Often times I get notices slipped under my front door, telling me that the water in my bathroom or kitchen is going to be turned off on this date or that, for several hours or a whole day so that they can do some work in some apartment above or below me. I stumbled out of bed this morning and into the bathroom, only to remember, when I tried to flush the toilet, that there was no water this morning. The water was still on in the kitchen, so I was able to brush my teeth and make coffee, so I didn’t mind too much. Luckily I had nowhere to be and so spent the morning in my pajamas, doing homework and answering emails.

Around noon, I wandered towards the bathroom, hoping that the water would be back on and I’d be able to take a shower. Before I could check it out, I heard a strange sound coming from my closet. It sounded like there was something in there, trying to get out. Since my closet if pretty full and very narrow, I figured it wouldn’t be a person. I briefly considered the possibility of a small animal leaping out at me before I opened up the folding doors and discovered a stream of water pouring through the ceiling of my closet. I ran for a bucket and some towels and called down to the front desk of my building to let them know that there was a leak someplace.

My beloved Frye boots were saturated, but beyond that and a few damp skirts, there wasn’t any damage. I was a little concerned about the boots, but half an hour later they were dry and there wasn’t a mark on them. God bless that Frye waterproofing.

The source of the leak was the bathroom directly above mine. Someone has gone in there during the time that the water was off and had turned on a faucet. When no water had come out, they had left it in the on position, so that when the building maintence guys turned the water back on, it poured out. Apparently no one was in the apartment at that time, and so had I not noticed the waterfall in my closet, it could have gone on much longer and have been much, much worse.

It’s funny, this near-miss has left me filled joy. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but I’m just so appreciative that something could go so wrong and cause so few problems in the long run. When I had first seen the notice about the water shut-off today I had planned to get up and out before 9 am, so that I wouldn’t have to wait around all day to take a shower. But last night I had a hard time falling asleep, and forgetting that they were turning the water off, I let myself sleep in a bit this morning, cutting off my plan for early escape. So I was here when it happened and caught it fairly quickly. It’s sort of like when my car battery died last summer. It was totally inconvenient, but in the end it all worked out beautifully.