The Obligatory

You can thank the fine folks at the Park La Brea Service Department and their gross mishandling of a bad plumbing situation that I've been trying to get fixed for several months now.

Now I'm no plumber, but I'd been noticing signs of a deep water leak somewhere in our walls for months. You know, the subtle signs that you really have to pay attention to see - like paint peeling off walls, cabinets folding in on themselves, and shallow indoor pools located on our kitchen floor.

So after several months of the PLB folks telling me nothing was wrong and I was clearly being hysterical, I managed to get an actual plumber to show up on Tuesday night after water began seeping up through the floor in the kitchen. Up. Through the floor. Amityville Horror style, except without the blood cells.

They came over, and I was finally able to show them that I wasn't just calling because I was lonely. They said they'd have to rip out some walls, and they'd do it the next day. I was down with that. We could get through one morning using minimal water.

So on Wednesday when I got home and saw the exterior of our apartment taken to task, it looked like everything had finally been settled. Crews had left notes saying the leak was in our upstairs bathroom, they'd found it, and taken care of it. Great.

Until I started washing dishes and noticed water coming up through the floor again.

The crew came back that night, realized the leak was in the kitchen, and left.

Next day, the leak appeared to be fixed, and the signs of work were present - ripped apart walls and paint chips all over the kitchen. We could use the sink, but couldn't put anything back in our cupboards until they came and patched up the wall. Which, for some reason, they didn't want to do that day.

The weekend came, and they fixed our cupboards but left our walls stripped of paint. At least the drains were working, and no leaks had sprung.

Today, I opened the cupboard beneath our sink to take out our recycling, and the bottom of the paper bag fell out. Because it was wet. Upon further inspection, a large plastic bowl underneath the sink, where we stored brushes, scrubbers, and another ephemera, was completely filled with water.

Now, I'm guessing the people reading this have as little experience in modern apartment building plumbing as I do. But take a look at this picture and see if you can figure out where our leak might be coming from:



Any guesses?



For the record, we currently have no leaks. But our walls are still inexplicably stripped of paint.

So I dont really know you, but just wanted to say I am very jealous that you saw Eddie Izzard, I love your drawings they crack me up, and it sounds like you've had lots of water fun at your apartment (I'm not so jealous about that part)! :)