightened to death, hoping that one of us was finally coming home.
If only she could talk and had opposable thumbs, I know she would've done everything she could to stop it.
The water that hit my head and arms: from the upstairs toilet, which had a mysterious crack in the tank, that was causing the toilet to continuously run water onto the floor.
Warning: Flip out mode commencing.
First things first: turn off the water behind the commode. Check.
Second: Assess the damage. Bad....very, very bad.
Upstairs bath: flooded.
Master bedroom: Carpet soaked 8 feet into the room.
Stairs: fine...no idea why.
Downstairs: Not so good either.
Bathroom: Flooded 10 feet out into the dining room.
Living room: Carpet soaked 3 feet in from the dining room.
Water soaking through the ceilings...and in some cases seeking like molasses out of the light switches and air vents.
Like I said....very bad.
While our new crisis is peanuts compared to what is going on along the Gulf Coast, it still blows.
Luckily, the apartment maintenence crew showed up pretty quickly, called a great carpet guy, and moved us into a temporary place to keep away from the mess.
We're only staying a few doors down from our apartment, to escape the overpowering stench, loud fans and dehumidifier that will hopefully end with us returning a somewhat recognizable home.
Less than likely...looks like I might be hitting Buffalo Wild Wings for some NFL action tomorrow.
Which brings us to the present: staying in a place 30 feet from my home, waiting for the damage to be fixed.
With that, blogging will be more infrequent until we can hook the computer back up. A small price to pay, but that's the extent of my bitching.
In light of this happening, all I can think about is how much better I have it than so many others in the world. I hope some of you feel the same way.
Stay safe, everyone.