When It Rains, It Pours

My mom left today.  We took her to the airport this morning.  It was a great two weeks that, of course, went by too fast.  I was hoping to start with a blog about Shanghai tonight but I just don't have the energy.  I'm wiped out.

You already know a little about the drama that went on with Tian Ye a couple weeks ago but there's been even more stuff going on that, unfortunately, coincided with Mom's visit.  The driver situation was the worst of it.  After a couple days of driving with Tian Ye she totally understood why we had to call it quits with him, but it didn't make her stay with the kids any easier.  Although Ma is working out okay, he doesn't speak enough English or she enough Chinese for her to have felt comfortable taking the kids out touring while we were in Shanghai.  She said they had fun and managed just fine, but I still felt bad about the timing.  Luckily it wasn't her first visit so she wasn't too worried about seeing a lot of sights here in Shenyang and we aren't the types to let someone or something like that ruin a vacation.

Now for the other minor irritations.  While Tim and I were sitting at a bus stop in Shanghai we received a call from our housing agent.   I believe I mentioned in a previous post that our downstairs neighbor came to our door one night to tell us that water from our bathroom was leaking into hers.  Well, they now had more water and wanted to come (again) to have a look.  I called Mom and we set up an appointment for the following day.  Now, the first thing most people would do when looking for the source of a leak is what?  Turn on the water, right?  Not these geniuses.  They simply looked at the taps and the drain on the floor and decided to replace some parts.  When Mom tried to close the curtain and turn on the water the response was "No no no!".  Fast forward to this past Sunday morning when I received another call from our agent.  More water in the neighbor's apartment.  She told me that the landlord wanted to come that morning to have the floor sealed (?) and that we wouldn't be able to use the bathroom for twenty-four hours.  I said, "Fine.  What time?".  Her reply, "He's standing outside your door now".

The landlord and his "plumber" (he wasn't actually a tradesman) came in to inspect and see what they would need.  While the faux-plumber left to get parts, Tim and Mom removed a loose tile located directly below the taps and overflow.  Mom turned on the water and sprayed it while Tim looked under the tub with a flashlight.  The water was pouring out of the overflow and down the side of the wall past the loose tile and into the floor.  In seconds there was a huge puddle sitting underneath our tub.  No wonder they were getting water coming through their ceiling!  When the landlord and faux-plumber returned Tim asked them to come into the bathroom so he could show them.  Again, when he began to turn on the water, the response was, "No no no."  He said, "Yes!" and turned it on anyway.  Then he gave the flashlight to the landlord and told him to look under the tub.  He was willing but the faux-plumber refused until Tim got a little more forceful and said, "LOOK!".  He did then Tim directed them to the other side of the wall where there are water stains running up the paper.  Finally they accepted that the problem wasn't in the drain on the floor but the water seeping through places that it shouldn't be.  It's a really poor design (if you can call it that) and although they applied some caulking and a gasket, I'm pretty sure that it's only a matter of time before it starts leaking again.  In the meantime, those same neighbors now have a dog that howls for hours on end while they are away.  We haven't complained because we know the kids can be a little rowdy occasionally and they have never said anything, but I'm not sure how long we can keep listening while this poor animal cries and barks, especially at night when we're trying to sleep.

Anyway, once the caulking was done the faux-plumber also "fixed" the wallpaper in our bedroom.  It is bubbling, peeling off and molding underneath because of moisture and their solution was to glue it back down.  Our response to these issues, as well as other little things popping up, will be to start looking for a new place early next year (or sooner if need be).  Although many places here have the illusion of being grand, they only stay that way for a short time then begin to decline quickly.  Quality craftsmanship is not a priority.  The best thing to do is find a place that is newly renovated and stay no longer than two years.  We're hoping we can find something with a balcony or yard so the kids can play and we can sit out and barbecue.

While all this was going on we also got word that Ayi had lost her set of keys to our apartment.  Sigh.  We found her a temporary replacement key and today she had someone come to replace the locks.  I know she felt bad and I said that we would pay to replace it because it's a lot of money for her, but she insisted that it was her mistake and she would pay.  We did make it a little easier by only having the lock on the outside door replaced (we have two doors (an inner and an outer), don't ask me why).

Bundle all this with emails about income tax, a baby shower and pension problems flooding my phone, and it was definitely pouring here.  But, now that I have gotten that off my chest, I will go back to the fun stuff.  Over the next few days I will do some posts about our Shanghai and Beijing trips with lots of pictures.  Until then, have a great day!