Tragedy Strikes My New Home

"Tragedy" might be a strong word choice, but believe me, when the event in question occured, I was horrified. I was shocked into paralysis. I could only stare in horror.

They day started out find. I WASHED my car! This is an annual event, and it probably won't happen again until next March. I can touch my car without feeling tainted. And I can see out the windows. Smashing.

I drove to Jamaica Plain and found a parking spot right around the corner from my new home. I gathered up my equipment and struggled up the (properly carpeted) stairs to my soon-to-be-home. My color of choice was "Sun Shower" which is a nice, "gentle" shade of yellow. Yellow enough not to be confused with cream, but not so yellow as to overpower the small space. The painting didn't take long at all. There are two doors, a giant window, and a built-in book case, so the remaining wall space was quite managable.

--Oh, and guess what? The ceiling light has a fixture! No more bare light bulbs to glare menecingly and cast bizarre shadows!--

At some point in the afternoon I decided that my brain cells need fresh air and I opened the window, which looks out over the courtyard. I continued painting while listening to NPR (hello, of couse. What else would I listen to?). Late afternoon, the sun moved away from my window, and it was getting cooler outside, so I decided to close the window.

[Cue menancing music from the string section of the orchestra.]

I couldn't get the window to close tight; I couldn't get it to latch. I was wrestling with the window when all of a sudden, the top pane of the window moved. Now, many people wouldn't think much of that--a lot of windows have movable top panes. But this wasn't one of those windows. The upper pan swung outward over the courtyard, and then woosh! It dropped out and went crashing two stories down to the courtyard below.

I could only stand and stare in horror. The whole thing happened so fast and so slow. Panic insued. I broke a window. Seriously broke a window--and I hadn't even moved in yet! My roommates were going to rue the day they chose me. The landlord would kill me--or charge me a lot of mony to fix it (same thing, really). I was doomed. Doomed!

Sheepishly I went and found Christen, who was putting a load of laundry in the wash. "Christen," I said, "A bad thing just happened. The window broke." She took it surprisingly well, even mentioning that the windows in general were rather crappy,which made me feel marginally better.

She called Dr. D, the landlord, who said he would come and take a look. Now, Dr. D. hasn't seen the apartment for at least two years. It's his family's condo, you see, and he moved out (probably to a larger home--he has kids and stuff), and started renting it. Anyway, he decided to come and take a look (his absence does not equal neglect. He very quickly responds to phone calls and gets the maintence man to do whatever needs to be done). Dr.D also took it very well. Surveying the damage, he noted that something seemed wrong with the window frame. He promised to get it fixed quickly, and didn't mention a thing about me having to pay for it. And he liked the yellow color.

Anyway, I've put some new pictures on my geocities webpage.