q6.w5

Week five marks the middle of term, meaning midterms are on the horizon. Actually I am not even sure if B officially has any midterm exams.

This morning started off very badly. I was up a little after 6am to use the loo, and much to my horror the commode decided to overflow. I stood there shocked as I watched the water rise above the rim, and yelped "help" from the green bath mat which was my little oasis in the flooding bathroom.

Thankfully B heard me and brought me a roll of paper towels, which I used most of to sop up the mess. He also went down to report the problem only to be told that the maintenance crew hadn't arrived yet, and our problem would just be added to the queue. Lovely.

It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to realize that plumbing issues can easily and quickly domino into a much larger problem. Before you know it there can be several people reporting the same problem. In fact, I don't know that we were the first, given that I couldn't detect any reason for the overflow.

Thankfully someone did show up a couple of hours later. It took two minutes with a snake, and the problem was fixed. Truly though the management gets more crazy every day.

I was talking to a couple of the older residents that live in the building while I was up in the laundry room. One reported that she moved into a renovated unit back in March only to learn recently that they never set up the shower. She had been taking baths, but felt like a shower might be good for a change. She turned it on, and nothing came out. She was appalled to learn the workers don't have a checklist that they go through before giving the green light for a tenant to move in.

She also reported that they have started painting her hallways. The color will be beige. The doors and the carpeting will also be the same dark beige that they put in the renovated units. She thinks they must have gotten a good deal on the paint, and bought it by the vat.

I also learned this weekend that when a group of first year students went to talk to the management about lease renewal they were essentially told they should move out, unless they could fork over several hundred dollars more per month. Also anyone in a pre-renovated unit would essentially be forced out. Nice way to treat a group of people that makes up a large share of the building residents.

It's sad, because the location is ideal for students. The Metra stops literally under the building, and it is also very easy to hop on any El line to get just about anywhere in the city. Still, I suspect now that South Loop is entering its next phase of development there will be more students living there. With several new buildings just completed, I am sure someone will be willing to work a deal.

Now I just wish I knew where we were headed.

currently reading :: You Are No Stranger Here by Adam Haslett