annals of apartment life

12/1

They painted the hallways yesterday, and the smell drifted in here and it stank all evening. I wish they'd cut out the cosmetic stuff and fix the things around here that actually need fixing. One of the elevators has been broken since February. In September, with much fanfare, they announced they were finally going to fix it. They rolled a couple hydraulic oil barrels into the hallway and left them there for weeks. Then the firefighters coming for the monthly false fire alarm yelled at management for having literal barrels of oil in the hallway, so they moved them out (although they kept the one in the lobby which I guess the firefighters didn't notice). Nothing else has changed.

The boilers in this building are also crappy. At random intervals we just get ice-cold water coming out of the taps all evening. I had to microwave water so I could wash the pan and the pot so I could make dinner tonight. Showering was out of the question. Glad I'm working from home.

12/2

To balance things out, I'll make a list of some things that are great about this place.

• When the boilers are working, the hot water comes on immediately, like in a hotel; you don't have to wait for it to warm up. Also the hot water is really hot. Perfect for washing dishes.
• The construction is really sturdy. No creaking floorboards; great for indoor walking. This is really noticeable in contrast to my parents' house, where everything creaks.
• Neighbors are chill about noise. I hear them partying and blaring music and I'm like, have fun dudes. Likewise I can chat and laugh with my friends late into the night and nobody gives me flak about it. Contrast with newbie's apartment that is apparently made of balsa wood. His neighbors are constantly lodging noise complaints against him for having normal conversations with friends that are audible through the walls.
• Balcony! we <3 balcony

12/3

Finally went down to the office to ask about the status of our two-months-old maintenance request. Apparently, the maintenance guys took the request out of the system for no reason. So the office reinstated the request. Hopefully it will actually get done now.

12/4

Woke up this morning and the tap water was yellowish. wtf? Because of our broken kitchen light, I drank some of it before realizing.

Around midday, we had an episode of low water pressure. Then the water pressure came back, but the water is ice-cold, but it's back to its normal color. I guess there are worse things than cold water.