stress | my zen city

you know when it rains it pours. it’s pouring on east 52nd street today even though it’s 79 degrees and sunny outside.

i’m ~~getting~~ trying to get my apartment ready for a visitor who is arriving tomorrow for one week. the rain began last night when i attempted to connect a digital converter to the tv so that my guest can watch at least the basic channels. no can do.

ivan has developed a leak. a big leak. he is 98 in people years and i guess these things happen – but still . . . i have ordered doggie diapers with money i don’t have, and should receive the diapers on saturday. in the mean time, i have throw rugs on top of blankets covering every square inch of floor space to protect the rugs and flooring. all of these rugs and blankets need to be washed everyday at $7.00 per load.

then the dishwasher overflowed and flooded the entire kitchen. there was so much water, i had to use my bath towels to stop it from running out into the living room. since i now have massive amounts of laundry to do, i took the shower curtain & liner down and threw it in the laundry bag along with all of the pee soaked floor rugs.

upon returning home from my early walk with ivan, there was an irate tenant in the lobby who looked me right in the eyes and yelled, “i hate this building!” when i asked what was going on, she replied, “i have a huge meeting at work today and the water is coming out black. i can’t shower and i have to go out and look for a place to brush my teeth!”

it is now 12:49 in the afternoon and i have not yet brushed my teeth, showered or begun the 5 loads of laundry i have contained in a hefty bag, growing mildew, in my living room. i cannot clean the bathroom or the kitchen until i have clean water.

“hi, welcome to my dirty apartment. i hope you won’t need to shower this week because the shower curtain and bath towels are in that bag over there. cooking and television will not be available options during your stay either. please come in . . . .”