Ode to Frozen Plumbing

What could be better

when you have the flu

than having not one burst pipe...

but TWO!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen! In the past week, I have had the flu AND experienced two burst water pipes in our building. The coincidental timing of these fun situations is nothing short of magical.

The first pipe burst on Sunday, when just about every pipe in Boston was bursting due to the freezing weather of the polar vortex. I woke up (still with a 103-degree fever) to the sound of water trickling down the wall right next to the bed.

"Please just be the neighbor upstairs taking a shower. Please don't be a busted pipe. Please, please, please." I wished to myself.

Then I leaned over the side of the bed, saw dirty water leaking into the room from where the wall meets the floor, and yelled for Crisp to wake up. 

Seriously, in the 5 minutes that it took for Crisp to shut off the water valve, the bedroom was flooded. Thankfully, we have a Shop Vac (random I know, but left over from our past life in the suburbs) and Crisp worked tirelessly to dry out the room. I was also grateful that the burst pipe happened in an apartment upstairs so the plumber didn't need to disturb our apartment very much. 

Our landlord is out of the country this week, so his 20-something-year-old daughter responded to our call about the burst pipe. She is beyond nice and so helpful, and she popped over to check out the damage. Of course, on an early Sunday morning of unexpected plumbing problems, she looked all bright-eyed with nice skin and pretty hair and a delightfully chic yet casual outfit. I did my best to hide under blankets on the couch during her visit, as I looked glassy-eyed with clammy skin and greasy hair and sweatpants on (which I might've had on for two days already). Maybe someday I will achieve the city girl look... Just definitely not on a day that I have the flu.

All was worked out with that pipe situation by that afternoon, and we didn't experience another problem... Until Friday when water started seeping into the living room. This time, after a LOT of investigation on Crisp's part, it turned out that the next-door neighbors had a burst pipe in their apartment and water was seeping through the walls into our living room. It took a bit longer to fix this problem, as we couldn't shut off our water to stop the seepage, but Crisp came to the rescue once again. Other good news with this situation was that, because the water problem was in the living room, I was able to hide in the bedroom with the door shut when the pretty landlord's daughter stopped by again. 

Here's hoping for durable pipes and better health from here on out! (The achievement of an authentic city-chic appearance also would be swell.)

1. Crisp to the rescue (in all sorts of circumstances)

2. Shop Vacs!

3. Learning patience in frustrating moments