Friday, September 14, 2012

The Day the Pipes Burst, or Why We Are Now Considering Renter's Insurance

So to draw on my last post quickly, I'll just say that the 5k was fun, even though our group really didn't stick together much once the race started. And Matt had to pee the entire 3+ miles. But we made it and had enough time to eat lunch at Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery in Columbus Circle and then make a quick stop at Whole Foods and then a nap.

My diet has been substantially better than it was in weeks past; I'm trying really hard to remember that what I eat goes directly to my hips. Although I'm eating better and staying hydrated, I've still been having some pretty abnormal stomach issues. Am going to ride it out for a little while to see how I feel in a week or so, but I've been asking people in the office for the names of their doctors or the clinics they go to, just in case I don't start feeling 100 percent again soon. The stomach issues have kept me from doing much exercising this week, but I'm going to try to do a little P90 cardio (did circuit earlier in the week and was sore for three days; definitely out of shape again) after I finish this blog. Try to get back into it at home and then I'll hit the gym again. It's just so hard to go alone.

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Anyway... to the issue at hand. The reason renter's insurance has been a hot topic in our apartment this week is because on Tuesday morning before work, I noticed water dripping from the light on the ceiling in our bathroom. I woke Matt up, even though it was his day off and it was 8:00, and told him I was going to text the super and let him know. The super lives on Long Island, so I figured he'd be a few hours until he came to check it out.

Two minutes after I texted him, he was at the door. Guess he was in the building. So he came in, checked the leak, and then went upstairs. Matt moved from the bed to the couch in the living room, I went to work, and I didn't see the super come back.

At about 10:00, I got this text: "The ceiling is fucckkkkedd."

Followed by these photos:




The super and plumber and construction crew spent most of the day in the apartment above ours, replacing the bathtub and fixing the broken pipes while water poured down into a big blue bin in our bathroom. Apparently, there had been a leak for some time and it must've destroyed the underside of the tub. Had I not noticed the dripping, and had Matt slept until his usual 1/2:00 in the afternoon, I'd imagine things would've been much, much worse.

Around 3:00, Matt was itching to get out of the apartment, but neither of us were comfortable with people coming in and out of our place without either of us there. So he was on lock down. And he made sure to let me know how unhappy he was about that. We had had plans to spend the night in the B&N at Union Square, browsing, but those plans went out the window when the hole in our ceiling was still there around 4:30. I called at 5:30 when I was leaving work and they were just starting to patch it up. By the time I got home at 7 (yes, it took me more than an hour to get home because there was a huge delay because the A-train SUCKS), the super was just finishing up the patch job on the ceiling. We immediately got changed and got Matt some fresh air.

After spending a little bit at the B&N on 82nd, we bought some bathroom cleaners and then had dinner before returning home... where we Swiffered (wet jet, dry, and wet and dry again) the bathroom floor, the hallway, and the kitchen for a very, very long time. Sure, the workers had cleaned up the mess, but they left a lot of dirt, plaster, and chunks of ceiling in their wake. I'm still finding pieces of the ceiling. On Wednesday, I came home, did some work, and then attacked the rest of the mess in the bathroom. Everything had a layer of dust on it and the dirt in the tub was ridiculous. The cleaners worked wonders, though. And I was actually pretty proud of myself.

So, this whole ordeal was not our fault. And luckily it happened in the bathroom and not above our TV, dvd/bluray collection, or computers. However... had it, what would we have done? My mom was nice enough to get us a really reasonable quote on renter's insurance, but we're still trying to figure out if we want to spend the money. It's like... do you hand over money for something that may never happen, just in case? I mean, we do that our whole lives with savings and college funds and everything else, but at least when we do that, if we decide not to go to college or we die before we use our savings, that money can be used for something else. If I fork over hundreds of dollars for renter's insurance every year and nothing happens to my apartment, then I'm out money.

However, if I shut my mouth, pay the money, and then, god forbid, a pipe bursts in the living room, then I'll be very, very thankful for that insurance. Or if someone upstairs leaves the gas on and the place explodes when we're not home, that money would be helpful. Or if someone breaks in through our fire escape and steals all of Matt's expensive toys... It's a good idea. We're just not seeing eye to eye on it right now. When I say yes, he says no. When I say "eeehhh maybe not," he doesn't agree or disagree. I feel like I'm just going to have to make the decision. It's not that much money, and it'd be good to be insured.

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In other news, I'm hearing of many friends losing their jobs recently (either being laid off or being so frustrated that they're treated so poorly that they quit), and I'm becoming more grateful for mine. I've made a ton of friends so far (and being invited out way more than I ever was in W-B; I guess sometimes a fresh start really is best) and I really do like most of the work. I've been keeping a record of everything I do every day, just in case I'm ever asked if I ever worked on a certain book, and I finally made a list of every book I've worked on since I was hired full time. Along with the title, I recorded what I did with the book.

Since July 2, in some capacity, I have worked on 90 books for my company that weren't mine to manage. Since July 2, I have been managing/have managed 25. These are crazy numbers. I knew they'd be high, but I didn't know for sure if they'd be this high. I'm very happy with this number and the fact that it's this high when I haven't even been there full time three months yet.

Matt's going to start his next job search this weekend. He's drafted a cover letter and I'll be helping him mold them to fit the companies. I don't think any of the places he actually has on his list are actually hiring right now, but he's going to apply anyway. He wants something better than DBK, and I'm certainly not going to stop him. We'll see what happens. I'll keep everyone updated.

Well... off to do some cardio in my living room. Or at least, see if it's possible. Matt does Insanity in the living room every single day while I'm at work. So I should be able to do P90 in the space. We'll see. This is one of those times where I wish the living room was carpeted...

Matt's off tomorrow. And I can't wait to spend an entire day together. These things never happen. I think we're farmer's market-ing and then having a picnic in Fort Tryon park. That's all we have planned so far. It's going to be nice not to have smoosh everything in before 2pm.

3 comments:

  1. Nicole.,, renters insurance is very inexpensive but very worthwhile. It will cover damage from fire, pipes bursting, thief, etc or if you should lose something of value. Like jewelry.
    Joey has renters insurance.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Listen to your aunt. Lol. You can also get coverage should something happen to someone in your apartment that requires medical attention. It's worth the cost and it's like... $25/mo or less, usually. Better to be safe than sorry.

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